Emma’s Exercise
“The Push-Up Prep”

Push-Ups at the Wall.

Let me make a statement about push-ups. It does NOT matter how low you go! Let that sink in!🤯

What matters is how low you can go keeping your form clean! You have to be able to maintain your shoulder stability and your core connection throughout the entire exercise!
This awareness is what is necessary for EVERY move you do with you have your hands on the earth-downdog, plank, tabletop,etc.

The wall is the best place to facilitate the awareness it takes to be able to complete a push-up with your absolute best form! This will insure that the exercise is not only SAFE but EFFECTIVE as well.
⚠️Just because you’re at the wall doesn’t mean it’s easy!⚠️

Your main focus will be be on your shoulder blade stability. To keep them stable, practice firing your serratus to get your scaps in neutral and then to keep them there once you add the movement. The question is, can you do a push-up without moving your shoulder blades? This is a dynamic stabilization-your blades may move but make it minimal.

Position-I advise you to start close to the wall. Your hands are about shoulder distance apart and in line with your shoulders. Your pelvis and spine are in neutral. Get a connection with your hands on the wall by gently pressing them on the wall. Feel your serratus firing. Keep that sensation as you lower down and press up.

Focus on this for now. This takes tons of awareness. You should have minimal movement in the scaps/blades.

Just know-as soon as you begin your descent many parts of your body will be tempted to move out of alignment.
If you go so low that you lose your core? That’s TOO low! If you go so low that you lose your shoulder stability? That’s TOO low! If you go so low you lose your ribcage and oblique connection? That’s TOO low!

Imagine you are a plank of wood as you are lowering down and pressing up. No other parts of your body move. They are just going along for the ride! The only place that is moving is at your elbow joint!

Once you can figure this all out, then you may take push ups down to the ground.

Have fun practicing!