Push-Up Plus

Push-Up Plus: So führst du sie aus

1. 1Start in a high plank position with your hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward, and wrists stacked directly under your shoulders.
2. 2Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and align your body in a straight line from head to heels — avoid letting your hips sag or pike up.
3. 3Lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows at roughly a 45-degree angle from your torso, keeping your elbows from flaring out wide.
4. 4Descend until your chest is one to two inches from the floor, maintaining full-body tension throughout.
5. 5Press the floor away to push yourself back up to the starting position, fully extending your elbows.
6. 6At the top — once your elbows are locked out — push your upper back toward the ceiling by spreading your shoulder blades apart as wide as possible; this is the "plus" component.
7. 7Hold the protracted position for one second, feeling your serratus anterior engage along the sides of your ribcage.
8. 8Retract your shoulder blades to return to the neutral starting position, then begin the next repetition.
9. 9Complete all reps with controlled movement and a full scapular protraction at the top of every rep.

Technik-Tipps

• Exaggerate the "plus" at the top: think of pushing the floor away even after your arms are straight, rounding your upper back slightly and spreading your shoulder blades as far apart as possible.
• Keep your core rigid the entire set — a sagging lower back turns this into a spine compression exercise rather than a chest and serratus drill.
• Use a slow, controlled tempo (2 seconds down, 1-second hold at the top) to maximize muscle tension and ensure you don't skip the protraction phase.
• If full push-up form is difficult, perform the movement from your knees; the "plus" component is equally effective in the modified version.
• Focus on breathing: inhale on the way down, exhale as you press up and protract your scapulae at the top.

Häufige Fehler

• Skipping the scapular protraction at the top: this is the defining feature of the Push-Up Plus — stopping at lockout without protracting defeats the purpose and fails to target the serratus anterior.
• Flaring the elbows out to 90 degrees: this places excessive stress on the shoulder joint and reduces pectoral activation; keep elbows angled roughly 45 degrees from the torso.
• Allowing the hips to sag: a collapsed core shifts load onto the lower back and breaks the straight-line alignment needed for proper muscle recruitment.
• Rushing through reps: moving too fast makes it impossible to execute the protraction hold and reduces time under tension for the target muscles.
• Retracting the scapulae on the way down instead of staying neutral: aggressively pinching the shoulder blades together during the descent can impinge the shoulder; allow a natural, controlled lowering instead.

Häufig gestellte Fragen