Try this pushup routine
I figured over the next few weeks I would post a few workout routines for those of you who are short on time or are just looking for something a little different to break up the monotony. These are workouts for people who are generally healthy from an orthopedic standpoint. If you have shoulder, knee, or back problems you can try to modify an exercise by reducing it to a pain free range of motion, or perhaps changing the angle at which the exercise is performed. For example if regular floor pushups are difficult, you could perform them with your hands on an elevated surface, same goes for exercises like planks. You can also try and vary hand widths, and the speed at which you lower yourself.
Let’s start with a simple pushup routine as our first upper body workout. This is only one of many routines you can make by simply adjusting the variables you have at your disposal. Variables such as body position, speed of movement, rest periods, and external resistance are some things that should be considered.
Why are pushups such a great exercise? Pushups are a great exercise for a number of reasons. First they are great for the entire upper body, they are not an “isolation” exercise. Second, they are great for shoulder strength and stability since your shoulder blades are allowed to move freely unlike when you’re on a bench performing bench press. When on a bench your shoulder blades are somewhat restricted in one position by the bench so you don’t get much serratus anterior activity. The serratus anterior is a muscle that lies under your shoulder blade. It originates on the lateral area of the rib cage, travels medially towards the spine to the inside edge of the shoulder blade where it inserts. It is responsible for holding the shoulder blade against the ribcage not allowing it to wing out. Do a regular pushup or one against a wall and having someone look at your shoulder blades. Do they “wing out”? If so, you probably have a weak or dysfunctional serratus anterior. It is also responsible for protracting the shoulder blade outward (spreading your should blades apart), and upward when arms are overhead. If the serratus anterior is not functioning properly, it will affect the shoulder joint. It is directly involved with the mechanics of the joint since it is attached to the shoulder blade. Luckily there are ways to strengthen it. One way is to perform the “pushup plus”. It’s simple, get in pushup position, make sure the abs are braced and elbows are straight. From this position push yourself away from the floor by spreading your shoulder blades apart, next pull yourself back to the start position by drawing your shoulder blades together, not upward towards your head, but straight back. Be sure not to bend your elbows are drop your hips. Your body should remain straight and stiff throughout. The other way is to perform an overhead shrug. While holding a barbbell overhead with arms straight, elevate your shoulders up and down without bending the elbows. It’s a “not so simple” shoulder shrug with your arms overhead.
The pushup is also great because it uses the stomach muscles in the way they are normally used throughout normal everyday activities (unlike the crunch). All the trunk muscles should contract and brace the midsection, stabilizing the spine, as if you were preparing to receive a punch in the stomach. It bridges the gap between the lower body and upper body so any force that is produced on either end can be transferred to the other. If it is not engaged, force will be lost through the midsection, form will be compromised and possibly cause stress somewhere, probably in your lower back. This is referred to as an energy leak. You’ll notice this when people are dropping their hips during the pushup. All the force generated by the upper body is being used to push the shoulders up but is being lost through the middle which ends up leaving the lower body behind on the floor. This will also changes the angle of the upper body forcing the shoulders upward toward the head which changes the mechanics of the whole move ultimately making it more difficult and not in a good way.
Proper technique – as simple as a pushup sounds, most people I see are doing them wrong or need to make some adjustments. Either the ass is held way too high in the air or more commonly the hips are too low and the low back is overarched. This happens because of lack of stomach activation along with having some tight hip flexors which also will contribute to tilting the pelvis forward. Tighten the stomach along with your butt to help rotate your pelvis and low back into a more neutral position. Make sure you go all the way down to the floor if you have no pain or previous shoulder injuries. None of this halfway garbage. I’ve had many guys come in, tell me “no problem”, “I do sets of 50 all the time”. They rarely make it past the 15 mark with this routine when they perform full range of motion pushups. Something else to be aware of is to make sure you hold your head in a neutral position. Don’t reach your chin forward toward the floor as you perform the pushup. This will only lead to straining the muscles on the back of the neck. Chest and stomach touch the floor at the same time and lift off at the same time. Think about actually pulling yourself down to the floor by engaging your upper back muscles, and keep the arms at about a 45-60 degree angle from your body. Don’t let the elbows go directly out to the side. Think about engaging the stomach while you push the floor away, and don’t let the elbows drift upward toward your head during the ascent. Again, shoulders and hips should move together at the same rate.
Try this routine. Start with anywhere from 5-10 pushups on the first set. Obviously the better you are at them, the more you should start with. Now, every successive set perform 1 more pushup than the previous set. So if you started with 5, rest 1:00, then do 6, rest 1:00, then 7 and so on. Always rest 1:00 between sets, no more, no less. Time it. Once you can’t beat your previous set, you’re done. This is a great test for strength-endurance. It always starts off feeling very easy, but rest assured the lactic acid buildup will be coming and putting a halt to your pushup shortly. The goal is to start with 10 and work your way up to 20 with 1:00 rest in between sets. Another option would be to elevate your feet up on a box about 18-24″ and perform the routine that way. Elevating your feet will also help incorporate the previously mentioned subscapularis a little more.
No equipment? Limited time? Here’s your answer. Your body is one of the best pieces of equipment you have. Don’t just use it to hang clothes on like all your other pieces of exercise equipment. Let me know how you do.