Congratulations, you have advanced to the 5th level of our push up challenge, the Full Range Push Up, or better known as the traditional push up. We have been talking about push up as one of the best bodyweight exercises to improve strength and develop upper body muscle. In order to bring the push up to a wider audience, we’ve developed a 10 Level series that allows you to gradually develop strength and attempt more challenging push ups.
Previously we wrote about the Partial Range Push Up. The next level exercise is the Full Range Push Up. After overcoming the Final level of the partial range push ups, step over here and test yourself with some classic push ups.
Performing
Go down on your knees, place your hands in front of you, then raise the legs of the ground and straighten them. Keep your feet together, your arms straight, shoulder-width apart, and just under the shoulders. We again maintain a straight line from your legs, knees and back, all the way to your head. This is our starting position.
- As you breathe in, slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself down until the chest almost reach the floor. Try using a baseball or a tennis ball the first few time to get a feeling for the correct depth;
- Once you touch the ball, hold for a second and start to slowly return to the starting position, while breathing out. Continue repeating until you reach your reps goal.
Exercise Notes
Everyone knows the classic push up. It’s been around for thousands of years, and it has persevered until today because it’s simply a great exercise. It’s brings benefits for the whole body, and it’s especially effective in developing the arms, chest and shoulder muscles. Considering how many muscles we are using, make no mistake, this is a complex exercise and you need a proper technique to reap the full benefits. Difficulty-wise, we are only half way there; however this is an important milestone. The full range push-up will also benefit your core the way planks do, and is the springboard from which we’ll tackle the more advanced levels in the series.
Training
| First level | 1 set of 5 reps |
| Second level | 2 sets of 10 reps |
| Final level | 2 sets of 20 reps |
Technique
While everyone knows of the full range push up, most people are making basic technique mistakes. If you cannot keep a straight line from the legs to the head and maintain proper breathing, go back again to the final level of the partial range push up and the plank alternatives. When doing the 25 push ups of the final level, start to gradually move the basketball (or soccer ball) from your pelvis towards your head. Do it slowly, inch by inch, while maintaining the same number of reps. When the ball reaches your lower jaw, you can proceed with full range push ups.
After overcoming the Final Level of the full range push up, continue with the next exercise – the Close Grip Push Up.
Melissa Bell
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