The Slingshot and a Few Other Weapons

If you are not able to do push-ups correctly, dont just do them wrong in order to pass a PT test or do a workout RXed. If you have been doing push-ups wrong for a long time, doing them correct is going to be tough at first, but the hard/right is better than the easy/wrong way, that will lead to pain down the road as you trash your shoulders.

Last time, I discussed how knee push-ups are a waste of time. So what to do if you want to scale the push-up and get better? Here are a few ideas/options:

First up is---in my opinion the best option. Mark Bell, an elite powerlifter, creator of Strength Magazine and owner of Super Training Gym,  invented a device called: The Slingshot. The Slingshot is a great tool. It costs about $45, but is worth the investment. I think spending $45 now is cheap when you compare it to wasted time and money fixing your shoulder. Many powerlifters use it to raise their numbers on the bench (which you can as well), but it can be used to help your push-ups. I bought one after I had a client who could not do a single push-up. He had never done a push-up before in his life and after training with the Slingshot (and lots of coaching), he is now able to knock out picture perfect push-ups on his own. I also use it as a great shoulder warmup if I'm doing a workout that demands a lot from the shoulders. You can see a demo of Mark Bell in the video below:

If you still feel that $45 is too much money, you can improvise to build your own slingshot. If you double-up a jumpstretch band you can get a similar benefit. But, from experience you can definitely feel a difference with the Slingshot, and its benefit of helping with dips, push-ups, and bench may be worth the money. You can see in this picture how you can improvise:

A few other quick options:

The Perfect Push-up:

This is a pretty good tool to grab if you see one at a yard sale. That rotating motion that is done on the device really nails home the idea of creating torque. 

Ring Rows:

While it is a pull and not a push...I like the way it allows you to create torque in the shoulders and upon lowering allows you to really feel your shoulder and learn the difference of being in a strong/stable shoulder position or if you are in a weak position with your shoulder in the front of the socket.

Scapula Push-ups:

I think it is a great tool to not only build some strength in the scapula region, but good to gain a feel for learning how to "screw your hands into the ground" and create a stable shoulder position. I had a lot of success with this movement with a client who had a train wreck of a push-up. Once he actually felt how his shoulder worked and could feel his shoulder becoming stable, things started to click for him. He stopped bending at the elbow first and instead initiated with the shoulder. 

Just Say NO to "Girl Push-Ups"!

First of all, I apologize in advance for using the phrase "girl push-ups". Before you shoot me an angry email, I know its a b.s. term. I didn't come up with the expression or use the term with my athletes, but it is what many refer to when doing push-ups from the knees. But, now that I have your attention...

Push-ups from the knees are not effiecient and teach bad movement patterns. In the past I was guilty of telling my soldiers, upon reaching muscle fatigue to just "keep pushing from the knees". I was wrong! There is a much better way. I saw Kelly's video below a while back and it opened my mind and really brought to light how we should work with beginners to help them get better at push-ups, and how to refine our push-ups. Once I saw it, I was embarrassed that I had ever suggested a soldier do push-ups from the knees.

So, if you are in a leadership position, you instruct anyone in physical activity, or are just trying to get better at push-ups yourself...FORGET PUSH-UPS FROM THE KNEES FOREVER!!! Tomm I will share some great tools to help with the push-up. 

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Push-up Pain

So, now that we know what a good push-up looks like...how are we doing them wrong?

The main pain associated with the push-up is pain in the shoulders and elbows. In this video, Dr. Kelly Starrett describes how to save the shoulders and why position is so important in the push-up:

So...

-If the shoulders are internally rotated...push-ups=pain

-If the elbows bend first...push-ups=pain

-If the butt isnt squeezed and belly isnt tight...push-ups=pain

-If you look up and dont keep your head stable...push-ups=pain

The take away is that position is important. Not just in the push-up, but in all movements. Simply by improving your position, you can avoid a lot of the pain you experience...not to mention save yourself from pain down the road. Practice your push-ups and try to integrate these ideas to be more effective:
1. Get down, feet together and squeeze your glutes (and kept them that way throughout the movement) aka "stay tight" the whole time so you do not sag.
2. "Screw your hands into the ground" so that your elbow-pits are pointing straight ahead to create torque. This is one of the biggest errors. By doing this your push-ups will be much more efficient.
3. Initiate the movement in the shoulders, not the elbows (your elbows should be vertical, at a 90 degree angle throughout the movement).

Your Push-Ups Suck

Sorry to break it to you, but chances are-- you are doing push-ups wrong. I know it is tough to hear, but its true. It was hard for me to realize that I was doing them wrong for years (even though I could max out the PT test). But my inefficient push-ups (that were correct by military standards) was why I was always rehabbing a messed up shoulder.

So, first thing we are going to address is just that...the push-up. In the upcoming posts (and upcoming topics), the goal is to have you start to see how other communities all address the same problem. I will be posting videos of how a great triathlon coach, and a world class gymnast, a yoga teacher, a powerlifter, a physical therapist and a strength and conditioning coach all look at a movement.

Each expert will develop a slightly different correlation about how incorrect push-ups effect their specific athletes in their field. But, what I hope you see is that all of these coaches see the same big picture concept about how to do them correctly.

Over this series, we are going to break down the push-up...not just the movement, but also pain related to the movement, scaling options, recovery/prep and how the military can improve on its teaching/execution of the push-up. First, lets look at what a perfect push-up means/looks like, in order to establish a baseline of how they should look.

Here is a great part 1 & 2 video from elite gymnast/coach Carl Paoli breaking down how to do a perfect push-up:

Part One

Part Two

9/11 Iron Cross Hero Run

If you live in the Bay Area Check out the Iron Cross Hero Run on 9/11. Details are at:
http://www.resiliency-project.org/911-memorial-service/
https://www.facebook.com/TeamRWBNorCal

Team RWB and The Resiliency Project will be there. They are both great organizations.

How we here at Operation R&R are looking at problems and trying to find solutions:

Tactical athletes need to be a jack of all trades. Service members, and first responders are trained in various fields in order to be self sufficient in a time of crisis. Medics are trained in communications, just as communications soldiers are trained for medical situations. In combat and during emergencies this becomes especially important. For instance, should a communications soldier go down, another soldier will need to step in and fulfill those duties as the fight goes on.

This also applies to how tactical athletes should look at their physical training. Our community must be ready for any challenge thrown at them. In my opinion, a program such as CrossFit preps them for these scenarios, just as any good strength and conditioning coach would do as well. I am not saying CrossFit is the only program that looks at various components, but it is one that definitely does. The concept in CF of, “Constantly varied, functional movement” is what any service member must be ready for while performing their duties. But, it is also how we should be thinking about other issues and problems that we encounter. We must vary our thinking about these issue (such as looking at other fields) and think about how it relates to what we do functionally (for example- how does poor shoulder movement/body mechanics/pain affect ruck marching and shooting).

This is how we are trying to address problems here at Operation Reload and Recover. We cannot solely look at the literature of physical therapy to solve joint pain, just as we cannot only look at the literature in strength and conditioning to become a better, stronger tactical athlete. We try to blend different teachings together so they compliment each other. 

Kelly Starrett make a great correlation, that all of the problems that he sees and addresses are not new ideas at all. For example, he states, “In yoga, they aren’t talking about aligning the chakra (when putting your palms together overhead)...they figured out that position was the most stable position for the shoulder when the arm is overhead. Well, so did Olympic weightlifting, so did the swimmers, the gymnasts...and finally, now we have a chance and the ability to connect the dots on these things.” (cite)

10 years ago, we would hear about a NFL player who takes ballet or yoga. Even recently on the HBO show, "Hard Knocks", which followed the Cincinnati Bengals this year, QB Andy Dalton talks about how his wife got him started to do pilates in the off season and felt stronger throwing. Why?...Because he started to see what it meant to stabilize the shoulder and those movements helped him with full range of motion in his shoulder, which is where as a QB he makes his money. Its not that you have to do pilates or ballet to understand full range of motion in the shoulder or ankle, its just a tool to learn how and it allows an athlete to link it all together.

Stay tuned...the first thing we are going to attempt to address is the PUSH UP and start to try and connect some dots about it....