TAKE ACTION
a
M
TAKE ACTION
The Most UNDERRATED Dumbbell Upper Body Exercise

The Most UNDERRATED Dumbbell Upper Body Exercise

by | Jun 19, 2021 | Blog, Exercises

I feel like there are always moves that sort of get “forgotten.”

They fall out of popularity or get hated on because of one specific issue, or don’t seem “hard enough” and then people stop using them.

Even when they’re crazy amazing and beneficial.

One such move is the pull over.

This upper body exercise is controversial and often overlooked yet it is truly an amazing and efficient upper body move.

So why is it often overlooked and underrated? And what’s the controversy when it comes to pull overs?

The pull over has fallen out of popularity because it became demonized for causing shoulder pain.

Much like squats and lunges are blamed for knee pain and deadlifts for lower back pain, pull overs are blamed for causing shoulder pain.

But none of these moves are evil, they are just often misused. And often misunderstood.

While the pull over may not be right for someone with shoulder impingement issues or restricted shoulder mobility, it is an amazing move for anyone without current shoulder issues.

We have to remember that just because a move may not be right for someone WITH an injury or issue who can’t recruit the correct muscles, doesn’t mean it isn’t right for someone without any issues at all.

And demonizing and fearing the pull over for causing shoulder pain may be causing you to miss out on an absolutely amazing compound upper body move.

One that could actually even keep your shoulders healthy and happy long-term.

A move that is incredibly efficient at working your upper body, making it great for anyone short on time and looking to work multiple large muscles all at once.

So if pull overs are so amazing, why are they so controversial?

Part of the pull over debate is…

What do pull over actually work?

Are they a back exercise?

Or a chest exercise?

Or even a tricep movement?

There has long been a debate about which training day, pull overs should be placed on.

But the simple answer is….

Pull overs actually work all three of those areas!

They can even be used to strengthen your serratus anterior.

So if you’re really looking for a full upper body workout all in one move? The pull over may just be the answer you’re looking for.

When you do the dumbbell pull over, you can lie fully supported with the entire length of your back on a bench or even with just your upper back on the bench. Especially if you’re just starting out and going lighter, plus want the extra glute and ab work, the upper back only variation is great.

If you’re looking to really max out on loads and have built up the strength, you may want to perform the pull over with your back fully supported so you aren’t tempted to use the momentum of dropping your hips as you pull over.

You will want to keep your elbows soft as you reach the weight back overhead. Do not lock out your elbows. However if you end up only bending or extending at your elbow, you’re going to turn this isn’t more of a tricep move than a lat or chest one.

Feel a stretch through your lats as you reach overhead. Then really focus on pulling your elbows back down and over your head as you pull the weight back up toward the ceiling.

Think about the sides of your back working as you pull the weight over to make sure you’re engaging your chest and lats.

Then slowly extend back overhead to repeat.

You can also vary how much you activate each muscle by when you use the move in your workout.

The pull over may be a great move to include toward the end of your chest day to fully fatigue the muscle.

Or it can be a great way to create a bit of pre-fatigue for the lats and establish that mind-body connection when used earlier in your workout on a back day.

It is also a great accessory lift if you’re working to improve your pull ups!

But do NOT fear this amazing upper body move!

If you’re including pull up work or overhead pressing? You have the mobility to include pull overs!

Just start light and build up.

Remember every move is only as good as our implementation.

But if you need a very effective compound moves to target…well…debatably almost every muscle of your upper body (at least almost), you want to include the pull over in your routine!

For a great follow along workout I did including the pull over, click below!

Try This Dumbbell Upper Body Workout! 

5 MOBILITY Moves To Do Every Day

5 MOBILITY Moves To Do Every Day

by | Jun 5, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

Use it or lose it.

If we want to move well, we need to be intentional with our training. We need to do things to restore proper joint range of motion, flexibility and even stability.

We can just constantly smash our bodies into the ground and expect not to get injured.

That’s why it is key at points we not only regress to progress but focus on getting the correct muscles working while addressing postural distortions, limitations caused by previous injuries and even areas of immobility from our repetitive jobs and often sedentary lifestyles.

That’s why we need to include mobility work in our daily routine, even simply as part of our warm up before our workouts – whether we are lifting, doing interval training, running or cycling.

Our warm ups should include a 3-Part Prehab Process of Foam Rolling, Stretching and Activation.

This way we can relax overactive muscles, improve our joint range of motion and activate underactive muscles to be able to move better and use the correct muscles more efficiently when we train.

This can not only help us avoid compensations, overload and injury but even help us get better benefits from our actual training sessions.

So what are 5 amazing mobility moves you can do every day?

5 Amazing Mobility Moves To Do Every Day:

Move #1: Foam Roller Snow Angels

We spend so much time hunched over a computer, driving in the car or texting on our phones.

Not to mention neck and shoulder pain are an all too common complaint.

That’s why it’s key we work on reversing the constant forward flexion and stretch out our chests while improving our shoulder mobility.

The Foam Roller Snow Angels are a great way to do that!

This is a great move to use even before bed to relax after a long day.

To do the Foam Roller Snow Angels, lie on a roller with it straight down your spine and your head supported.

Let your arms fall open and swing them up overhead into a Y position. Feel a nice stretch through your chest.

Then slowly sweep them own and out to your sides and down toward you feet. Hold in any place and relax the backs of your hands toward the ground to feel a nice stretch.

Even actively engage your back to stretch your chest as you sweep your arms down toward your feet and back overhead.

Move #2: Teres Minor Foam Rolling

Rotator cuff injuries are an all too common issue.

And one rotator cuff muscle that can often become overworked and lead to shoulder pain is the Teres Minor. Trigger points in this muscle can lead to shoulder pain and even referred pain down your arm.

Especially if you are working to improve your shoulder mobility, or planning an upper body workout, it can be key to roll out this muscle prior to help prevent it from compensating during your training.

To roll out your Teres Minor, a ball works best. You are basically going to be rolling out the back of your armpit as you reach your hand overhead on the ground. You want to be able to relax into the ball so make sure you aren’t holding up your weight with that arm.

You can do this against a wall to reduce the pressure if needed, reaching your arm overhead.

As you hold, breathe into it. You aren’t rolling quickly. You can move your arm down and back overhead as you hold.

Move #3: Superman Wave

Activate the muscles of your backside with this amazing move. The Superman Wave is a great move to improve your shoulder and scapular mobility and stability as well as your thoracic extension. It is even a great glute activation move that works to improve your hip hyperextension.

The key is correctly working to extend your thoracic spine as you engage your glutes to NOT overload your lower back.

Too often when we do moves like this or the basic superman, we try to rely only on our lower back. But we want to make sure muscles, like our glutes, are doing the work they should to actually prevent our lower back from becoming overworked.

If you’ve been doing the basic superman, take the move to the next level and garner even more shoulder and scapular benefits by adding in the wave.

To do this move, set up as if doing the basic superman. As you lift your chest and quads up off the ground, focus on using your glutes to lift as you extend your mid back. Do not rely on your lower back.

Squeezing your glutes to lift your legs, feel your upper back working to lift your arms. Holding this superman position, sweep one arm out to the side and down. Then bring it back overhead and switch to sweep your arm down on the other side.

Keep everything engaged to stabilize and hold yourself up as you feel that scapular movement as you sweep your arm.

Feel the backs of your shoulders working as well as your entire upper back. Remember to also feel those glutes working to extend your hips over relying on your lower back!

Beginners may modify if they feel their lower back taking over by keeping their legs down.

This is a great move to use as part of your activation in your warm up routine after you foam roll and stretch.

Move #4: Posterior Adductor Rolling

When you’ve attempted to do glute moves, have you ever felt that area under your butt and toward your groin working instead?

Or do you constantly have piriformis issues you can’t seem to clear up?

You may need to pay attention to those posterior fibers of your adductor magnus.

When we think of our adductors, we think of movements where we are adducting (or drawing our legs together). And we may even think of hip flexion since they do contribute to that joint action.

That is, except for the posterior fibers of the adductor Magnus which can contribute to external rotation and hip extension on top of adduction.

This puts these muscle fibers in a unique position to become overworked if our glute maximus and medius are underactive.

So to help yourself better activate your glutes, try rolling this muscle before your activation moves.

To do the posterior adductor foam rolling, a ball works best up on a bench or box. Place the ball toward your groin under your butt. And sit on the ball. Hold and breathe, don’t roll quickly.

You can also extend your leg out and then relax your leg to help the muscle relax and release as you hold.

You can do this on a roller or off the ground, you just won’t be able to apply as much pressure. This is good if you find you can’t fully relax when sitting on the ball. You do not want to tense against the pressure.

Move #5: Mini Band Glute Bridge with Abduction

Activate your glute maximus and medius with this one amazing bridge variation. Bridging is a great way to isolate those glutes and work to improve your hip mobility and stability.

By adding the band and abduction, you help activate your glute medius better to improve your hip stability. And it can also help you activate your glute max better to prevent your hamstrings from compensating.

If you have lower back, hip or even knee pain, this is a must-do warm up move to include before your lower body lifting sessions, runs or rides.

To do the Mini Band Glute Bridge with Abduction, place a mini band around your legs above your knees. Lie on your back and place your feet together on the ground, just beyond your fingertips when your arms are down by your sides.

Bend your elbows and press your upper arms into the ground. Your legs should be together as you even create tension through your upper body.

Perform a posterior pelvic tilt, pressing your lower back into the ground as you tuck your hips toward your ribs.

Bridge up, driving your knees toward your toes. At the top of the bridge, press your knees open against the band.

Press open to feel the sides of your butt working then bring your legs back together and lower down. Do not let the band pull you.

Bridge back up. Make sure not to arch your lower back but focus on your glutes driving the hip extension. And really feel your glute medius working to press your knees open against the band.

SUMMARY:

Using these 5 moves you can work to improve your mobility and stability from head to toe.

They are great moves to use even as part of your warm up or as a separate prehab routine.

You can even include them as a series, performing even a single round through, working for 30 seconds per move or side.

–> Foam Roll + Stretch + Activate = The COMPLETE Prehab Process

Leg Lowers – You’re Doing it WRONG (3 tips to help)

Leg Lowers – You’re Doing it WRONG (3 tips to help)

by | May 30, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

Constantly feel your lower back or hip flexors during ab moves like leg lowers?

Do you just push through figuring your lower back is weak?

STOP!

Not only is this NOT helping you get the desired ab strengthening results you’re trying to work toward but it may also result in lower back and even hip aches and pains.

Here are 3 common mistakes I see people making with leg lower ab exercises and how to avoid them!

Mistake #1: Putting Your Hands Behind Your Lower Back

Stop cheating yourself out of really earning this move.

Putting your hands behind your lower back is a bandaid, a quick fix.

While yes, it can help you avoid lower back pain in the moment, it isn’t teaching you to actually use your abs correctly to protect your back and stabilize.

It allows you to do a move you haven’t truly earned.

Instead you need to regress to progress and modify the exercise to learn how to build up and engage your abs correctly.

Because you aren’t feeling your lower back because it is weak. You’re feeling your lower back because your abs aren’t yet strong enough, or you don’t have the mind-body connection yet, to keep them braced throughout.

Instead of pushing through this variation, if you want to get the full ab strengthening benefits, modify the move doing a single leg lower or even bent knee tuck.

It is always better to modify and get the correct muscles working than to push through a harder variation and compensate.

Modifying doesn’t mean you’re making it easier. It means you’re making it the level you need to work the muscles you want to target best!

You may even find you have to go back to that basic pelvic tilt movement and learn how to engage those abs and glutes correctly to stabilize and brace before adding movement!

Mistake #2: Swinging Your Legs

Leg lowers do work your hip flexors as they are a hip flexion movement.

And your abs are working to stabilize and protect your back.

But if to rush through this movement you start to swing your legs, you’re not going to get any of the benefit this move can have for your abs.

And you’re probably going to start to feel your lower back engaging as your hip flexors fatigue especially.

So stop swinging your legs and rushing through just to get the workout done.

Instead slow down the movement.

Focus on engaging your GLUTES even as you lower your legs a few inches from the ground. And even think about pulling your legs back up using your abs so you get that brace going as you lift.

Slow the movement down and focus on that control and what muscles you actually feel working.

Get more out of every second of work by being intentional!

Mistake #3: Not Focusing On Bracing Your Abs

Too often we just replicate a movement pattern without really being conscious of the muscles we feel working until we are in pain.

We let our lower back take over during this move and just keep pushing through.

We want to get the workout over with or we figure our lower back is weak.

But what we feel working during a move is what is going to “benefit” so to speak from the exercise.

So if you want to work your abs but you only feel your lower back?

Your abs aren’t getting the benefit of this move you’d like.

That’s why it is key you regress to progress and learn how to use that posterior pelvic tilt to your advantage.

While yes our spine has a natural curve, we want to know how to engage our glutes and abs using that posterior pelvic tilt.

Before you even start any level of the leg lowers move, lie on your back on the ground and think about engaging those lower abs to tuck your hips slightly toward your ribs. Even feel your glutes engage with the tuck.

From here you can do a bent knee march, double knee tuck, single leg lift or those killer double leg lowers.

But you should only advance as long as you can keep those abs braced.

If you lose that brace, you need to regress or shorten the interval of work, cutting back on time or reps.

Trying to do more without the correct muscles working is only going to backfire.

SUMMARY:

As much as we all want to do those fun and challenging exercise variations, at times we need to regress to progress and take our ego out of things.

Learn how to engage those abs correctly and build up to earn that harder move so you can get more out of every rep of that amazing leg lower ab exercise!

For an amazing Lower Ab Workout, give this burner a try! It’s a great way to finish off your workouts!

–> Lower Ab Burner

 

Can’t LOSE Fat? Try These 2 Tips

Can’t LOSE Fat? Try These 2 Tips

by | May 21, 2021 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

Trying to lose weight as quickly as possible on the scale is a completely different focus than fat loss.

And often the faster we strive to see weight loss, the more we really don’t control for fat loss nor optimize our body recomposition.

Actually the more we can negatively impact our body recomposition results!

Because often in our attempt to lose weight faster, we slash our calories super low and try to exercise more.

This results in, yes more weight being lost, but this weight is not only fat but also MUSCLE.

It can also cause us to create metabolic adaptations and hormonal changes that can make us look SOFTER, which is the opposite of what we want to happen.

And this is especially the case when we’re working to lose those last 5 to 10 pounds.

You simply can’t out diet or out exercise TIME.

And while, yes, calories in vs calories out matters, we can’t focus on purely trying to starve ourselves by slashing our calories super low or creating more of a deficit through our training.

Actually we need to stop focusing on our training as a way to burn calories at all.

And we need to stop purely focusing on our calorie intake if we want the best fat loss results possible.

These improper weight loss practices, and even at times extreme deprivation diets and overtraining, are what lead to that horrible yo-yo dieting cycle.

They lead to potentially rapid weight loss on the scale, but also that weight rebound.

Through these fad diets, we create unsustainable habits, thrown our bodies out of whack and often create metabolic adaptations that make it even harder to lose the weight the next time we attempt to.

So if you’ve ever thought to yourself, “My age just makes it so much harder?”

Or “It’s so much harder than it used to be to lose weight!”

Well that might have less to do with getting older, and more to do with the improper dieting practices you’ve implemented previously!

The great part is though, we CAN reverse much of the “damage” we’ve done.

We can retrain our body to eat more and lose fat while restoring our metabolic health.

But we have to stop looking for a fast fix.

Instead we sort of have to do the OPPOSITE of what we’ve been told to do…

We need to focus on these two key things…

1. Macros
2. Strength Training

And then we need to focus on something we can truly maintain long-term.

Because motivation and willpower are fleeting.

We need to use those times we are motivated to put in new healthy habits that are sustainable. Because through those routines and habits that don’t take as much willpower to implement, we will keep doing what we need to do to get results even on those days we aren’t as motivated.

We need to focus less on creating a calorie deficit and more on doing the things that keep our metabolic rate higher while learning to fuel in a way that leaves us feeling energized while needing to utilized stored energy aka fat to fuel.

And that means we need to focus on macros and strength training.

So why are these two things so key?

First let’s talk about MACROS…

Before you even adjust your calorie intake, I recommend you focus on your macronutrient ratios – what portion of your calories come from proteins, carbs and fats?

How you adjust your macros can impact your energy levels and your fat loss results without you even consciously adjusting your calories.

It can even impact the number of calories you feel you need to be fueled while creating a small deficit just because of the differing thermic effects of each macronutrient.

When we fuel properly too, we help prevent unnecessary metabolic adaptations and we keep our body running efficiently.

Not to mention we maintain our energy so we want to live the lifestyle we enjoy!

When first focusing on macros, start by adjusting your PROTEIN intake.

Honestly, if you want the best fat loss results, protein is the main thing that matters.

A review of studies, showed that really protein intake is what determined what ratio worked best for weight loss. Whether you went high fat or low fat, high carb or low carb, the ratio that always produced the best results was the one higher in protein.

And it’s because protein can keep you feeling full and fueled.

Not to mention the thermic effect can only further aid in fat loss without you needing to create any more of a technical calorie deficit.

Protein takes the most energy to digest with about 20-30% of the total calories in protein eaten going to digesting it while carbs take about 5-10% and fats take 0-3%.

Studies have shown protein to have a thermogenic effect 5 times greater than carbs or fat!

Basically you burn more calories to utilize protein than the other two macros!

Increasing your protein can also help you build and retain lean muscle mass even while in a deficit.

Studies have shown that a high protein diet is the only diet to help you do so. Not to mention it can even help you prevent gaining fat when in a calorie surplus!

It’s so key we do EVERYTHING we can to avoid muscle mass loss, not only to age well, but to keep our metabolic rate higher and avoid the metabolic adaptations we often see with extreme diets.

Retaining lean muscle mass will help you burn more calories at rest not to mention, muscle makes you look LEANER as you lose that fat!

And the cherry on top of all of this, and just another reason to focus on protein…

Consuming protein can increase levels of glucagon, a hormone in your body that can help control body fat.

When glucagon is released, the liver breaks down stored glycogen into glucose for the body to use.

It can also help liberate free fatty acids from fat tissues aka provide fuel for cells and make that body fat do something useful instead of hiding our six pack.

Ok so you’re sold on focusing on macros…now why should you focus on strength training over cardio?

We focus so much on the calories we burn from exercise and trying to create a deficit through our training.

Which can be great for beginners just starting out looking to make a lifestyle change who find moving more, or adding in some workouts, easier to start than looking at their diet.

Just by adding in more activity they will create a calorie deficit without changing their diet.

This focus on a calorie deficit is also why many people turn to cardio when they want to lose weight. It has a higher calorie burn per session.

But our bodies adapt over time, meaning we don’t burn as many calories from these sessions (no matter what your very inaccurate fitness tracker tells you). And unless you keep training longer and harder, which there is a limit to, you won’t be able to out train your diet long-term.

So you WILL inevitably need to make dietary changes. Sorry. Trust me I’ve tried out training your diet.

It never leads to lasting results and often leads to burnout and injury.

Also, endurance training can be catabolic to muscle tissue, especially if you aren’t very conscious of your fueling.

So while you may be burning a few more calories in your training sessions by doing cardio especially to start, you aren’t doing anything to raise your resting metabolic rate, which impacts the calories you burn throughout the day.

And your resting metabolic rate has way more potential to help you burn more calories on a daily basis long-term and create LASTING results and long-term fat loss maintenance.

Not to mention you may only perpetuate muscle loss, especially if you’re slashing your calories super low, which will result in worse body composition and potentially metabolic adaptations that make it harder and harder to lose weight as we get older.

And this is why strength training is so key.

Not only can you increase your resting metabolic rate by building muscle because muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat, BUT you also are going to be functional stronger, look leaner AND preserve that muscle mass more while in a deficit and trying to lose fat.

If you want to eat more, look leaner and prevent a lot of the adaptations we often associate with getting older?

You need to be focusing your training on STRENGTH TRAINING.

Now if you enjoy cardio, you don’t need to cut it out.

But just STOP focusing on workouts as purely about the calorie burn from that single session.

Stop focusing on trying to do more to leave yourself feeling slaughtered.

Stop trying to out train your diet.

And instead see your workouts as a chance to build the lean physique you’ll reveal by how you fuel.

Use your training sessions to build lean muscle to keep your metabolism humming and look leaner long-term. Use your sessions not for that quick fix, but to help you better maintain your fat loss long term.

SUMMARY:

I know it’s tempting to want to do MORE to get results faster, but we have to remember that often the faster we lose weight on the scale, the less we are truly focusing on that body recomposition.

As much as it stinks to hear, slow and steady wins the race.

Focus on just those two key things of MACROS and STRENGTH TRAINING and find a routine you can follow consistently if you want amazing body recomposition results!

If you’re ready to dial in your workouts AND your nutrition to achieve amazing results with a plan that is actually SUSTAINABLE, apply to my 1:1 Online Coaching below.

–> Apply To 1:1 Coaching

 

the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

by | May 12, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Warm Up

The stronger your mind-body connection is?

The more you can lift, the faster you can run and the further you can cycle!

Basically the STRONGER YOU ARE!

Strength is not just about brute force but also about neuromuscular efficiency – how quickly can you recruit the CORRECT muscles to perform a movement and produce force.

That’s why it is key we include exercises to really improve that mind-body connection and make sure we are able to engage the correct muscles whenever we need.

Because as much as we focus on form, proper form does NOT always mean you’re engaging the correct muscles.

Actually often the more experienced a lifter you are and the more athletic you are, the more you can mimic a proper looking movement pattern while compensating and recruiting the incorrect muscles to do so.

This can not only result in injury but often holds us back from lifting as much as we truly can.

It prevents us from being as strong as possible because we aren’t using muscles efficiently together. We aren’t making the correct muscles pull their own weight.

That’s why you need to include some isolation moves to activate those underactive muscles and make sure you’re engaging the correct muscles at the proper times.

One muscle that often needs to be the focus of our activation work is our GLUTES.

Our glutes are commonly underactive due to our modern lifestyle.

So focused activation work can help us improve our mind-body connection to better recruit our glutes during compound lifts and when we run or cycle.

One of my favorite moves, and a very basic and often underutilized move, is the Single Leg Bent-Knee Reverse Hyper.

This move is fundamental if you want to improve your hip extension and focus on isolating those glutes.

And it’s a really great way to test if your hamstrings tend to want to take over and compensate for your glutes.

Often our hamstrings can become synergistically dominant for underactive glutes and that can result in hamstrings strains, lower back, hip and knee pain.

So if you tend to feel your hamstrings even during moves like glute bridges? You need to give this reverse hyper variation a try.

To first test your glute activation, lie face down on the ground. You can relax your chin on your hands as you straighten both legs out. Then bend one knee to about 90 degrees. Flex that foot. Do not curl the heel in toward your butt as this will engage your hamstrings.

Then drive your heel toward the ceiling and extend your hip.

What do you feel firing first? Do you feel your hamstring first or your glute?

Do you feel both? Or can you just isolate your glute?

If you can just isolate your glute fabulous! Do 15-20 reps and pause at the top to really establish that mind-body connection and even get a little pump going.

If you can’t feel your glutes, try adjusting how you’re cueing and performing the move.

Here are a few tweaks to try.

#1: Focus on driving your hip down into the ground as you drive the heel back so you don’t rotate open. Think about almost pushing your hip bone down into the ground instead of just lifting up.

#2: Think about STOPPING the lift with your glute over just trying to lift up higher. You want to focus on that glute engagement over the movement itself.

#3: Kick just slightly out as you lift. Remember not to curl your heel in toward your butt. Our hamstrings are worked by that knee flexion so avoiding it can help. However, going too straight with your leg can also make it harder for some to focus on their glutes.

#4: Slightly abduct your knee or move it out to the side before you lift. This can better engage the glute medius to help engage that glute max. Just be careful you don’t rotate your hip open. Just slightly move the knee out to the side.

Try one of these tweaks at a time to see what helps. You may even find you need to combine all the cues to get that glute firing without the hamstring trying to take over.

As silly as it may seem, sometimes just changing how we cue ourselves to perform a movement with a very slight adjustment can really help us better establish that mind-body connection when we’ve struggled in the past.

Just don’t rush through the movement. Pause and assess. Be intentional with the exercise over just trying to get through the reps.

Doing the “right moves” without feeling the correct muscles working won’t get you the results you want.

Focus on activating your glutes.

SUMMARY:

Use this underrated glute isolation move as both an activation exercise but also a test of hamstring compensation. It is a great way to make sure your hamstrings aren’t trying to take over and work when your glutes truly should be.

Be conscious of what you feel working during your workouts and do not simply go through the motions.

The more we can truly create proper recruitment patterns and use the correct muscles efficiently and effectively, the stronger we will be.

Sometimes we need to take things back to basics to get results.

We are never above those simple fundamentals!

Working to improve your glute activation?

Check out my Booty Burner Program!

–> LEARN MORE

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

by | Apr 22, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups

Push ups not only require a lot of upper body strength but also core strength.

They require you to properly recruit and engage everything from your shoulders to your knees so your body moves as one unit. You need to not only have amazing strength but also proper wrist, shoulder and scapular mobility and stability.

They are a much more complex movement than we often give them credit for.

That’s why I want to share 5 tips to help you not only dial in your push up form, but also strengthen all of the muscles involved in the movement so you can improve your push ups.

But first, I want to explain why it’s key we remember we may need to regress to progress to start.

And one of the best ways to do that is by using an incline over even the knee push up variation!

The knee push up variation is actually more challenging than we often give it credit for. And it doesn’t teach us to engage everything between our shoulders to our feet.

We need to train that full plank position to help us better engage everything as we build up toward that full push up from the ground.

That’s why the incline push up is a great way to modify the push up to start.

You can start off a wall and slowly lower the incline as you’re ready.

And by using an incline, we can even mix up the push up variations we include as we build up.

It can be boring feeling like you aren’t able to try some of those fun push up variations. But using an incline, you don’t have to stick with just the basic push up.

You can include other push up variations that may even be great accessory moves in and of themselves to improve your strength toward that first full push up.

Want to target your triceps more?

Try the close grip push up off an incline.

Or if you want to work on your core strength more as well as your shoulder stability?

Try the shoulder tap push up.

By mixing up your push up variations you can keep you training fun and interesting and even address your weak links to get stronger!

5 Key Tips To Help You Improve Your Push Ups

#1: Drive back through your heels.

Part of getting stronger is also about being more EFFICIENT in your movements. It’s about learning how to engage muscles correctly so it actually requires less effort to do the movement.

And one great way to make sure you have the proper tension during the push up to maintain that nice straight line from your head to your heels, is to cue yourself to drive back through your heels.

This will help you flex your quads for that nice plank position.

Because while this is an upper body move you need to have that proper full body engagement so you aren’t overloading your upper body but also making your lower body assist you in moving efficiently.

When you set up for the push up, push backward off the balls of your feet. Feel the change in how you flex your legs as you do this. Just make sure that as you drive back, you keep your hands outside your chest and don’t let them shift up above your shoulders.

Keep pushing backward off the balls of your feet as you lower down.

Feel those legs stay engaged to help you maintain that plank position!

#2: Push the ground away.

Want to engage your triceps, shoulders and pecs better while helping prevent elbow pain during push ups? Focus on your hands grip on the ground.

That tension we create through our hands down into the ground can really help us better activate the muscles of our upper body.

And it can help us prevent overuse from rocking out on our hands.

As you set up for the push up, spread your fingers with your middle finger pointing straight ahead. Grip the ground or incline with your entire hand, even pressing your thumb down into the ground.

At the top of the push up, think about pushing the ground away just slightly to even better stabilize your shoulders.

And do not lose this tension even as you lower down. Too often we just think about lowering down over maintaining that tension into the ground.

But this tension can also help us in that transition from lowering to pressing back up.

If you’ve ever felt like you struggle at the bottom to change to pushing back up?

This focus on your hands pushing down into the ground can make all of the difference. So even as you lower, push the ground away so that when you move to push back up, you’ve already created that tension.

#3: Feel your back assisting.

While yes, the push up is a move for our chest, shoulders and triceps, we can’t ignore the important role our upper back plays in this movement.

We often think about our scapular movement, or the movement of our shoulder blades, during things like rows.

But that scapular movement is essential to actually create a more powerful press.

Proper scapular movement can mean healthier, happier shoulders, elbows and even wrists. Not to mention you avoiding neck pain from push ups.

So as you perform the push up, think about your back working to support your shoulders.

Make sure that, when you set up, you very slightly pull your shoulder blades down toward your butt as you unshrug your shoulders. Think about feeling the sides of your back slightly engage to support your shoulders.

Then, as you lower down, think about your shoulder blades drawing together toward your spine.

As you press back up, focus on pulling those shoulder blades apart.

Use your back and that proper scapular movement to power your press!

#4: Use push up holds.

Push ups are basically a moving plank so often when we think push ups and improving our core strength, we turn to plank holds.

And those are great.

But you can actually work on that plank position from just about any point in the push up.

By holding even mid-way through the push up or at the bottom, you can really strengthen not only your core but also your upper body.

You can also help yourself overcome any weak points or stick points in the move.

If there is a point you feel you always get stuck at?

Hold there to strengthen everything.

When we hold, we can really focus on what we feel working because we aren’t distracted by trying to actually perform a movement.

We can stay in one position and run through the muscles that should be working to make sure we feel them. We have time to even assess our form and make small tweaks.

That time under tension can help us build strength as we work on that mind-body connection to use muscles efficiently.

So next time you include some accessory core work, try including bottom push up holds or mid push up holds instead of just doing even the high plank position to work your core!

#5: Quality over quantity.

Practice makes better. But only when you’re practicing the proper movement. If we get lazy with our reps and compensate or replicate improper movement patterns?

We are going to ingrain those bad habits through repetition.

So as you build up, make sure to focus on quality over quantity. Make every rep your best rep to really solidify those proper movement patterns.’

And focus on fewer reps of a harder variation to really challenge your body to progress.

Too often when we want to work toward that first full push up, we just make ourselves better at the modified variation by adding more reps.

Instead of doing more reps of a more modified push up, we need to think about doing fewer reps with more sets to keep attempting a more challenging variation.

So if you can do only 1 push up off a lower incline, but 5 off a higher?

It is better to include that 1 rep off the harder variation, simply resting longer between to create the volume over sets.

Because you need to use those harder variations to get better at them!

Summary:

Use the incline push up variation to help you build up toward that first full push up from your toes. You can even start off the wall and lower the incline as you feel ready.

As you build up, use these tips and cues to help you dial in your push up form and use muscles efficiently to perform the movement.

And don’t be afraid to use some fun variations off the incline to help you target those weak links and keep your training fun and interesting!