Although the Push Up is one of the most popular bodyweight exercises, not everybody is able to do a proper Push Up. If you are having problems performing a proper push up and want to be able to do it properly, you can read here how to do a push up. And if you don’t have the strength yet, you will learn what you can do to strengthen the muscles you need to do a push up.

Proper push up

A proper push up is performed with your hands placed on the floor underneath your shoulders while keeping the body straight as a plank and leaning on your toes. Lower your body by bending your elbows outward until your body almost touches the floor while keeping your body straight. When just above the floor, push yourself upwards until the arms are almost completely straight, again while keeping your body stiff as a plank.

Frequently made mistakes and solutions:

Mistake 1: Not able to maintain straight posture during exercise, elevating the buttocks or letting the pelvis hang.

Problem: Insufficient strength of stabilizing abdominal and lower back muscles.

Solution: Perform the Plank exercise described below.

Lean on your forearms and your toes and keep your body straight as a plank. Maintain this position for at least 10 seconds and try to increase that time to at least 60 seconds. Perform this exercise for three sets each day. When you can maintain this posture for 60 seconds, maintaining it while doing Push Ups should no longer be a problem.

Mistake 2: Not lowering body enough, bending the elbows only slightly.

Problem: Insufficient strength of the triceps or chest muscles

Solution 1: Perform the Push Up with your hands on a higher platform than your feet. This will lighten the burden on both your triceps and chest muscles and make them stronger. Perform this exercise for three sets each day for at least 5 repetitions and up to 20 repetitions at maximum. When you can perform three sets of 20 repetitions, you should be strong enough to do the proper Push Up.
Solution 2: If the strength in your arms is the main issue perform the Triceps Dip or perform this exercise after Solution 1 above.

Place your feet on a bench, chair or the floor and your hands on a bench or chair behind you. The chairs or benches should be so far apart to allow you to keep your legs straight while lowering your body between the chairs or benches. Lower your body by bending your elbows until you cannot lower yourself any further without lifting your shoulders. At this lowest point, push yourself up again until your elbows are almost fully extended. Perform this exercise for three sets each day for at least 3 repetitions up to 20 repetitions at maximum. When you can perform 20 repetitions your triceps should be strong enough to do the proper Push Up.