S B Coaches College - Tip of the Month May 2009




		S B Coaches College Tip of the Month May 2009 Share \|

The traditional pushup may be one of the most effective total body exercise that exists. Most people tend to think of the pushup as just an upper body exercise that trains, the shoulders, triceps and chest, but it is much more than that.

The pushup is a closed-chain (hands in contact with floor) exercise that integrates the lower body and the upper body through the core. The exercise involves an isometric contraction of the lower body as well as all the trunk/abdominal muscles. This contraction is vital to maintain optimal stability so the upper body can exert force against the floor. If the trunk is weak, and other stabilizers are weak than poor performance in the pushup will easily be seen. The trunk will sag, elbows will fly out to the side and the scapulae will not move in the most efficient manner possible.

For effective pushups, the scapulae must be pulled down and back to set the scapulae and put the shoulders in the most effective position to apply force. By engaging the scapulae, you also involve the muscles of the upper back and arms to a greater degree. This is the most effective way to perform pushups for upper body development.

The pushup is also an exercise that can be trained for many different strength qualities:

relative strength
reactive strength
explosive strength
strength endurance
starting strength

and can be beneficial in developing upper body mass and true functional strength as the entire body is integrated into the movement.

The pushup can be tweaked and modified for nearly every athlete. Those that are not strong enough to perform traditional pushups from the toes can perform them on their knees or with their hands on a wall or bench to reduce the total load on the body. As strength increases, their hands can be moved closer to the floor to where the body is parallel to the floor.

Pushups can be modified in a number of different ways:
Stance - bilateral, single leg, wide feet, stacked feet, pike, etc
Implement - hands on floor, hands on db's, bands, chains
Grip - normal, close grip, wide grip, staggered
Surface - stable or unstable (medicine ball, swiss ball, etc.)
Plane - regular pushups, side to side pushups, rotational pushups, scap pushups
Limb Involvement - alternating, single arm, bilateral

Pushups are a great all around exercise and can be performed anywhere and you are only limited by your imagination. Make sure that they are apart of your training programs.
To view some different pushup variations check out myfittube.com for some great videos. At the same time you can also log in and post your own videos for others to view and learn from:

http://www.myfittube.com/Search.aspx?search=pushups