Scapula Pushups
My previous post on [cref 60 pushup variety] discussed several different ideas for making pushups more interesting. I’m not really sure that these count as pushups but they’re quite an interesting exercise (that has pushup in the name):
[youtube=X2BeMv3-vOw,NOLINK]
Apparently these are very good for your shoulders - not just to make you stronger but also healthier. Worth giving a go…
That’s a great exercise for ward-off. The scapula is the leaf-spring, if you will, of warding, and because of its direct connection to the spine, when one receives pressure on the writs, the scapula can tell the spine how and where to turn.
Oh I could go on and on…it’s a virtuous exercise.
Hey man - sorry for the delayed response here…
You make a really good, and interesting point, about using this to train ward off. I hadn’t really linked the exercises before but you’re absolutely right, of course!!
I should probably have said that to make it harder, if you need to, you can use a resistance band. So that would be holding the resistance band in each hand (i.e. against the floor) and looping the band across the back of your shoulders. That ways as you push up you have a little more work to do - sometimes a little is all it takes (and if you use a thicker band it can be more than a little). It’s probably not necessary, or even a good idea sometimes, to add to much resistance - keep it natural! :)
Hey guys, I don’t really understand how it helps with ward off and receiving pressure. I thought the middle and lower trapezius and some other smaller muscles helped pull stuff. Can you tell me more on what muscles around the scapulae (?) are helping with pushing instead of pulling? I thought it would be muscles mainly on the front of the body.
Well I figured some of it out. If you "pull" yourself into the finished position using those traps, your body somehow "rebounds" back up in the push. I think that "spring" that Steven mentioned happens in the pushup and in the wardoff. The "information" isn’t transmitting for me too well at the moment, due to tightness in the back, though.