Pushup

FOUNDATIONAL · BOTH PATHS

Why it matters · Operator The bedrock upper-body endurance test. Every SOF selection course measures it. Builds the pressing strength used to push off the ground, push a stuck door, push a casualty up onto a stretcher.

Why it matters · Longevity Pressing strength predicts fall recovery in older adults better than almost any other movement. The plank position trains the trunk to resist extension under load, which is protective of the lumbar spine for life.

Form cues

• Hands directly under shoulders, fingers spread
• Body forms one rigid line from heels to crown
• Glutes and quads actively squeezed throughout
• Lower until chest grazes the floor, elbows tracking back at ~45 degrees, not flared
• Press through the full palm; lock out without losing the line

Common errors

• Hips sagging or piking, usually a core failure (sometimes ego)
• Elbows flared to 90 degrees from the body, which shifts load to the shoulder
• Partial range; chest must touch or come within an inch
• Head leading the descent; keep ears stacked over shoulders

Path A scaling Begin at wall pushups (standing, hands on wall, lean and press). When you can do 3 × 15 cleanly, move to incline pushups with hands on a sturdy chair or counter. When 3 × 15 on a chair is easy, progress to incline on a low step, then to knee pushups, then to the floor. Patience here pays compound interest.

Path B scaling Begin at standard pushups from the floor. Once 3 × 15 is comfortable, introduce decline (feet elevated on a chair). For variety: diamond pushups for triceps, archer pushups for unilateral loading, and tempo work (3-second descent, 1-second pause at the bottom) before chasing decline.