Push-ups are easy.  After all, you just plop down on the floor and press yourself up, right?

Not so fast.

Many use push-ups to develop their upper body, especially the pressing muscles like the pecs, deltoids, triceps, etc.  However, we also know that they’re great for development of the muscles surrounding the scapulae and the rotator cuff, too.

But if our only goal is to develop the big, showy muscles of the upper body, why not just bench press?

The inherent value of performing push-ups from a total body perspective is that they force you to stabilize your entire body.  We know that many people suffer from core weakness or instability, and push-ups definitely put those issues on display.

In my opinion, push-ups are not only a great real-world, functional assessment, but an exercise that most should have in their training programs.

Here’s a quick video of how you can improve the stabilization patterns in your push-ups.  I’m going to make it a priority to use more video for all you visual learners out there, so hopefully you enjoy the video (and a bit of humor as well!)

While this video is short and sweet, I hope it adds another tool to your coaching toolbox.

What other cues do you guys and gals use to improve people’s stability while doing push-ups?

I look forward to your thoughts and comments below!

Stay strong

MR

(Lead photo courtesy of Katy Warner)