Sco Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Fellow Rebels, I have a question...Lately, I've been working on my push ups (because I'm pretty terrible at them in general, haha). But I've been looking at pictures and videos of people doing them, and there's one thing I can't figure out:Where are my arms supposed to be when they're bent (at the lowest part of the push up)? Close to my sides, or sticking out more? Does it matter? I notice when I try different arm angles that different muscles are used, but I can't tell what's good and not good because I don't have a lot of experience with arm strength exercises.I'd love to hear about your personal experiences/knowledge/opinions/ideas on this subject, as I'd like to know I'm working on the correct form.Much thanks! Quote "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle If you have the inspiration, you have the talent. Strive to be happy. Link to comment
Gainsdalf the Whey Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 I notice when I try different arm angles that different muscles are usedCloser to the body uses more of your arm muscles, more flared out uses more of your chest. I do closer to the body because I know my arms need work. I can do about 5-8 more with them flared though. Quote Massrandir, Barkûn, Swolórin, The Whey Pilgrim 500 / 330 / 625 Challenges: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 34 35 36 39 41 42 45 46 47 48 49 Current Challenge "No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. " ~ Socrates "Friends don't let friends squat high." ~ Chad Wesley Smith "It's a dangerous business, Brodo, squatting to the floor. You step into the rack, and if you don't keep your form, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ Gainsdalf Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 You'd be surprised how many resources you can find in-house: http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/02/15/proper-push-up/ Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
Sco Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 @ CoreyD - That makes so much sense. Thanks for the input!@ Loren - Actually it is surprising, because somehow I totally missed that article. So much for being on top of things, haha. Thanks for pointing it out to me! Quote "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle If you have the inspiration, you have the talent. Strive to be happy. Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 No problem man. After I found Nerd Fitness, I went through and read every single article before I even noticed the forum section... Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
This is Seth Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Loren is obviously our resident literature nerd... :-) Quote You ever see those guys who look like they totally used to be in shape? I'm working to get back to that... Link to comment
Loren Wade Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Loren is obviously our resident literature nerd... :-)No, that would be Clawed Bear. No joke. The dude reads everything. Quote lobro's a druid? twitter | fb Link to comment
Waldo Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Couple of tips:Don't bounce at the bottom, pause for a second. Arms excessively wide isn't good for your shoulders, when looked at from above your form should look like an arrow (↑), not a tee (T). Slow and steady is a better workout than fast. Doesn't matter how many you can do, doing good ones is the important part. Quote currently cutting battle log challenges: 21,20, 19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 don't panic! Link to comment
mikeinscho Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Couple of tips:Don't bounce at the bottom, pause for a second. Arms excessively wide isn't good for your shoulders, when looked at from above your form should look like an arrow (↑), not a tee (T). Slow and steady is a better workout than fast. Doesn't matter how many you can do, doing good ones is the important part.Agreed, get more power out of the bottom when you're arms/body look like an arrow. Gotta love that leverage. Quote AlphaMaleFTS.com Link to comment
161803398874989 Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 The position of the arms doesn't matter much. Just do what you feel comfortable with, although looking like an arrow (as described above) certainly gives you a bit more leverage.Also, I think elbows wide isn't too good for your shoulders if you haven't trained them to do so. I don't see much wrong with wide-grip pushups. Quote Quare? Quod vita mea non tua est. You can call me Phi, Numbers, Sixteen or just plain 161803398874989. Link to comment
Sco Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks everyone! After reading this I feel better about what I've been doing so far. And I'll be doing them again tomorrow, so we'll see how things go. Quote "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle If you have the inspiration, you have the talent. Strive to be happy. Link to comment
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