On a scale of 1 to NASCAR they’re not very exciting. They’re not exciting to perform, much less write about. You think I want to sit here and write about push-ups?
I can think of a litany of things I’d rather write about:
Standing in line at the Post Office.
Rugs.
Buying socks.
Attending another kid’s clarinet recital.
Alas, given the pickle we’re all in at the moment (everyone’s training at home with access to minimal equipment) and the tsunami of push-up tutorials and variations making my eyes bleed on social media I felt it prudent to add my quick two-cents on the topic.
As much as I may bellyache on the push-up I’m actually a huge fan.
There’s a bevy of benefits.
They’re one of the more user-friendly exercises out there, require no equipment other than your body, can be easily progressed or regressed depending on the needs and ability level of the person performing them, are gluten free, and, maybe most important of all, have a superb carry-over to both everyday and athletic pursuits.
I’ve been coaching people for 18+ years and I have yet to come across a client/athlete who’s improved their efficacy in performing a push-up and not seeing a noticeable improvement in their ability to execute sexier lifts like squats, deadlifts, you pick.
A push-up done well improves lumbo-pelvic control (canister position or stacked joints) which then helps with force transference which then helps with…E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
Poor Torso Position:Lower back arching, anterior pelvic tilt (porn star). Thanks to the folks at Mark Fisher Fitness for the porn star analogy.
But this isn’t even the main mistake I want to point out.
Everyone points this one out and I am wowing no one here.
Here’s the One I Wanted to Point Out
Performing them with pants on.
Why?
What’s the benefit of wearing pants?
Tell me.
TELL ME!!
Okay, the REAL Thing I Wanted to Point Out
Another bonafide benefit of the push-up is it’s proclivity to bolster one’s overall shoulder health.
Sometimes (but really almost always) whenever someone comes to CORE to work with me in person due to a shoulder that hates them, I’ll watch him or her perform a push-up and I’ll inevitably see this:
Other than the obligatory game of connect the dots you could play with the “beauty” marks on my back, what do you see?
SPOILER: Two shoulder blades that are glued together.
THIS is the mistake I see most people make. The (in)ability of the shoulder blades to upwardly rotate and move around the ribcage.
The shoulder blades are meant to move. This cementing effect can spell trouble:
Overactive rhomboids, which feeds into scapular downward rotation syndrome.
Ligaments of anterior shoulder capsule become lax and are more prone to injury.
A part of my soul dies.
Instead, what I prefer to see is something like this:
(Kudos to my wife for the Stanley Kubrick’esq camera work).
The subtle “plus,” or protraction (pushing fully away) at the top of the push-up is MONEY for Serratus Anterior activation which then helps nudge the scapula into upward rotation (as well as abduction).
The result is a proper push-up and most likely a pair of shoulders that will feel infinitely better.
If I had to choose a Mt. Rushmore of people who are badass at push-ups it would go:
Rocky
He-Man
T-1000
Meghan Callaway
Just like her previous product – The Ultimate Pull-Up Program – Meghan leaves no stone unturned with regards to innovative ways to train the push-up.
Whether you’re a newbie or seasoned pro you will be challenged by this program. And, if you’re a fitness professional you’ll pick up a ton of ideas when it comes to programming.
It’s on sale this week at $50 off the regular price…HERE.
For an amuse bouche of some of the variations Meghan covers in her program check out her guest post below.
5 Advanced Push-Up Variations You Might Not Have Tried
Push-ups are one of my favorite exercises.
Not just bodyweight exercises.
ALL exercises.
Push-ups are versatile and effective, and are certainly not boring. Push-ups require no equipment, so they can be done anywhere, anytime.
In our current world where most people are working out from home, push-ups and minimal equipment exercises are the perfect solution! Once you have mastered the fundamentals the sky is truly the limit, and there are countless advanced, innovative and fun push-up variations you can sink your teeth into.
Here are 5 advanced push-ups you might not have tried.
#1) Russian Push-Ups
This totally badass push-up variation absolutely torches the triceps, and requires a lot of lumbo-pelvic stability.
Coaching Tips:
Get into a plank position from your hands and feet.
Position your hands so they are slightly closer together than during regular push-ups. In the bottom position, your elbows and upper arms should remain tight to your sides.
At the top of the push-up, your shoulders, elbows and wrists should be in a relatively stacked position.
Your weight should be evenly distributed throughout your full hand and fingers, not just at the base of your hands/wrists. Pretend you are trying to spread your full hands and fingers to the floor.
Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and squeeze your glutes.
Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth (behind your upper front teeth). This subtle trick can make keeping your head and neck from collapsing much easier.
Descend into the push-up and retract your shoulder blades. Think about lightly drawing your shoulder blades together and towards your spine as you are performing the eccentric component, but do not overdo this movement.
Once your upper arms are approximately parallel (or slightly closer) to the floor, press your body backwards and touch your forearms to the floor. Your feet should glide along the floor during this component.
Then pull your body forward and perform the reverse movements so your elbows are directly over your wrists and forearms are in a vertical position. Then press back up to the starting position. As you are performing these movements, do not sink into your shoulders, and do not allow your body to collapse towards the floor.
When you are pressing your body away from the floor and are returning to the top position, protract your shoulder blades. Think about spreading your shoulder blades apart and moving them away from your spine and around your ribcage.
Do not keep them pinned.
For the duration of the exercise, your body should remain in a straight line from the top/back of your head to heels.
In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
#2) Archer Push-Ups
This advanced push-up is a great progression if you have the goal of being able to do one arm push-ups. While one arm is performing the majority of the work, the other arm is providing some assistance.
Coaching Tips:
Get into a plank position from your hands and feet.
Position your hands so they are significantly wider than shoulder width apart.
On the side that is going to be doing the push-up, your weight should be evenly distributed throughout your full hand and fingers, not just at the base of your hand/wrist. Pretend you are trying to spread your full hand and fingers to the floor.
Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and squeeze your glutes.
Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth (behind your upper front teeth). This subtle trick can make keeping your head and neck from collapsing much easier.
Descend into the push-up by bending one elbow as you would during regular push-ups, and straightening the other elbow
On the side that is performing the push-up, think about lightly drawing your shoulder blade towards your spine as you are performing the eccentric component, but do not overdo this movement.
In the bottom position, your elbow on the side that is performing the push-up should be positioned over your wrist, and forearm in a vertical position. Do not allow your elbow to flare out.
Your other elbow should be fully extended (but not hyperextended).
On the side that is performing the push-up, once your upper arm is approximately parallel (or slightly closer) to the floor, press up and return to the starting position.
On the side that is performing the push-up, when you are pressing your body away from the floor and are returning to the top position, protract your shoulder blade. Think about moving your shoulder blade away from your spine and around your ribcage. Do not keep it pinned.
Exhale after you have pressed away from the floor and as your body is returning to the top position of the push-up.
For the duration of the exercise, your body should remain in a straight line from the top/back of your head to heels.
#3) Longer Lever Push-Ups With Feet Elevated
This advanced push-up really isolates the triceps, and requires a lot of lumbo-pelvic stability. I upped the ante by elevating my feet on a couch.
Coaching Tips:
Get into a plank position from your hands and feet, and elevate your feet against a wall or couch.
Unlike during regular push-ups (or even triceps push-ups), position your hands so they are very close together, and so the fingertips of your thumbs and second fingers in both hands are touching, and form a triangle.
At the top of the push-up, your hands should be significantly ahead of your shoulders, and your elbows should be fully extended.
Your weight should be evenly distributed throughout your full hands and fingers, not just at the base of your hands/wrists. Pretend you are trying to spread your full hands and fingers to the floor.
Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and squeeze your glutes.
Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth (behind your upper front teeth). This subtle trick can make keeping your head and neck from collapsing much easier.
Descend into the push-up by bending your elbows, and fully touch both forearms to the floor. In the bottom position, do not allow your elbows to flare out.
Once your forearms are completely on the floor, use your triceps to press up and return to the starting position.
Exhale after you have pressed away from the floor and as your body is returning to the top position of the push-up.
For the duration of the exercise, your body should remain in a straight line from the top/back of your head to heels.
#4) Negative 1.5 Rep Push-Ups + Band Resistance
Coaching Tips:
Place a resistance band under your hands, and so it is resting just below your shoulder blade area. Make sure that the band does not interfere with the movement of your shoulder blades.
Choose a resistance that allows you to use proper form at all times.
Get into a plank position from your hands and feet. Position your hands so they are shoulder width apart or slightly wider.
At the top of the push-up, your shoulders, elbows and wrists should be in a relatively stacked position.
Your weight should be evenly distributed throughout your full hand and fingers, not just at the base of your hands/wrists. Pretend you are trying to spread your full hands and fingers to the floor.
Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine), and squeeze your glutes.
Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth (behind your upper front teeth). This subtle trick can make keeping your head and neck from collapsing much easier.
Descend into the push-up and retract your shoulder blades. Think about lightly drawing your shoulder blades together and towards your spine as you are performing the eccentric component, but do not overdo this movement.
Aim to lower yourself down in 3-5 seconds. Once you reach the bottom position of the push-up, press halfway up, then return to the bottom position, and then finally press up to the top/starting position. This is one rep.
In the bottom position, do not allow your elbows to flare out.
When you are pressing your body away from the floor and are returning to the top position, protract your shoulder blades. Think about spreading your shoulder blades apart and moving them away from your spine and around your ribcage. Do not keep them pinned.
For the duration of the exercise, your body should remain in a straight line from the top/back of your head to heels.
#5) Single Arm Push-Up Iso Hold + Band Resisted Towel Slides
This exercise is SO much tougher than it looks, and requires a lot of lumbo-pelvic stability, and shoulder/scapular stability. If you don’t believe me, give this a try ;).
Coaching Tips:
Place a resistance band around your wrists, and place one hand on a towel.
Position your hands so they are shoulder width apart or slightly wider, and get into the bottom position of a push-up. Tuck your chin, and keep your neck in a neutral position.
Your elbows should be positioned over your wrists, and forearms in a vertical position. Do not allow your elbows to flare out.
On the planted side, your weight should be evenly distributed throughout your full hand and fingers, not just at the base of your hand/wrist. Pretend you are trying to spread your full hand and fingers to the floor.
Lightly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth (behind your upper front teeth). This subtle trick can make keeping your head and neck from collapsing much easier.
While holding in a single arm push-up position, perform a slide out with the other side. Go to a range where you are able to maintain proper form.
For the duration of the exercise, your body should remain in a straight line from the top/back of your head to heels.
For the duration of the exercise, keep your core muscles braced (360 degree brace), and squeeze your glutes.
In terms of breathing, do what works and feels best for you.
First things first: I received a shipment of freshly minted TG “Because Heavy Things Won’t Lift Themselves” t-shirts this week.
My cat looooves them.
Don’t worry, I’ll knock $5 off any shirts with cat hair on them….;o)
The first round resulted in some high-praise, and I’m pretty sure will be featured in NYC Fashion Week later this year. Or, I don’t know, maybe not,
Either way, they’re badass and you should totally get one.
How to Order
**Note: t-shirts are Next Level brand made with tri-blend material.[footnote]For optimal pec and bicep showiness.[/footnote] Women’s sizes are available (M, L)
Here you get more options of the material you’d prefer (cotton, tri-blend, t-shirts made from the belly-button lint of Ryan Gosling), sizes, as well as varying apparel options (sweatpants, sweatshirts, tank tops, etc).
And international orders are TOTALLY acceptable here.
I applaud any fitness professional who goes out of his or her’s way to broaden their expertise repertoire. However, there’s a dangerous precedent that many teeter on where now we have personal trainers providing “shitty physical therapy” (<– to quote Nick Tumminello) and not staying in their lane.
This article by London-based trainer, Luke Worthington, hits the nail on the head.
I can’t tell you how many times I receive messages from trainers and fitness enthusiasts alike whenever they come across pictures like the one above, and inevitably write me a message along the lines of “WTF I can’t believe a trainer would have a professional athlete do something like this!”
Lets hold off on the pitch-forks and understand that CONTEXT is everything. Nice post by Michael on this one.
Sure, they have a time and place…but truthfully I’ve always hated the kneeling push-up (or “girl” push-up).
I feel they set a poor precedent out of the gate and their connotation speaks to”oh, you’re a girl, you’re fragile, we’re going to do “girl” push-ups.”
Screw that.
PS:
I’ll be in Philadelphia this weekend (Sunday, April 24th) at War Horse Barbell presenting The Shoulder: From Assessmentto Badass workshop.
If you have nothing better to do – or are sick of eating cheesesteaks – spots are still available, and you can go HERE to sign-up.
Also, Dean Somerset just put his stellar resource – Post Rehab Essentials 2.0 – on sale ($50 OFF regular price) from now through this Sunday. Easily one of the best resources on assessment and “corrective” exercise programming out there today. Check it out HERE.
I know I’m going to come across sounding like a broken record here, but I’m going to repeat myself nonetheless.
There’s only a little over a week left to take advantage of the early bird special for mine and Dean Somerset’s weekend workshop up in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) on October 19-20th.
The Boston version held a few weeks ago was a huge success, and we’re looking for more of the same this go around. Don’t believe me, just ask some of the people who attended:
“Dean and Tony are not only two of the brightest guys in the field, and they’re also two of the most entertaining. Newer trainers will get brought up to speed on progressive training strategies and take away hands-on coaching techniques. More experienced coaches will benefit from Tony and Dean’s refined understanding of more complicated concepts. The only part that was weird was at the end when they made everyone do a group hug for 10 minutes, but after they explained it was really a “mind meld,” we all understood. Don’t miss this seminar!”
– Han Solo, Capt. Millenium Falcoln, Tony Gentilcore BFF
You can click on the link provided below for more of the nitty-gritty details (and to register), but suffice it to say: CEUs will be offered, you’re going to learn a ton, and it will undoubtedly be a fantastic opportunity to network.
This is something I struggled with when I first started as a trainer, and it’s something that we address here at the facility with each incoming intern class.
As a coach I think it’s crucial to place a premium on technique and making sure people are performing exercises correctly, but at the same time it’s really easy to fall into the trap of over-coaching, sometimes to the detriment of the athlete or client.
I felt this article hit the nail on the head, and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who trains people for a living.
It’s no secret that I love me some push-ups. Well, ice-cream is probably on top of that list (with old school Transformers cartoons a close second), but somewhere in the mix is push-ups.
I think they’re a fantastic assessment tool, as well as one of the best bang-for-your-training-buck exercises out there. Sure, many guys will poo-poo on the push-up deeming them “too wimpy,” but it’s eerily universal just how many of the same guys can’t do them correctly, let alone for a set of ten without wanting to pour battery acid into my eyes.
In this article, my boy Lee gives his case for why push-ups deserve to get some more love.
My girlfriend has been away for a month travelling Europe, and after putting my HAZMAT suit on and cleaning the hell out of our apartment I picked her up last night at the airport.
I’m taking today off from work (and blogging) so that she and I can, “reunite.”
BOM CHICKA CHICKA BOM WOW.
[Lucky for you I was fairly productive while she was away, and today I have another article I wrote, this time for T-Nation, about a couple of my favorite “glue” exercises. What are “glue” exercises. Click HERE to find out.]
Push-ups are like the Rodney Dangerfield of the fitness community – they get no respect.
Often deemed a waste of time, or worse, “too easy,” push-ups are generally an after-thought with regards to exercise selection. I mean, who has time to do push-ups after four sets of bench presses, seven sets of incline presses, and 14 sets of decline presses? Dude, everyone knows you have to hit all the angles!
What’s more, if you really want to blast the pecs, you can’t forget dumbbell flies, cable flies, and the pec dec!!11!1
Sarcasm aside, it’s readily apparent that push-ups aren’t quite as “sexy” as their bench press counterparts, and aren’t considered a high priority for most trainees when it comes to getting their pecification on.
Heck, they’re not even in the same stratosphere as the bench press. I mean, when was the last time you walked into your gym and saw someone rocking some legit push-ups? Let alone perform them correctly, or with any external load?
Yeah, I thought so. You’re more apt to see a Real Housewife win a Pulitzer.
Nevertheless, if I were to make a top five list of exercises that give you the most bang-for-your-training-buck, push-ups would easily make an appearance. For starters, most people can’t do them correctly, let alone do them for reps, so that alone means something.
Ironically, people have a tendency to do what’s easy and what they’re good at. Push-ups, for all intents and purposes, are considered “easy” by most standards…
….but not a lot of people are good at them.
Most of the time you see the following: for the visual learners in the crowd, refer to the picture to the right.
1. Head juts down
2. Excessive lumbar curve
3. No scapular retraction (or protraction)
4. Abs “sag” (rectus abdomimus picks up the slack for woefully weak external obliques)
5. Limited range of motion (it looks more like an epileptic seizure than a push-up)
While I’m not going to break it down joint by joint and cue by cue, here are some standard things to focus on when trying to perform a proper push-up:
Keep chin tucked – don’t poke it towards the ground
Abs should stay tight or braced (sometimes I’ll gently tap the stomach to help the trainee engage their core)
Squeeze the glutes (provides more posterior pelvic tilt and keeps people out of lumbar extension)
Hands/elbows should be directly underneath the shoulders.
Likewise, hands should be around shoulder width apart
Knees should be locked and legs in a straight line.
The backside should make a straight line. Here, I LOVE using a PVC pipe to place on people’s backs so as to teach them what a neutral spine should feel like. There should be three points of contact – the back of the head, in between the shoulder blades, and the sacrum*** Photo courtesy of elitefitblog.
Elbows should NOT flare out during the set. Instead, they should stay tight to the body, or at a 45 degree angle.
Chest touches floor on every rep
NOTE: For those interested, you can check out THIS post where I discuss some push-up variations for women (and men) who can’t yet perform a standard push-up from the floor.
Moving on (because I don’t want to make this a “how to” post), compared to the bench press, push-ups are a closed chain exercise, which offers a gulf of advantages, particularly with regards to scapular kinematics and overall shoulder health.
In short, when you’re lying on your back performing a bench press, your shoulder blades aren’t able to move – they’re stuck in place.
Conversely, with a push-up, the scapulae are now able to move more freely, which has huge dividends towards overall shoulder health.
It’s not uncommon for someone to walk into the facility complaining of debilitating shoulder pain (in no small part to the amount of benching they do), only to realize that they can perform push-ups pain free.
Thirdly, push-ups offer a lot of variety. Whether I’m working with an elite athlete, a newbie, or with someone who has a bum shoulder, push-ups offer me a lot of leeway, and I can make them as easy (or challenging) as I want. Literally, the options are endless.
Lastly, and arguably most important of all, from a anterior-posterior perspective, push-ups are a fantastic way to train the core in a more functional manner, as you have to learn to “engage” all the stabilizers in the lumbo-pelvic-hip area to achieve better pelvic alignment.
With this established, the prime movers now appear stronger because the stabilizers are doing their job and force is more easily transferred.
Suffice it to say, I really feel that push-ups should be a staple in everyone’s programming, and it’s unfortunate that they’re often dismissed altogether.
That said, while the first step is to make sure that everyone can perform a push-up correctly (see points above), lets be honest, they can be about as exciting as watching paint dry. Sometimes we need to kick it up a notch, and with that in mind…..it’s not uncommon for us to make them more challenging by adding things like bands, chains, etc.
When those aren’t an option, here are some other variations I like:
T-Push-Ups (with DBs)
The first point to consider is that DBs aren’t necessarily mandatory here. For some, just using body weight alone will be challenging enough.
Even so, the key thing here is to make sure that the body is locked into place. A HYYYYYOOOOOGE mistake I see is when trainees tend to rotate with their lumbar spine first and then with their upper torso.
Instead, what should happen is that the rib cage should be locked into place with the lower back so that the entire body moves in unison.
From there, I generally shoot for anywhere from 4-5 reps/PER SIDE.
1-Arm Bodysaw Push-Up
This is definitely one of the more advanced push-up variations we implement at Cressey Performance, but one that’s definitely popular amongst our athletes and clients.
Obviously, having access to a slideboard is useful, but not mandatory: purchasing a ValSlide or even a pair of those furniture glider thingamajigs would be advantageous (not to mention cheaper).
Here, all of the same rules apply with regards to push-up technique, but with the addition of the slideboard, there’s a definite increased challenge on core stability (especially with the increased range of motion). Additionally, there’s a bit of a unilateral component which is unique and something I feel is important to consider.
Again, much like the t-push variation above, I like to implement sets of 5-6 reps per side.
Push-Up Kickthrough
Admittedly this is a variation that I’ll only typically use as part of a metabolic circuit, but it’s still kind of badass (despite the Katy Perry playing in the background).
The premise is pretty standard – perform a push-up, and then bring the contra-lateral knee towards the opposite elbow – maintaining a neutral spine as best you can, of course.
I prefer to do this version for time (20-30s) as part of a circuit, but you can certainly shoot for a standard # of reps per side, too.
And that’s it. While I could easily sit here and plow through 20 more variations, those are just a few (hopefully) new push-up variations you can start to incorporate today. Just so we’re clear, though, I still feel it’s imperative that people learn to do REGULAR push-ups correctly. Once that’s in the bag, the options are endless.
Q: Question about push-up frequency. I am into my fifth month of olympic lifting and while I am home for the summer from school I am working out on my own. One thing I want to do is bring up is my chest, but I don’t want to bench much because I am still working to fix a minor bit of kyphosis in my T-spine.
I work as a manual laborer and I’ll be doing a program either two or three days a week for the O-lifts (waiting for my coach to send it), so basically I was wondering what would be a good volume to use with pushups and their variations to bring up my chest? I have a 45 lb vest and gymnastics rings to use as well. Thanks!
A: Okay, first off – I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re a college student (hence, the “ I’m home for summer from school” comment) – and, if that is in fact the case, what the heck are you doing spending your summer doing manual labor?
Dude, one word: Lifeguard
I did it for seven straight summers through high school and college and all I have to say is: Best……summer….. job……..EVER. Well that, and being the personal pull-up spotter for whoever this girl is in the picture below (which was featured on t-nation.com last week).
Seriously, whoever took that picture deserves the Nobel Prize……..for being my idol.
Okay, with that out of the way, lets get to more pressing matters – your question!
While adding in some push-ups would be a great way to “bring up” your chest – I’d argue that if you take a grenade approach and address your kyphosis and t-spine mobility, you’d give the illusion of increasing its size.
Let me briefly explain.
Almost without fail, on a weekly basis we have some new client start up at the facility who, inevitably, goes out of his way to say he wants pecs that can crush diamonds – you know, as if having an impressive chest is somehow going to help him throw a baseball harder, or improve the chances that girls will want to hang out with him.
More often than not, it’s usually some impressionable teenage kid who reads way too many Musclerag articles (Top Ten Moves to Chisel Your Chest!11!!!1!), but we also get our fair share of weekend warriors who have spent the past 15 years sitting in front of a computer – in flexion – perusing various fitness forums into the mix, as well.
Guys want pecs – it’s inevitable. It’s akin to women and handbags – there’s just some unforeseeable gravitational pull that can’t be avoided.
The thing is, though, when it comes to developing an impressive chest, sometimes (not always), benching – or any dedicated exercise that targets the chest – is the last thing many trainees need to be focusing on.
To be perfectly frank, if you’re walking around with a sunken chest, protruded (rounded) shoulders, and otherwise have the posture of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, then there are other things that I feel would help.
If anything, I’d focus more on the following (a little outside of the box thinking):
1. Lots and lots and lots and lots (i.e: a lot) of horizontal rowing. Really, this is something that I feel most trainees can’t get enough of. As I noted above, many of us are stuck sitting in flexion all day, and it makes absolutely no sense to head to the gym only to perform movements that promote more of the same.
A general rule of thumb is to perform one pulling exercise (1-arm DB row, for example) for every pushing exercise (bench press). In this instance, I’d be more inclined to use more of a 2:1 or even 3:1 (pull:push) ratio to help offset the imbalance.
By implementing more pulling exercises into your programming you’ll undoubtedly strengthen the posterior muscles in your upper back, which will then help to pull the shoulders back – and, as alluded to above, give the illusion of “bringing up your chest.”
2. What’s more, it only makes sense that you’ll want to hammer tissue quality in the form of foam rolling – particularly in the upper back and lats.
In addition, things like quadruped extension-rotations (done right), side lying windmills, walking spiderman with hip lift and reach, as well as some dedicated manual therapy/soft tissue work on the pec minor, upper/lower traps would be in high order.
3. Too, I’d look into any anterior pelvic tilt you may be rocking. This is something that often falls to the wayside, but if you’re in anterior tilt (hyper extension), the spine is going to compensate by going into hyper kyphosis in the t-spine.
So, seemingly, you could help your kyphotic posture by working on your hips. As such, some dedicated hip flexor stretches, as well as TONS of glute activation work would be kind of important.
4. Additionally, from a programming standpoint, again, you’ll want to focus on posterior chain stuff. The glutes in particular, help to posteriorly tilt the pelvis, so it only makes sense to focus on movements that will strengthen that area.
Movements like pull-throughs (preferably held for time at the top of each rep) and 1-legged hip thrusters are fantastic. Also, one major mistake that many trainees make is not “finishing” their squats or deadlifts with their glutes. As a result, when coaching someone, I like to use the cue “get your hips through,” or “finish with your glutes,” which often helps.
5. Lastly, and arguably most important of all, you can’t forget to hit the anterior core. People often forget that one of the roles of the rectus abdominus (RA) and obliques is to posteriorly tilt the pelvis.
Note: see a pattern here? Much like the glutes – which are often weak and inhibited – the RA and obliques are as well, so it’s Janda’s Lower Cross Syndrome to a “T.”
To that end, things like pallof presses, chops/lift, and roll-outs (starting with ball rollouts and working your way up to ab wheel rollouts) would be great options.
Of course, this isn’t to say that throwing in some push-ups on a daily basis is going to throw a monkey wrench into things. As it happens, I’d much rather you perform loaded push-ups than bench presses. But at the same time, the post above was just to get you to think outside the box a little bit. What’s more important: push-ups, or fixing the actual kyphosis as it relates to your chest development? That’s the question.
