Push your body to the next level

3 Do’s and Dont’s when pushing your body to the next level

Together with squats the push ups are one of the most basic movements your body can perform yet one of the exercises most people wish they could leave out of their workout.

 

On the current BodyPump release for example (release #91) there is a big focus on functional exercise (training your body for real life situations) apart from pure strength, endurance and toning which is why we have a few extra push ups in there. People will definitely feel the difference in strength next time they use bars (for a chest press) and on they body shape (if working correctly).

Push ups are one of the best ways to work with your upper body and get real results. Most exercise systems have them. From Pilates (check my ==>Pilates Push Up<== video) to BodyStep. Said that it’s import to work correctly and to know what you should do (and not do) when doing push ups.

You should know two kinds of important information. To start with you will want the “do’s”, the positive part, what you should do. You must know what you need to do to be able to succeed.

Second is the negative, need-to-avoid element, the “don’t’s”. Knowing what you have to avoid and guard against is necessary. You will need this so that they can not detract from or lessen your success, and you especially need it, to make sure you don’t fail outright.

O.K. then, let’s have a look at three of the do’s and 3 of the don’t’s of exercise your pushing muscles to get real results:

First “Do”: work at the hardest position you can perform the exercise with control. The reasons for this are the more you put in the more you get back. Training is all about adaptation. You body is programmed to adapt to stimulus. If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change your body, and also by performing with control (with the correct technique) you stay away from injuries and will be working with the correct muscle group.

First “Don’t”: don’t compromise technique or range of movement for speed. On BodyPump for example we have the option to double the pace of push ups at some point or some people when start to get tired start to speed up to finish their set quicker. Only do it if you can still keep a good range of movement and technique. I’ll explain a little more about the technique soon.

Following this, the second “Do”: use options. You’ll want to make this happen simply because it’s better to use options than hurt yourself with the wrong technique or even stop the exercise. You want to work till the end and you can do it by using options.

Second “Don’t”: don’t lose alignment during the exercise. I could even say there are two main “don’t” on this one. Don’t drop your hips, arching your back and don’t drop your head as you go down. Lead the movement with your chest. Instead you’ll want to keep thighs and hips off the floor, even if performing the exercise on your knees and keep the alignment between ear, shoulder and hips.

Third “Do”: do more of them as often as you can. It’s an exercise that don’t require equipment, doesn’t require a lot of space, your body is designed to do it, it works with almost your whole body (legs, hips, core, chest, shoulders, arms, neck…) and it doesn’t take long to have a good workout. 3 sets of your maximum it’s all you need (go for 6 if feeling full of energy and time. 😉 ). You should use this since it’s a “primal” movement which we don’t use too much nowadays with our current lifestyle. Additionally, it could help to prevent some common injuries while performing simple tasks as pushing furniture for example (it’s the first example that comes to my mind as my wife loves moving things around the house – or making me moving things).

Third “Don’t: don’t do the movement with your shoulder only. What you need to do instead should be to start the movement from elbows and shoulders.

You now have a chance to “stack the deck in your own favor”; increase your likelihood of success, lower your probability of failure in exercise your pushing muscles to get real results. It will be really easy! All you have to do is proceed with the above advice. Do the “do’s” and you should not do the “don’t’s! Just follow these recommendations and you may rest assured that the final results will probably be excellent, bordering on magnificent!

For a workout you can do at home check my ==>Upper Body Workout<== post.

Find out tips to take your body to the next level by visiting my exercise, nutrition and motivational blog site at www.personaltrainer-alex.com.