How to do your first press up
Want to improve your upper body strength? Here’s how…
If you want to get a stronger upper body then learning how to do a press up is a great start. But many people struggle with this challenging bodyweight move, particularly if they don’t have any strength in their arms and shoulders.
You can work up to a press up by doing modified ones first, either on your knees or from a table or wall. But if you want to master it from your toes, here’s how…
How can I do my first press up?
I recently wrote about how to do your first press up in Fit&Well where I explained that physiotherapist Dr. Aaron Horschig has a technique trick that really works.
The strength and conditioning coach, who is also founder of Squat University, says that it's the set-up of the exercise that makes a difference to whether you can do it or not.
He explains that before you do the exercise you need to do create something called ‘external rotation’ in your shoulders, so that your weight is shifted into the hands. This makes for a much more stable foundation to do a press up.
External rotation basically describes when you twist part of your body away from the rest of it, for example, hip rotation is when the leg rotates outward. You can see Dr. Horschig’s video demonstrating how to externally rotate the shoulders before you do a press up here.
Step by step: how to do a press up
Step one: Start in a high plank position on hands and toes, with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and arms and legs straight.
Step two: Create external rotation in your shoulders by turning the hands out to shift your body weight fully into each hand.
Step three: Engage your core and glutes (bum muscles) and keep your body in a straight line.
Step four: Bend your elbows as you lower towards the floor and stop when they are at 90 degrees. Hold this position for 1-2 seconds.
Step five: Straighten your arms back to start position. That's one repetition.
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