January 13, 2025, 3:05 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
There are few exercises as versatile for training the upper body as the push-up: It strengthens the arms, shoulders, core, and chest, and even the glutes and back benefit from it. Personal trainer Erik Jäger shows on FITBOOK what matters in a push-up, how beginners can ease into it, and the advanced version: the flying push-up.
The push-up is celebrated by many fitness enthusiasts as the ultimate bodyweight exercise–and hated by even more. The fact is, the push-up trains numerous muscles. It is also well-suited as a challenge exercise because you can easily compare your performance based on the number of repetitions completed–with yourself and others. FITBOOK has already reported on several push-up challenges and records. To train effectively and avoid injuries, it’s important to perform the push-up correctly. Trainer Erik Jäger demonstrates how to do this in the tutorial.
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Overview
Which muscle groups do push-ups strengthen?
Push-ups are a classic among strength exercises, and for good reason: There are hardly any body parts that don’t benefit from them. Push-ups strengthen the arms, shoulders, core, and chest; and when performed correctly, they also engage the gluteal muscles. However, as with things you think you have mastered because you’ve done them a thousand times, mistakes can creep in.
How to perform push-ups correctly
The English term push-up (German: hochdrücken) perfectly describes the movement: The body is pushed up from a specific starting position.
In the starting position, the shoulders, hips, and feet should be aligned. This alignment is maintained during the upward push. It’s crucial to ensure that the glutes don’t sag and that core tension is maintained. The upward movement should be faster than the downward movement, which should be slow and controlled. The arms should stay close to the body; elbows should not flare out. By the way, when lowering, the chest touches the ground first.
The video with fitness trainer Erik Jäger illustrates what to pay attention to in detail during a push-up:
- Hands directly under the shoulders
- Shoulders, hips, and ankles aligned
- Move slowly downward
- Chest touches the ground first
- Push arms up in a straight line
- Don’t let the glutes sag–maintain the alignment mentioned in point two
- Maintain core tension
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Which push-up variation is suitable for beginners?
For those not yet strong enough, the video tutorial also includes a beginner’s variation. Place the knees on the ground while keeping the back straight. This way, you can build strength to eventually perform a proper push-up.
Push-up variation for pros
For advanced practitioners, Erik Jäger demonstrates the impressive flying push-up, also known as the Superman push-up. Those who want to learn it should watch this video tutorial and start training! Envy guaranteed. Otherwise, pros can also try the archer push-up, which comes from calisthenics.
The video with Erik Jäger was first published in 2019.