Correct Hand Position for Better Push-Ups
While wide-grip push-ups are legal exercise, many of us spread our arms too wide for the wrong reason – and end up with a less effective exercise.
According to Outside Online, this is one of the most common push-up mistakes, and the problem occurs if it makes you shrug your shoulders, which can lead to shoulder pain over time. Here’s the fix:
For a standard push-up, you must align the web of your thumbs with your shoulders. Lowering your body, spread your elbows to the sides. “We keep a close eye on any shrug and instruct our athletes to keep the distance between their ears and shoulders as much as possible,” explains [strength coach Adam] Scott. “You may not be able to do that many push-ups in this position, but over time you will be able to transfer a lot more power with this movement.”
Save the wide-grip push-ups in case you are doing them specifically to target specific muscles (they work your pecs a little more, and your triceps a little less) – and make sure you areusing the correct technique too.
You Are Doing Pushups Wrong | outside
Photo by the US Army .
Vitals is a new blog from Lifehacker dedicated to health and fitness. Follow us on Twitter here .