The Press-Up: A Standard Rarely Met

The press-up is the movement people are most confident they can already do, and the one where our standard surprises them.

Chest to the floor. Body in one line from shoulder to ankle. Elbows back rather than out. Full lockout at the top, hips and shoulders arriving together.

That is the whole standard, and a lot of capable adults cannot hit it once.

Three faults, in the order they show up.

Lack of range. If you lack the strength, don't sacrifice the full depth of press-up. Instead scale to somewhere you can get chest (not crotch) to floor and return to the top in good form.

Elbows flaring to ninety degrees. That puts the shoulder in its least stable position under load. Track them back at around forty-five degrees to the body.

The worm: chest rising, then hips catching up.

To build the movement, elevate your hands rather than dropping to your knees. Hands on a box, a bench or a barbell in a rack keeps the whole line intact and lets you press the version of the movement you are building. Lower the elevation as you get stronger. Kneeling press-ups are a good option but you need a coach to monitor form as these can really go to crap!

Everyone in the class is doing a version of this at the same relative intensity for them. The person on a 60cm box and the person on the floor are working equally hard against their own capacity, and both are getting stronger.

Where it turns up: all pressing, whether that's bodyweight or weightlifting. A full press-up transfers to a multitude of movements, plus it's essential for getting off the floor for the rest of your life.

If you want a set of five to standard by Christmas, that is realistic from most starting points. The way there is frequency rather than heroics — three or four sets a few times a week, at an elevation where every rep looks the same, stopping while they still do.

Take 10 minutes outside class and do 1 set every 2 minutes and you'll reap the rewards. If you want to start training with us, book a free fifteen minute call with Jeremy or Beth at crossfitchiltern.com.