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Article from the book: ONE HUNDRED FUNCTIONAL PUSH-UP 100 ways to do bending on the upper limbs in a functional way. Illustrated manual for fitness professionals and personal trainers AUTHOR: Nicolò Ragalmuto Publisher: NonSoloFitness editrice |  |
Push-up is a free body exercise that has long been used for strengthening the upper limbs.
Unlike what it may seem, this exercise does not only affect the upper limbs, but affects almost all the muscles of the body.
In fact, if on one side the upper limbs work in a dynamic way (mainly the muscles of the arms, shoulders and chest and to a lesser extent those of the back and forearms), there are other muscles that instead work as stabilizers and are therefore activated in isometric mode (static).
These stabilizers are represented by all the muscles that make up the trunk and the pelvis.
When there is an excellent synergy between these muscles it is possible to have good control of one's body; therefore it is easier to maintain the right balance without creating imbalances and therefore, when push-up is performed, regardless of the movement of the upper limbs, the trunk and the pelvis always remain in the same position of right balance, in respect of the curves make up the spine (fig. 1 and fig. 2).
When, on the other hand, the muscles of the back, of the paravertebral, of the square of the loins and of the hip is hypotonic, therefore not trained, the position that is assumed to perform the push-up results with the pelvis too high (fig 3).
When performing push-ups with this type of posture it is easier to create damage to one's own body rather than benefits, given that one works in a situation of disequilibrium where the forces are at the expense of the lumbo-sacral tract.
The same is true when the abdominal musculature is hypotonic and the position assumed to perform the push-up results with the pelvis too low (fig. 4).
Here the position assumed is of an attitude of lumbar hyperlordosis which is also very harmful to the spine.
These two executive errors are very frequent in untrained subjects but they are equally frequent in trained ones.
For example, subjects who train exclusively with isotonic machines do not have good control of their stabilizers, since they are never activated because of work that is restricted and excludes the ability of neuromotor coordination.
Moreover these two positions can be assumed even when the musculature of the upper limbs turns out to be lacking and even if the subject has a good control of his stabilizers he assumes the wrong position as compensation for this hypotonia.
To avoid this, the exercise can be performed by placing the knees on the ground (fig. 5 and fig. 6), so that the forces on the trunk are smaller due to the lever that - being shorter - loads less both on the upper limbs than on the trunk, while ensuring greater stability.
The correct execution, therefore, is with the hands resting on the ground with a width slightly greater than that of the shoulders, forefoots resting on the ground, with lower limbs slightly apart from each other, trunk, nape and pelvis on the same line, looking towards the floor in the center of the hands (fig. 7 and fig. 8).
