Does a push up only count when..

strawberrygashes

You go very low down, nose touching/almost touching the floor? I've been improving my pushups, but don't go down THAT low. I also focus it all in my core, so its my stomach muscles that hurt way more than my arms. I thought I was doing a good job, managing between 8-15 of these. But now I'm not sure if I'm doing them properly. I go down about 3 inches from the floor.

BeautifulKristen

I think it counts when you do them. I don't think it matters on how far you go down. Even if you go on your knees it still counts..

dpwellman

The lower you go the harder it is. Fuller the range of motion the more the benefit, but there's always a benefit no matter how low you go.

I, personally, only go down so far my nose is about 4-5 inches from the floor.

gungho66

I say they count , your nose does not have to touch the floor. In the military some will allow you to touch your chest but your arms have to be at a 90 and the rest of your body straight and tight with your feet together. Basically chest out, butt down, head up.

THE MOVEMENT
• Contract the thigh, gluteal and stomach muscles.

• Inhale on your way down, with your body moving as a single unit, maintaining a straight line from your ankles, through your waist, to your head.

• Form at least a 90-degree angle at the elbows.

• Exhale as you push up through your underarms, keeping even pressure on both hands as you return.

• When training, the movement should be slow. Count “one-two” up and “one-two” down.

• Only two things should be moving: Your arms, and the rest of your body

• Remember: Good form isn’t optional. “As soon as the body sags, the exercise is over,” says Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise.

COMMON MISTAKES
Even with the basic push-up, a lot of things can go wrong. Some of the most common, according to the experts:

• Going too fast

• Dropping down too low

• Not raising up high enough

• Leading with the head

• Misplaced hands

• Flaring the elbows too far out from the body

• Dropping the hips

• Piking, or lifting the rear up

• Relaxing core muscles

99clmsntgr

The instructor for the fitness camp I go to wants chest to ground for it to "count" (I guess that gives the gals an advantage over the guys :laugh: ), hands under or just barely outside your shoulders with no wiggly worms (keep a straight plank line - shoulders to butt to feet) and puts much more emphasis on form and range of motion over how many you can do (once you get the form down, you start keeping track of rep counts during the AMRAP sessions). His order of preference for getting a push-up done:

1. Fast with good, full-push-up form
2. Slow with good, full-push-up form
3. If you struggle with good, full-push-up form, fast reps with good knee push-up form (drop onto your knees from your feet, maintain a straight plank line shoulder-butt-knees)
4. Slow reps with good knee push-up form.
5. There is no 5, just use good form, damn it.

He works either 2-3 smaller sets (usually asking for 10-15) as part of our warm-up. During the actual work-out, it's usually AMRAP on a time interval. The emphasis on good form comes in toward the end of the work-out when you're almost an hour in and fatigued out of your gourd. If you can only get out 4 or 5 good, proper form push-ups in a 30 second set, it's much better and more effective than ripping out 15 wiggly-worms.

You said you're feeling it in your core, which is a good thing. This means you're probably using proper form the entire time. The abs and lower back are what's going to hold your body in a good plank through out the motion. I would think, from what you described, you're doing them properly and doing alright. If you're worried about whether or not you're going deep enough, think about what the other poster said (have your arms gotten to 90°?) and does your chest at least come close to touching the ground? If not, try pushing a little deeper. It's OK if you do a little fewer reps to get full range of motion, you'll build up the strength you need as time goes on (I will honestly say that after Lord knows how many years of doing half-assed push-ups, I think I've gained more strength in the last 6 months since I jumped up to boot camp from the runners camp. Proper form works).