Those Years I Couldn't Do Push Ups

There were several years that push ups hurt my right shoulder. I avoided them all together for a while, but once GAIN opened in early 2015 there was no more hiding, I found myself demonstrating push ups daily.  I would wince through the pain and only do a few. Then I noticed something weird. When I demonstrated hands elevated push ups, hands on a barbell inside of a squat rack, I never had that all-too-familiar twinge in the front of my shoulder. On top of that, my mechanics felt smoother, my shoulder blades were engaged better and having the hands elevated allowed for me to get more practice in without it taxing my body.

I started doing push ups on our kitchen counter while watching TV and was always sneaking some reps in. Over time, my push up technique changed drastically. I needed to develop motor control and build strength, and doing a normal push up was too aggressive and it took years to figure out. After practicing for a while, never really trying any, I got brave and would occasionally sneak some reps of real push ups in.

They felt better. To the point that I would send Alex and Taylor videos of me doing push ups asking if I was cheating the reps. They felt too easy to be good ones I said. Turns out getting a couple years of solid practice was just what my body needed.

I’m much better at push ups now, and do them all the time. When you’re working in the gym, and you’ve got your hands elevated on the bar, it can feel like you’re never going to get a rep on the floor. Keep practicing, this stuff takes time. If you already own some great push ups, you can take on this mindset too, your technique can always get better.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain