I have chronic pain and my upper body is rather weak, but I'm determined to do a correct, strong pushup. I tried starting out with the kneeling pushup and even that was really really challenging. It's hard to push yourself (lol) to keep going when the simplest thing is so hard. But this is a helpful "hierarchy" I try and follow. Thank you!
I love you guys. I've been implementing the stuff I've learned from you guys for a year and a half now and i've never felt more healthier, stronger. Your special ques/techniques for limb position has allowed me to stay consistent with my training versus before, where I didn't know what the heck I was doing and just did what I saw other un-informed (no insult intended) people were doing at my gym. Stuff like potraction/retraction and depression were some minor things THAT definately saved my shoulders from serious damage on exercises like push ups and dips. I also love that you guys emphasize mobility which I believe is important for physical health as we get older. My grandparents are in their 70's but move much better than my parents do haha. Thanks GMB!
I love you. This is the best pushup tutorial i have ever seen. Makes much easy to learn each bit and piece to do a perfect puch up. Please share a similar tutorial for pull ups as well. Much love from Pakistan.
The title on the email was "Not your grandma's push-ups." I AM your grandma. If you can't even do the first one, pay attention to all the form, but do it against the wall. Gradually move your feet farther from the wall. When you master that, move your hands to a counter, and then a lower counter or table. Eventually, you can do it on the floor. I'm starting against the wall. Proper hand position, shoulders, and elbows!
Thanks for another great tutorial. You guys rock! My question is about the elbow position. I find that I feel much more strain and actually cause repeated injury to my shoulders when I keep my elbows in and it also makes the push-up more tricep focused, less chest focused. I’ve discovered this doing the chaturanga type push-up in yoga. What is the science behind this choice of positioning with the arms? In my experience the two different angles have a completely different effect on muscular activation and strain on the shoulders. I consider elbows out a classic push-up, verses the elbows in being a tricep push-up or chatarunga (sp?) Thanks for your advice!
Flaring of the elbows while performing the push up actually places more stress on the shoulder joint. You can imagine the shoulder like a golf ball on a tee. How much does it take to knock a golf ball off a tee? Keeping the elbows in actually places more focus on the chest and the lats which will lead to greater control over the range of motion you are using in the push-up. It is a harder version of the push up and if you find yourself injuring your shoulders while performing the push up with elbows in it might be that you pushed too far too fast. Try dialing things back and taking it slow. Here is a helpful shoulder resource too! gmb.io/shoulder-pain/
@@gmbfit I have to agree with Angela here. I injured my left shoulder years ago, and it feels sooooo much better to have my elbows away from my sides a bit. Not totally flared out, but basically creating an arrow shape with my body.
We can always work to try and be in better alignment. My head might not be in absolutely perfect alignment but that's where I was in this vid and it was fine for me.
@@Gamesl2882 Oh no worries. I don't do everything perfectly, and neutral alignment is more technically correct. But I guess the point is that your individual comfortable head position is fine. Fording your head backwards isn't going to make your muscle-up better.
hello Ryan! great video and explanations! regarding the external shoulder rotation, is this applicable to dips too? That is...keeping the elbox pits forward on the entire range of motion for both push ups and dips? Thank you!
Good question! You should keep the elbows tight to the body the entire time while performing dips. You will find that the elbow pits will face forward the entire time.
Hello Ryan! What's your view regarding the shoulder blades movement during push ups (or the shoulder movement for that matter)? As far as I can tell from your video, you try to keep your sholder blades protracted at all times, even in the lower part of the push up. Some people claim that the shoulders (or shoulder blades) should have a full range of motion during push ups, therefore the shoulder blades should be squeezed together in the lower part of the push up, and protracted at the top. What's your recomandation?...and more important, what form is safer for our shoulders? Thanks!
Good question Vlad! By keeping the elbows in during your push up you will have to fully articulate through the shoulder blade. In other words, the shoulder blades will come together at the bottom of your push up and at the top of the push up you will be in a neutral position. A more advanced version of the push up like the hollow body push up would have you in a full protracted position. Everyone is going to be different and it is more important to listen to your body and to move with control.
Your movements are so elegant.. does make strong pace fr gradual progression. But how much gradual fr a newbie ? I mean, if am practising daily, starting with wrists strengthening- how long can be individual session , and after how many days should I think of moving to next progression. I know progression varies with individuals, but general guideline would really hel. Thank you
Everyone is going to be different and it is hard to say how long someone should practice a particular skill without knowing them or their training history. A good rule of thumb is to try the next progression and see how it feels. You can always go back to an earlier progression if you don't feel ready.
Hi, GMB- what a GREAT video, thanks so much for this awesome resource. I have a quick question- I'm recovering from a rotator cuff injury and through PT we've slowly re-incorporated push-ups (I'm doing a fairly high incline at this point). My big question is this- keeping my elbows tucked actually irritates my shoulder on the way down. I don't flair my elbows out, but it is more comfortable and doesn't give me pain when my elbow is about 30-45 degrees out. My PT says that's fine, but I really want to get to proper form, and continue on my way to doing full push-ups (in due time). Should I not be doing push-ups if I can't keep my elbow completely tucked or for the time being until the shoulder is completely healed, is the slight turn out better than not doing it at all?
So there's a couple of things, but firstly, thanks for running it by your PT. It's so important to take advantage of advice from people who know your specific case. The elbow angle isn't an either/or thing - there's a continuum, and if you find a position that feels good for you, it's probably fine. There's also more to the shoulder alignment than just the elbow angle, so experiment too with depressing your shoulder scapulae, the opposite of shrugging them up toward your ears. Keeping the shoulders pulled down may help you find a comfortable position. Last thing... "suboptimal" is usually better than just not doing something at all. BUT! If we're talking about a short duration until you heal, you have nothing to prove by just waiting a bit. There's also plenty of other exercises in the world besides push-ups that you can be doing during this period of recovery.
there goes my excuse not to try it... Best tutorial for pushups I have come across so far. Love that you have really a lot of tiny steps and such a detailed explanation of what one should look out for. Thanks!
Ooh...My...God..😮😯😲😐😑😶😁 THIS IS EXACTLY how I do Push Ups. I am amazed because it took me a few months to figure it out. Especially with the elbow flare. When I started, I thought I was doing em right. But I soon felt something was wrong because I would feel pain in my elbows after and have sore shoulders; as if I was straining the ligaments. After trail and error I came to this type of of Push up. My chest started to take shape. My man tits started going away( I got really out of shape during lockdown) and my chest is now defined! Now more than ever, even when I used to Bench heavy. It is truly amazing what you can achieve with your own body weight and gravity. GREAT tutorial, wish I found it before lolol! Ty and keep up the great work 👍🏼 👌🏼
Hey, well at least you had the self-awareness to pay attention and keep experimenting to find what worked for you. Congrats on that! I know it's not easy, but you stuck with it :)
Said "screw all these progressions, I'm a man I can handle it." Skipped to the end and copied his form, Got humbled fast when I could only do 2. Will now be starting slow and from the beginning. Haha.
Great set up tutorial - but what do people do who had broken their arm in the past and one arm length is shorter [as a result of bad doctor treatment - in my case almost 3 inches !
This might sound like a crazy question but for a beginner how many reps and sets should I do? And I love all your videos. I'm not able to do much at all.
Start with one. If you can do it easily with good form, do another. Repeat :) Aim for five, then ten, the twenty. There's no reason, as a beginner, to get much more complicated that that.
I need some clarification on the part that says not to let your hands turn out. Does that mean do not point your fingers outward or do not point the heel of your palm outward (which points the fingers inward)? In another video you recommend pointing the fingers outward during pushups to help make sure the elbows don't flare. I want to be very careful not to screw up my shoulders any more than they already are, so I want to take your advixe correctly.
Ideally, the fingers will usually point forward, but the most important thing is the elbow and shoulder alignment. If your wrists are tight, you might need to turn the fingers out a bit to keep the shoulders tight.
Hello sir Thank you for showing the form after some practice I think I can finally do a proper pushup though I can't do many I have 1 questions though granted I can only do a few right now I don't quite feel it in my chest? I was wondering if I am doing something wrong or if I will feel it more as I'm able to do more Thank you
@@gmbfit I should probably include I am feeling it in my shoulders just not my chest would that be something needs to get stronger or am I doing something wrong somewhere?
Use the range of motion you have available :) And when you get to the point where you need more ROM to get the most out of the exercise, you can use push-up handles or yoga blocks to give yourself a little more room.
Good question! There isn't a magical number of reps that you should be able to complete. :) I woud try focusing on the ease and quality of each attempt and that should let you know if you are headed in the right direction.
Start with one. If you can do it really well and have energy, do another. Keep up like that until you're doing a handful and want to try the next move. Since you're a beginner, my advice is to stop trying to make it complicated. There's no magical right number of reps.
That is a good question. I think one session a day might be a good place to start and it is important to listen to your body while working on any skill.
At 1:03 you say that your elbow pits should face forwards. Joshua Naterman says in this video that that shouldn't be the case: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V52rYFhaAUk.html Thoughts?
