push up question

[Mookow]

I have seen people do pushups so that in the down position, their elbows are tucked in next to their chest, I have seen them done so that the bent arms are at a 90 angle with respect to the torso, and I have seen them done in almost exery other angle.

Is this more or less immaterial, is one way better than the others, or does it work the muscles differently?

 

[yobarman]

Having your arms pinned up against your chest works your triceps a lot more.

 

[yoda291]

I have this urge to say repost....yet I don't know why...deja vu?

 

[Kadarin]

I think this has been discussed before. I believe if your arms are wider apart, it will tend to work your pecs more.

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
I think this has been discussed before. I believe if your arms are wider apart, it will tend to work your pecs more.

I'm not talking about the width of hand placement, but rather what angle your elbows are at with respect to the chest.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
I think this has been discussed before. I believe if your arms are wider apart, it will tend to work your pecs more.

I'm not talking about the width of hand placement, but rather what angle your elbows are at with respect to the chest.

No way should your elbows me on a 90 angle... unless you're mentally retarded. Should be parallel to your body.

 

[trek]

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
I think this has been discussed before. I believe if your arms are wider apart, it will tend to work your pecs more.

I'm not talking about the width of hand placement, but rather what angle your elbows are at with respect to the chest.

No way should your elbows me on a 90 angle... unless you're mentally retarded. Should be parallel to your body.

since when?

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: trek8900

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
I think this has been discussed before. I believe if your arms are wider apart, it will tend to work your pecs more.

I'm not talking about the width of hand placement, but rather what angle your elbows are at with respect to the chest.

No way should your elbows me on a 90 angle... unless you're mentally retarded. Should be parallel to your body.

since when?

Well i guess if you want to work on your wrist and elbow, you should do it that way.

 

[blackdogdeek]

having arms at sides(pinned into chest, body resembles 'I' shape) works triceps(and shoulders secondarily). having elbows out(so body resembles a 'T' shape) works chest and to a lesser degree triceps and shoulders

 

[trek]

the only way I have seen/done pushups is with the elbows sticking straight out from the torso...

it's never the wrist or elbow that gets worked either way as far as I can understand it..

maybe some schematics are needed 😛

 

[PG]

Elbows way out is a good way to wreck shoulders.
Keep this in mind for benching as well. Also when benching lower the bar to the upper abs or lower chest, it keeps shoulder rotation to a minimum.


Here's another important aspect of pressing in this style. By keeping your shoulder blades together and your chin and elbows tucked, you'll have less shoulder rotation when compared to the J-line method of pressing. This is easy to see by watching how low the elbows drop in the bottom part of the press when the barbell is on the chest. With the elbows out, most everyone's elbows are far lower than the bench. This creates a tremendous amount of shoulder rotation and strain.

Now try the same thing with the elbows tucked and shoulder blades together while bringing the barbell to your upper abdominals. For most people, the elbows are usually no lower than the bench. Less shoulder rotation equals less strain on the shoulder joint. This means pressing bigger weights for many more years. I've always been amazed at trainers that suggest only doing the top half of the bench press, i.e. stopping when the upper arms are parallel to the floor. This is done to avoid the excess shoulder rotation. All they have to do is teach their clients the proper way to bench in the first place!

Dave Tate's advice