Pushups.  The base of any fitness program.

Or is it?

Should it be?

For most beginner lifters and newbies to the gym, doing a pushup is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.  I know because any new client I have DREADS when they do pushups.  Why?  Because they are difficult to them. 

For people who are generally scared of the gym, doing something you suck at just makes it even worse.  So they don't do them.  It's our human nature to avoid what we aren't good at.

Pretty soon those newbies become mediocre powerlifters.  They love the idea of getting stronger (with a barbell). So they squat, bench and deadlift 24/7 and maybe do some accessory work.  Ask them to do a pushup... and they can barely do a set.

Those mediocre powerlifters then become pretty strong powerlifters.  And what comes with being a pretty strong powerlifter?  Immobile joints. Immobile joints lead to compensations, tightness, injuries and more.  Ask a powerlifter who has been doing this for a while to do a pushup and chances are they probably struggle.  More because of joint and tendon issues, but regardless, their mechanics and motor patterns are off.

We (the powerlifting team at Illiana Power Asylum where we train) just ran through a GPP phase.  Most everyone competed in December, so it was time for a break.  Monday had some T-pushups at the end of an upper body workout.  Wednesday had some divebomber pushups during our conditioning work.

Now, the training sessions are tough because, let's face it, none of us are in amazing condition right now.  (Hence the reason for doing GPP.)  And yet many of our newer lifters struggled.

Is that a bad thing? Does it really matter?

In my opinion, yes.  Newer lifters (whether powerlifters or recreational lifters) should develop body weight strength and never lose the ability to do a closed chain movement.  The way the scapula moves in a pushup is very different than in a DB or BB bench. With a pushup, the scap moves more freely as opposed to a bench press where we pin those scapula down for stability.  For long term healthy shoulders, it's important to keep the scapulas' ability to move in a natural range of motion.

So from a shoulder health standpoint, pushups should be a staple.  Even if it's just part of your warm-up routine.  I've seen many older powerlifters struggle with pushups because they are so locked up in the shoulder joint/scapula area that they just can't go through that range of motion without severe pain.

And those newer lifters? They should be doing them as well.  The ability to move your own body weight is and always will be important for strength and life functions.  Pushups are an easy way to build up some muscular endurance which will carry over into your main lifts.

So newbies, don't get lost in just the barbell movements.  Get back to the basics of pushups (and pullups too for that matter).  Move your body through the entire pushup range of motion. Build up with multiple sets a day if need be. Do variations of pushups as well.  Get your scapula to slide and rotate like they are supposed to so you don't have joint issues down the road.

Sometimes it's the simplest things that get overlooked when it comes to getting stronger.  The powerlifting team is about to have some fun these next few weeks of training with a lot of pushups. Stay tuned to see what we do.