Bradley Simpson

When I lived in Edmonton, Canada I remember seeing a guy busking by doing push ups. Quite a cool, novel idea I thought. Basically he would dare himself to do x number of push ups (sometimes with the help of the crowd), and then do them. I later found out that his name is Doug Pruden. He is the current world record holder for press ups on the back of the hand in 1 hour (1,807 if you are wondering). He was quite popular from what I remember. Watching a video of him now brings up an important exercise fundamental: form.

It is important you maintain ‘form’ or technique when performing any exercise. I think at some time or another we have all seen a guy in the gym whose bicep curls look more like hip thrusts, or whose bench press lowers 3, maybe 4 centimeters from the starting position. We know they are doing something wrong, but why is form so important?

For two reasons:

1. To minimize the risk of injury
2. To target a certain muscle or muscle groups.

For example, when you do a push up there are a few simple rules you should try and follow.

• Straight line heel to head i.e your feet are the pivot point, not the hips
• Neutral spine (rather than ‘straight’, as your spine has natural curves in it)
• Lowering level varies – at very least it should be 90 degrees at the back of your triceps to the ground. Some prefer chest to the ground
• Feet no wider than hips.

Now check out the video of Doug and see what you think…

I think the counting is a bit suspect too…

This entry was posted on August 9, 2007 at 6:59 am and is filed under Athletics, Bodybuilding, Exercise, Fitness, Gym, Health, Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Weight Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.