Fix Your Form: How To Do The Perfect Pushup

If you don't know your way around a weight room, heading to the gym can be intimidating -- and even dangerous. But paying attention to a few simple rules of proper technique can make you slimmer, stronger and healthier all over.

That's why we asked John Romaniello, trainer, author and founder of Roman Fitness Systems to show us what's what when it comes to strength training.

In the coming weeks, he'll be helping us tackle some of the most common mistakes we all make while toning, plus tips and tricks for perfect form. This week, we're kicking things off with the pushup.

The Faux Pas: "With pushups, most people screw up posture," Romaniello tells The Huffington Post. "Instead of a straight line, they wind up looking like a curve. The collapse usually happens at the lower back, and is caused by a lack of attention to core strength."

The Fix: "Start with your butt higher in the air, and hit the ground chest first," he says. "During the set, actively draw the belly button in toward the spine, which will activate the core muscles."

Now it's your turn. Evaluate your pushup form in a mirror, then try the tips above. Tell us how it goes in the comments below, and be sure to check back over the following weeks to fix your squats, lunges, planks, crunches and more.

Photos by Damon Dahlen, AOL

For more on fitness and exercise, click here.

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Comments

[WasteNJ]

10:02 AM on 06/13/2012

For anybody interested in something a little different: Atemi Ninjutsu basic push up warm-up/conditioning routine:

Do the first set of 25-50 pushups just like described above, but do them on your knuckles. The added leverage will strengthen your wrists, train you to align your hand/arm for proper punches and train you to land punches on your first two knuckles. You'll also be higher off the mat, so your pushup is deeper.

Kneel and do 25 stomach strikes.

For the second set of 25-50, do wing pushups. (Back of your hand against the floor with your palms facing up) They build wrist strength and flexibility for practicing joint locking techniques as well as pain endurance, also forcing correct breathing to get through the set in the early stages.

Kneel and do 25 stomach strikes.

For the third set, do pyramid pushups. (form a triangle with your thumbs and forefingers touching each other, about in the middle of your chest)

Kneel and do 25 stomach strikes.

For the fourth set of 25-50, do these on your fingertips and try to stay light and quick, spring off the mat if you can. Go all out. These help with grip and wrist strength and tie in with "push/pull" drills that help you sense your opponent's intent and movements through touch.

That was our white belt warmup, combined with the situps, run/jump suicides, flip drills and jumping jacks. Ninjutsu's tough!

[Scotteva]

01:58 AM on 06/03/2012

Look, a Perfect Pushup is done Knuckle-Down, problem is that it usually hurst until now. Check out this product that cushions the Knuckle-Down pushup. http://bodybarefitness.com/

[meister666]

02:25 AM on 05/15/2012

this is not really the perfect pushup at all. if you are doing pushups for cardio, stamina, and strength this is clearly not the best pushup, maybe the safest for my 70 yr old mom though. I should be writing this.

[williamg]

02:13 PM on 05/13/2012

Kind of silly to call it the "perfect pushup" when there are dozens and dozens of variations of the push up -- from the standard push up, to walking pushups with a staggered stance, to scorpion pushups.

I'm also not sure who decided the perfect pushup should be done from the closed-pack, rather than open-pack position.

[PowerPridePinstripes]

06:46 AM on 05/11/2012

One of my favorite exercises -- .

[Superpac]

04:13 PM on 05/10/2012

I prefer the one handed pushup, so I can hold my Big Mac in the other hand.

[enigma2]

04:18 PM on 05/10/2012

Bravo!

[pjbobolink]

03:46 PM on 05/10/2012

This is helpful, but a video would be more helpful.

[tyson nutritionfix]

03:14 PM on 05/10/2012

I'm surprised at how close to her body her hands are, and how low they are as well.

Additionally if you're looking for improved push up performance, alternating your standard pushups with different hand positions, "Japanese pushups", pushups with leg articulations and more...

[Lalato]

03:00 PM on 05/10/2012

Looking forward to this series.

[LogicalMathMan]

02:51 PM on 05/10/2012

So, this drunk was watching a man do pushups at the local park. He watches the man for a few minutes and then walks up to him and says, 'Man, you must be drunker than I am. There's no woman under you,'

[relee2012]

02:38 PM on 05/10/2012

I'm up to 2 claps before I have to put my hands back down. Trying to get to three.

[ChknLvr]

02:35 PM on 05/10/2012

The biggest prob w/ most peoples pushups are that they significantly cheat in shortening the full range of motion.

[cubs835]

02:22 PM on 05/10/2012

i really like the rotating handles

[RealistBC]

02:19 PM on 05/10/2012

I find myself staring at our demonstration model and forgetting what the article is about.

[N0NDescript0]

01:53 PM on 05/10/2012

The picture still demonstrates incorrect form; her shoulders are shrugged. A "perfect pushup" should include shoulders that are rolled back and down, squeezing the shoulder blades together. This helps stabilize the shoulder.

Also, if you are evaluation your own pushup form in the mirror, then your form is automatically wrong. You shouldn't be looking up.

What an incredibly misleading title...like always.