I think I'm doing push-ups wrong

Jordu

Okay, so I'm relatively new to the whole "exercise" thing, but so far I think I've been making good progress. It's just that, I noticed while doing push-ups today that I was feeling most of the strain in my abs instead of my chest. I don't know a lot about exercise form, but I'm pretty sure that's an indication that something is wrong.

Does anybody have any ideas as to how I could do push-ups (or push-up style exercises) differently so that I don't strain my abs while doing them? Also, why might my abs be hurting when I do the push-ups (I think it's from trying to maintain a flat back while doing them, but I'm not sure)?

Jordu

BUMP

AbiNichole

Your abs should be strained a bit when doing push ups. You're in a plank position. Make sure that your arms are under your shoulders and that your back is flat. If you don't feel your abs working at all you're probably doing them wrong.

90poundsoflard

This link should give you some good pointers. There's also a video that shows proper technique.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201103/killer-abs-try-some-push-ups