Kneeling Push Up

DESCRIPTION/INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Kneel on the ground and place your hands about shoulder width apart.

2. Hold your body in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.

3. Cross your feet behind you.

4. Lower yourself down by bending your elbows until your chest touches the ground, then press yourself back up.

HELPFUL CUES:

1. Squeeze your abs during this movement. Think of push-ups as a moving plank. Don’t let any part of your body move besides your arms.

2. Once you’re pretty confident with these, start progressing with push-up negatives, incline push-ups, or another more challenging variation.

COMMON MISTAKES:

1. Sticking your butt back behind you. This shifts your center of mass backwards which means you’re only pressing a small fraction of your body weight. Even if you’re only able to do a couple of reps with good form, it is much better to just do that than it is to do more reps with bad form.

2. Sagging your hips down towards the ground. This is incorrect as it takes tension off of the abs. Keep your body tight.