3 Common Mistakes People Make With Push Ups

I’ve seen, and have been tagged in, many push up challenges. There has been some questionable form for many of those push ups I’ve seen in these challenges.

Poor form can lead to ineffective use of the muscles you’re trying to target, or worse yet it could cause an injury. I recently got tagged in a challenge again, so I thought I’d highlight 3 of the most common mistakes I see – with new clients and in general.

1. Elbows Flared Out Too Much

Your elbow angle should be about 45 degrees to properly target the chest. Higher than 45 will start to place more dominance on the shoulders, and your shoulder blade won’t be able to properly move around your rib cage as you descend into the push up – this can lead to a pinching sensation, pain, or injury (like subacromial bursitis).

Tip to help keep your elbows in: “screw your hands” into the floor (put pressure through your hands – left hand counterclockwise, right hand clockwise).

Photo credit

2. Improper Head Position

You want a neutral head position, think head between both shoulders – not ahead or behind. You want to maintain this position throughout the push up. What many people do is a “head poke” as they descend into the push up, jutting their chin forward and dropping their head. If this sounds like you, start by making sure your head is in the right position and then start and lead your push up with the chest – not the chin.

3. Lack of Core Engagement

People often don’t engage their core (muscles that stabilize the pelvis) enough during the push up. This results in their lower back having excessive arch. Just like your head position you also want to maintain a neutral pelvis throughout the push up. You want natural lower back arch, but not excessive arch. The simple fix is to think of tucking your pelvis underneath your rib cage by contracting your core and squeezing your butt cheeks (like you’re holding in a fart). See the video of me below showing the difference.

Here are some different variations of push ups to try. Some are easier so that you can work your way to doing a normal push up, and some are harder if you’re looking for a challenge or variety:

Easier:

• Wall push ups
• Incline push ups – Rack / Bench
• Knee push ups
• Scapula push ups
• T push up
• Negative push up

Harder:

• Medicine ball push up – single arm, two arm
• Pike push up
• Knee-drive push up
• Tricep push ups
• Spiderman push ups
• Plyometric push ups
• Dumbbell renegade row push ups
• Decline bench push up
• Slider push up
• Swiss ball push ups
• Deficit push ups – using plates, kettlebells
• Archer push ups – regular hand placement / supinated hand placement (hands rotated outwards)
• Swiss ball single leg tuck push up
• Swiss ball jackknife tuck push up
• One-arm push up
• Superman push up