pushup questions

[ebm1224]

a couple questions i have about pushups:

1) when i do them, my weight seems to be almost entirely in the heel of my hand and towards the outside. is that correct or should it be more centered?

2) i currently do pushups on my knees but i hope to work up to full pushups eventually. how do i know when i'm ready to make the leap?

[mediumrarephoto]

when you lay flat on the grown what is the position of your hands relative to your body

[mcdrew]

Sounds like your hands might be too far forward. Make sure when your flat on the ground your hands sit on the same line as your chest? Check out convict conditioning! Videos on YouTube if your not really interested..

[161803398874989]

Hand position on pushups is fairly simple. Just get on all fours and your hands will pretty much be in the position you need them to be. Don't worry about the angle of your hands. Some like fingers pointing to the front, some inwards etc. but that doesn't have much impact on the actual exercise.

[Wrecked]

2) i currently do pushups on my knees but i hope to work up to full pushups eventually. how do i know when i'm ready to make the leap?

Just start doing them, if you're doing 10 pushups but only manage 4 full pushups continue on your knees for the remainder, I always used to aim to do double the remainder as I classed them as half pushups. Then next time aim for 5+ before going to your knees.

[Timmy M]

also make sure that you aren't flaring your elbows out, keep them about 45deg from your bdy, not the 90deg that a lot of people do which can damage your shoulders

[LRB]

Another pushup question -- my wrists don't flex all the way to ninety degrees without significant pain. Do I need push-up bars, should I do knuckle pushups, or what? Thoughts?

[spezzy]

Another pushup question -- my wrists don't flex all the way to ninety degrees without significant pain. Do I need push-up bars, should I do knuckle pushups, or what? Thoughts?

you need to figure out what's up with your wrists, and work on getting them flexible enough.

have you tried this: http://www.sensational-yoga-poses.com/images/asana-wrist-extensor-stretch-1.jpg

[ebm1224]

someone posted a video awhile back on here that showed hand positioning with index fingers pointed toward 1 and 11 like on a clock. this seems to help elbow stay close to the body as opposed to sticking out. is this the ideal way to go about it? it seems like everyone and their grandmother does pushups a little differently so maybe it's no big deal. but, yeah, i try and get my hands under my shoulders and maybe slightly wider with fingers pointing toward 1 and 11. i feel like if i bring them any further back, like towards my knees, i won't be stable. i guess time will tell.

also, this is weird but i have this bit of fat on my upper arm near my inner elbow. it's below my bicep so i'm not really sure how to make it go away. i guess just time and lots of push ups but any advice would be great since it makes me look chubbier than i am.

[weirdquark]

If you can't do full push-ups yet, I'd do incline push-ups (with your hands higher than your feet, so leaning against a counter or table or a step depending on what sort of incline you need) instead of push-ups from your knees -- the progression of lowing the incline makes the transition easier.