Upper Body Exercises You Could be Performing Incorrectly

by Nia Shanks | Follow her on Twitter here

Every day I step foot in the gym, I see people doing exercises incorrectly. (Or stupid exercises all together). Either they aren’t getting the most out of the exercise, or they are simply putting themselves in danger.

As a result of seeing many people (and numerous trainers) performing exercises incorrectly, I am going to make sure you are getting the most out of your workouts.

-Push-up—This very well may be the most common upper body exercise performed incorrectly. Here are some training cues to keep in mind the next time you bust out a set of push-ups (these tips are applicable to every push-up variation):

-squeeze your butt and stomach throughout the entire set; this will keep your core stable and keep your butt from sagging or sticking up

-tuck your elbows slightly towards your body; you don’t want your arms to form a 90 degree angle to your torso; it should be about a 45 degree angle

-keep your head in line with your spine; there should be a straight line from the top of your head to your ankles

-go all the way down and come all the way up

If you can’t perform push-ups on your toes, don’t drop to your knees. Instead, put your hands on a bench or a bar in a power-rack. Use the same cues mentioned above. To increase the intensity, lower the bar until you can do push-ups on the floor.

-Overhead presses—First off all, you should be doing these standing up. (If you have shoulder problems or poor thoracic mobility, I would omit these from your training). Once again, most people simply press from the wrong position. Here are your cues:

-start with your hands in front of, or just outside and in front of your shoulders

-keep your wrists straight throughout the entire movement

-squeeze your butt and stomach hard throughout the entire set

-have your elbows tucked towards your body; don’t let your arms be on the outside of your torso

-Bench press—This is a great exercise for the upper body, but most people simply don’t realize how complex this lift truly is. I myself didn’t realize how complex it is until I started training for powerlifting. If you want to perform it safely and be able to push the most weight possible, follow these cues:

-make sure you pull your shoulder blades back and down before you start pressing and keep them there the entire set; this will give you a steady base to press from

-after the weight touches your lower chest, press your heels into the ground hard while pushing the weight up

-make sure your elbows tuck in towards your body; again it should be about a 45 degree angle, give or take a little

-keep your wrists straight throughout the entire movement

-make sure your thumb is wrapped around the bar

-always keep your feet on the floor; putting your feet on the bench or in the air only puts you in a position to get an unwanted facial—don’t use the lame excuse that you are “isolating your pecs.”

There are numerous other tips for the bench press, but those are the main ones for now.

-Rows—This includes dumbbell, barbell, cable, and inverted rows. These are great exercises for the upper back and for promoting shoulder health. Put simply and bluntly, you should be rowing. Here are your cues:

-as my friend Mike Robertson says, focus on pulling through your elbows, not your hands

-as you pull the weight towards you (or your body to the bar with an inverted row) pull your shoulder blades back, hard. This is very important. Reduce the weight if you have to and do it right

-allow your arms to straighten completely at the beginning of each rep

-when your arms are straight, your scapulae should be protracted (far apart) and when you are at the end of the movement, your scapulae should be fully retracted (together)

-Chin-ups/Pull-ups/Pull-downs—These are another great exercise that you should be doing.; preferably chin-ups/pull-ups. If you aren’t strong enough to pull your own bodyweight, get a strong band and loop it around the chin-up bar. Or, you can get TRX Straps and do the assisted version. These are much better options than a pull-down. Here are your cues:

-just like with rows, pull through your elbows

-as you pull your body up to the bar, squeeze your shoulder blades back and down, hard

-if you’re doing a chin-up (or variation), touch your upper chest to the bar

-allow your arms to straighten completely at the beginning of each rep

That’s all of the exercises for today. I’ll have the most common lower body exercises that are performed incorrectly for you next time.

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