Strength and Conditioning Blog | BridgeAthletic

How to Do an Incline Pushup | BridgeAthletic

Written by BridgeAthletic | Jul 29, 2015 4:10:00 PM

This post marks the release of the first week of the Building Blocks Series Volume 1 powered by BridgeAthletic. Each week you and your athletes will be given the building blocks necessary for mastering the fundamental exercises that build elite athletic performance. Yes, these exercises will seem familiar, but you must remember that without a firm understanding of the basics there is no path towards greatness.

Volume 1 consists of four exercise progressions: the pushup progression, the squat progression, the body weight pullup progression, and the advanced pullup progression. Each week a new exercise will be introduced, followed by daily variations that add complexity while building strength, power, speed, and mobility. 

Exercise Progression Introduction:

This week I would like to introduce the pushup. As I am sure many of you know, the pushup is one of the most accessible but effective exercises for building base upper-body strength. It is an integral part of any athletes development because it can be done anywhere, without any equipment. The pushup does far more for athletic development then just strengthen the chest. The nature of the exercise targets an athlete’s chest, shoulders, triceps, scapula and midsection. I like to refer to this as fingertip to toe connection. We’ve all seen pushups, but we can not forget the importance of form and technique. Even for such a basic exercise, the pushup has a level of complexity that cannot be ignored, as bad form can inevitably lead to muscle imbalances and future injuries.

Join us on our mission to perfect the pushup and build better athletes.

Exercise 1: Incline Pushup 

The Incline Pushup is used to teach movement and the mechanics of the pushup by reducing shoulder pressure and engaging the athlete's core.

More Building Blocks:

Want more Building Blocks? Check out the rest of the Pushup Progression.

Day 2: Kneeling Pushup

Day 3: The Pushup

Day 4: Tempo Pushup (3/0/1)

Day 5: Kneeling Spiderman Pushup

Or download our e-book to receive an in-depth look at our full August Building Blocks!

Summary:

Thanks for joining us on the first stage of the pushup progression. We hope you and your athletes will join us as we progress towards mastery. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BridgeAthletic, Twitter at https://twitter.com/BridgeAthletic or on Instagram using the handle BridgeAthletic in order to see the rest of the progression.
 
Want Feedback? We're here to help. We highly encourage you and your athletes to share videos and pictures performing the exercises. Use #BuildBetterAtheltes in order to receive feedback and guidance from one of our elite coaches on the BridgeAthletic Performance Team. 
 
Be sure to check back tomorrow for more Building Blocks!