Pushup Depth

[The Tin Man]

I recently realized that for all my life I've been doing pushups wrong (my elbows were wayyy too far out). This has caused me to think about other aspects of the form, especially depth.

As a matter of curiosity, how low do you go doing pushups? I've done chest to ground typically but that deteriorates quickly and I'm not sure how necessary it is. In my last workout I placed an object the height of my fist under my chest and lower to that to simulate how tests are done.

Another thing I do when I'm approaching failure is to rest briefly mid-set in a position akin to downward dog. This is likely more a matter of semantics but I'm not sure if I should allow myself to do this. I still typically only get 1-2 more reps out of the set when I do this.

I'm curious how others do their pushups to make them repeatable and comparable set to set. Already with correct elbow position my shoulders feel much better and I am the right kind of sore in the right kind of places after a workout.

[spezzy]

chest to deck.

always.

[The Tin Man]

very concise, spezzy.

[ebm1224]

what's your hand position? i recently had the same realization that i was doing them different every time and have tried to find some ways to make them more consistent. but it's still a work in progress.

[spezzy]

very concise, spezzy.

haha sorry, was on my phone.

so for your other question, i'd get on your knees vs. a downward dog. downward dog puts pressure on your shoulders, so isnt as much rest as it could be.

[spezzy]

what's your hand position? i recently had the same realization that i was doing them different every time and have tried to find some ways to make them more consistent. but it's still a work in progress.

i do different sets differently on purpose. more strength in the end!

[The Tin Man]

I'd say about left hand 1 o'clock and right hand 11 o'clock. Before it was textbook ruin-your-shoulders similar hand position but elbows out 90 degrees from my body. I still can't (and can) believe that was never corrected in 12 years of gym class and 4 years (3 seasons each) of high school sports. Oh well, learn and move forward.

[ebm1224]

i've been doing mine the opposite (fingers pointed slightly outwards). i'm sure they're both good. what always messed me up was when my fingers were pointed to 12. because in that position my elbows can go back or to the sides...that never seemed like a good idea esp since you could feasibly work different muscles in the same set. i could be way off though.

.

[Oogiem]

chest to deck.

Does that change for A cup vs DD or larger?

Not meant to be a joke, breast tissue is fairly compressible, even large ones. So should I squish flat or just touch the ground?

[spezzy]

Does that change for A cup vs DD or larger?

Not meant to be a joke, breast tissue is fairly compressible, even large ones. So should I squish flat or just touch the ground?

I always joke that when I have a pushup workout, I should wear a pushup bra to help me get chest to deck

I would get down as far as you can - you want a fuller range of motion. Try hand release (get down to the bottom, pick your hands up off the ground real quick and then put them down to push back up) to get an idea of how much range you should be getting

[ETFnerd]

One solution would be to elevate your hands and feet using 3 stacks of books of equal height. Then you could get your chest-bone down to the level of your hands regardless of the size of your breasts. I always thought it was a good idea to use the hex dumbells to do pushups if you are working on full range of motion to get a little lower if you are extra flexible. Some people have a freakishly long range of motion which is really evident when you watch breakdancers/popers/lockers.

[King_mob]

Chest to deck is a good one, lick the carpet is another, however it does present certain... connotations...

[161803398874989]

Chest to deck/nose to ground. Depends on head position.

[Oogiem]

Try hand release (get down to the bottom, pick your hands up off the ground real quick and then put them down to push back up) to get an idea of how much range you should be getting

OK, Thanks, barely able to do any real pushups yet but slowly getting there. Still doing incline but getting lower.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Whenever I do a workout, I try to use the fullest range of motion that those appendages can go through so I know I'm working out the entire muscle. I started chest to deck until I could do 10 push ups to get the strength to do what I do now. Now I get 3 chairs, put my feet on one and my hands on the other two. The hand chairs are spread apart enough that my chest dips down below them so I can work the outside areas of my chest that I can't what I'm just doing chest to decks. I could only do about 5 of these when I first switched, but can now do 20-25 a set.

This might help girls with larger chests that can't get really low normally as well. Also, like Spezzy said, if your are doing chest to decks, try to do releases since it forces you to go down as far as you can.

[Timmy M]

chest to deck as well, elbows about 45deg from torso and hands a couple of inches away from torso, my hand position tends to be palms inline with the bottom of my pecs for normal pushups with fingers splayed (if my fingers where together they'd be parallel to my body)

[aj_rock]

Push-up pads: One of the few extraneous pieces of equipment worth getting.

[Pat G]

Chest to deck/nose to ground. Depends on head position.

Chin to deck i would have said. Keep your head up slightly to keep your form, making sure your back doesn't round and stays on the same plane as your legs.

Don't worry about different hand positions as it will work muscle groups differently, as Spezzy says, more is better!

Basically:

Elbows out/hands wider = more chest.

Elbows in/hands in = more shoulders/arms.

For form maybe check out:

http://artofmanliness.com/2009/07/21/push-ups-exercises/

The top 4 youtube clips are ok. Below that just goes crazy.. and a little bit weird.

[wildross]

Yeah, the "jaguar" one or whatever where he touches his toes in the middle of the pushup is crazy...

[CultFit]

Chin, Chest, Hips touch evenly at the bottom. Eyes forward/looking ahead...develop this ability early on while developing your push up, it carries over well to other aspects of your training. I teach visual cues, so on that note:

Do this while lying down or standing up...Arms/Palms forward thumbs centered on your (nipples), It's a moving plank-keep it simple, elbows tucked at your sides and fingers spread wide (try to get that pinky as far away from your thumb-evenly spread them out and create a powerful base). Think-Chin, chest, hips move as one...If you lose mid line stability at any time while doing a push up, STOP! No bonus points are given for crap. This exercise alone is the best if done properly...

[Marlowe]

Don't worry about different hand positions as it will work muscle groups differently, as Spezzy says, more is better!

Basically:

Elbows out/hands wider = more chest.

Elbows in/hands in = more shoulders/arms.

Yeah, I totally agree w/that, and think that rather than thinking about what's the 'best' way to do a pushup, it's better to do a mixture of types to work different parts of the upper-body. If you find that you're naturally doing more flaring, then you should do more military/chatarunga pushups wherein your elbows go back and your hand position is closer to your heart than your shoulders.

I also use pushup stands for 80%+ of my pushups, which I like both because it's easier on my wrists and because I can dip my chest down lower than my hands so I get wider range of motion.