Here is a video about the correct way to do a pushup. Overall it’s pretty good, but I would a couple things. This is why you can’t just rely on Youtube University.
You can tell from her shoulders that she can definitely crank out a few pushups herself. I wouldn’t be surprised if she could do handstand pushups with ease too.
Correct Way to do a Pushup
There’s really not much of a difference between her step one and step two. In both cases she’s on her knees, the feet being on the floor or off won’t change the amount of weight you’re pushing up. The slight change comes from bring the legs together versus wide, which will make it slightly harder.
As for her arm position. Long ago I learned from Steve Maxwell that it is best to keep the arms by the sides. With the arms out, it places all the stress on the shoulders with external rotation and when done for too many reps can lead to injury. I’m not saying this way is wrong, as it’s commonly stated that wider pushups you’ll feel on your chest more, just something to be aware of. That brings me to my next point…
“You can never do too many pushups” – I wouldn’t agree with this statement. What a lot of people need, because we spend all day long on computers, is actually the opposite motion, i.e. ROWS! If you only do pushups you’re going to put your body out of balance. And there is a point where there is too much, several people, especially in the military suffering over-use injuries because of doing too many pushups.
What this videos shows right is a simple progression for the correct way to do a pushup. And it hits on keeping the body straight, not up in the air or sagging down. For more on bodyweight training click here.