Most people who don’t do pushups a lot, end up making these mistakes…
I’m not sure if you’re one of them or not, but it’s worth taking a look.
Bodyweight exercises are safer than using massive weights, but even doing a simple pushup exercise incorrectly can lead to some unnecessary aches and pains.
Take a look…
Your question of the day: Go do a pushup and see if you’re making these mistakes! Come back and tell us what happened!
Click here, scroll down to the bottom of the page and leave your comment now!
Live Awesome!
Kevin
8:02 pm on December 12th, 2008
Kevin, I am paraplegic, so don’t think I can do pushups, but I agree totally with you regarding finding the things you do right (rather than wrong). Of course, your show is based on right/wrong in educating people to live healthy. I just want you and Annemarie to know how I appreciate your work!
Thanks,
Linda
8:37 pm on December 12th, 2008
kevin, you are in such killer shape! my push-ups? yeah, not so pretty! but you’ve definitely given me some excellent pointers.
thanks!!
8:40 pm on December 12th, 2008
Hey Kevin, I loved the show today. My favorite part is where you said find what is right don’t always look for the wrong, if we aa a world would do that we would be so much better off in so many ways. Much love to you and Annmarie.
Karen
8:43 pm on December 12th, 2008
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I think I just found out why I keep hurting my upper back and neck when I do push ups. The first error you mentioned is exacting what I was doing!
Ally
8:45 pm on December 12th, 2008
I meant to type … exactly… I have been on the computer all day… think my eyes need a rest! opps
9:02 pm on December 12th, 2008
Kevin -
I am guilty of ALL 4 mistakes at one time or another, especially when trying to exercise while I’m tired. Thank you for the “reminders”. They may seem simple, but it’s good to do a check-up every so often.
9:02 pm on December 12th, 2008
Thanks Kevin for the tips. I’ve probably been swinging my elbows out a little to far, but it seems easier for me now to do it that way. I’m sixty years old and haven’t been doing pushups for awhile, but like to do twenty or so when I do exercise. As a side note, diplomacy, tact, or social skills are in short supply these days, because a lot of people see them as a weakness and so never developed them.
9:26 pm on December 12th, 2008
i love it .you did a great demo of the push-up . i will pratice now.
9:40 pm on December 12th, 2008
I do not do pushups Kevin, i am just not strong enough to do them properly.
I also want to apologize for the person who assumed you drank carrot juice and did not know the content of sugar.. That person was wrong on both counts, there will always be the odd negative person looking to put down another. Thank God they are few and far apart.
9:50 pm on December 12th, 2008
Thanks for this Kev!
Being aware of our mistakes (or potential mistakes) is a step in the right direction for ‘getting it right’!
As far as your juice is concerned – I’d like to make a comment:
Even if you did have carrot or apple in your juice…does that mean you have a sugar addiction? My guess is not – but it’s all relative!! A breatharian might think your green juice was not-so-great.
I think green juice is one of the best things ever! – and my green juice happens to have apple in it. ;-P
10:01 pm on December 12th, 2008
OK Kevin. I did some pushups for ya…up for the challenge. Would love to be able to do this better and improve this. What I find a hindrance is that I had whiplash from a car accident years ago and I find there is a little strain on my cervical vertebrae when I do them and also my shoulders crack a little. I’m sure there is a way that I can strengthen the muscles around my neck and also somehow get rid of the cracking (not bad but just notice it and have no idea what this is caused by). Very few people talk about strengthening the neck so that they can do the pushups better. Any ideas on how I can improve the neck strength so I can improve the pushups? I took your 4 points into consideration as I did them, making sure to keep my arms close to my body, going down fully, not arching or showing my butt off
I am a 45 years old and I did do them with the weight starting on my knees versus my feet like the guys do. I’m sure I’ll get to being able to do them on my feet in a little while as this has actually been a “to do” item on my list of improving my strength. So if you have any tips bring ‘em on! Thanks and love your show!
10:15 pm on December 12th, 2008
Thanks for this info. – I love this series! I just started a new exercise routine (getting the New Year’s resolutions underway early!) which includes push-ups and yes, with elbows out. Now I’ll start doing them correctly!
I’m another juice fan and always include 2 or 3 carrots, or an apple in my quart to quart and a half of green juice. If I keep my sugar intake limited to that, I would say it’s not anything to worry about. Of course I don’t always limit it to that, but I still believe I’m treating my body extremely well, and try not to fret about an extra sweet here and there. I believe state of mind can have more effect on our health than diet anyway, so “don’t worry, be happy”!
11:25 pm on December 12th, 2008
How do you know you’re not pushing the Earth two feet away from you while keeping your body completely still? Just kidding.
Thanks for the tips I’ll pay attention.
On a more serious note, people who like to point out other peoples “flaws” be it valid or not (which in this case is not at all valid) are only trying to compensate for their own insecurities. Don’t take it personally. We love you, you love you… that’s all that matters. My S-Dad has a saying… “peoples opinions of you are none of your business”
peace
John
P.S. We still want to know how much weight in greens you go through in a day or week. Suggestion… do a show at the Co-op.
12:03 am on December 13th, 2008
I was doing mistake #1.
Thanks
Andre
Kingwood, TX
3:17 am on December 13th, 2008
Okay, I know you are really sick of the whole agave nector thing. But I just wanted to point out that Mike Adams at Natural News just put out a new article about agave nector sharing the other side of the whole debate. According to Madhava, a raw agave producing company, states that there is no starch even in the agave nector, therefore there is none to be extracted. The company states that all they do in terms of processing is removing the excess water from the agave nector. There are no chemicals and no processing, no starch being removed. I know that you believe that we don’t need any extra sweeting in our diets, but the reality is that many people are going to sweeten anyway. I mean, David Wolfe adds agave nector to many of his chocolate bars, because without it, the cacao would be much too bitter for the average consumer. I am in no way trying to really promote either side. But I do feel that if people are going to consume a sweetener one way or the other, than a natural source would be indeed superior compared to something like sugar. Then again, I am not toally sure my position on this argument, but I still find it interesting to discuss it as more information regarding agave nector surfaces. Please let me know, if you are not sick enough to still talk about the agave nector “saga”, as new information may develop.
5:06 am on December 13th, 2008
Hi Kevin,
I also think there are degrees of everything! For me having carrot, apple and green juice tastes delicious, and being new to juicing I think that is a great way to start. I feel better for it. I still maintain drinking carrot/ apple juice is better for anyone than having a candy bar! might have the same amount of sugar but what of the nutrients!!
I would rather slowly convert someone with something delicious than but a green juice there and they would never try a freshly juiced fruit again. I enjoy celery juice a lot, yet my husband dislikes it. So I compromise and he gets more carrot and apple with his celery. I have a question what greens do you juice? I tried savoy cabbage which created a lot of disagreement….
Any recommendations.. I would appreciate it.
Love Sonja
7:35 am on December 13th, 2008
Kevin, I somehow dropped off your email list so had to resign up. I got an email about your borscht soup which sounded good, but now I can’t find the email that had that demonstration and recipe. I couldn’t print it out at the time because I was out of cartridge ink. Can I still get that recipe?
Also, you sent me for signing up one of your favorite episdoes which was about getting iron through diet. I live in Ohio and we went to the Amish country this week. I bought some blackstrap molasses (never had tasted it) because the Mennonite lady who sold it to me said that her mother made all of them take a teaspoon a day for iron and other things for the blood. I doubt that it’s raw but I thought it interesting. I bought some to try it.
Thak you Kevin for waht you do. Love getting your emails.
8:48 am on December 13th, 2008
Thanks Kevin for clearing up the push up mistakes. I was one of those people that kept my elbows out to far. I was never really sure how to do them properly. I would also like to thank you for all you do in helping us stay fit and healthy.
9:34 am on December 13th, 2008
Thanks for sharing. I enjoy your site.
10:02 am on December 13th, 2008
Loved your point on assumptions. Assumptions truly are the mother of all… um, you get my point.
People need to investigate more and assume less.
Anyway, great show. Keep it up.
1:51 pm on December 13th, 2008
Great show Kevin – I like this series.
gotta love John’s comment above – “peoples opinions of you are none of your business”
how true!!!
hugs, dede
2:20 pm on December 13th, 2008
I don’t understand the point of drinking a gallon of green juice a day — seems more like a waste of time (digestion) and money.
It is foreign for humans to consume THAT large a quantity of greens a day, as our guts have evolutionarily contracted over time leading to efficient enzymatic processes for digesting cooked food and, what is likely responsible for our greater brain sizes as well.
Juicing is totally unnatural. Just eat the greens…cooked or not, but preferably not juiced because then you’re putting into your body an unnatural amount of greens that you otherwise couldn’t have eaten (1 Gallon! sheesh!).
Juicing is really not all too different than the processes that go into making vegetable oils — wherein you are consuming a proportion of fat that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get from eating the vegetables alone, as there just isn’t much of any fat in vegetables. So it takes an extreme amount of vegetables just to extrude a tiny bit of oil fat.
Why go backwards evolutionarily?
2:22 pm on December 13th, 2008
Hi Kevin,
I love your positive attitude… which is just as important as food when it comes to health. Negativity, in the form of anger, sadness, criticism.. can counter any amount of effort a person makes towards health through diet. Negativity can turn a person more acidic in a minute, even if they are eating all the best organic whole foods in the world. It is so important for people to adopt a positive attitude if they truly want to improve their health.
I’d just like to share a strategy I learned from Dr. Mercola’s site that has greatly assisted me in determining whether a food is nutritious or not. His rule of thumb is to consider what else is in the package, ie.. vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients.. When you compare carrot juice to agave nectar, this rule of thumb shows pretty clearly which one of the 2 foods is better for your health. Of course, it is always best to eat food closest to its original state.. So, would I give up eating carrots because they are too high in sugar? No.. I would give up eating cake.
PS.. I also love your new theme on Fitness Fridays. Like one of the earlier posters, I do pushups from my knees. Would there be any additional tips you would give a person who does pushups this way?
1:11 pm on December 14th, 2008
Hi Kevin! Thanks for the push-up tips…I can’t try any at this moment because my 6 month old baby has just fallen asleep in my lap, but I’ll try them the first chance I get. If I’m not strong enough to do one correctly, should I keep doing them incorrectly or not at all? Maybe, for clarity sake, (the next time you mention something you personally consume), you could tell us more details about it…like whether or not you actually use a juicer that extracts the fiber from the juice; or if you use your vitamix to make your juice keeping the fiber intact? And maybe you’re drinking that much juice because you’re cleansing your system, and want to give your digestion a break for a few days? I guess if I wanted to fast for a few days or a week, I’d drink that much juice too, and nothing else. Peace and Love, ~Laura Sutton
2:55 pm on December 14th, 2008
Dear Kevin,
How do you wash your greens and other veggies? I just use water and a veggie brush, but I’ve been wondering about using a bit of dr. bronner’s or something. What do you think? The kale is so wonderful this time of year. Yum!
I must play devil’s advocate about sugar addiction. Comparing sugar addiction to alcoholism or other drugs is hyperbole and it minimizes the horror of true addiction problems. How many kids have been abandoned or wives beaten because of sugar? None. On the other hand, everyone has seen the devasting effects of alcoholism within their community or even immediate family. And as far as drugs like cocaine, horrific acts of violence and dishonest behavior are committed in order to feed that addiction.
So while I agree that Americans consume way too much sugar, that too much sugar compromises health, and that people need to be conscious of their compulsions, we can lighten up a bit on enjoying sweets.
Rather than berating ourselves about enjoying a sweet treat, if we find ourselves craving sweets, we can ask ourself the wonderful question you posed, “What part of my life needs more sweetness? Reflecting on the answer to that question can bring real change.
best,
debra
4:07 pm on December 14th, 2008
I’m finding this series really helpful. I sooo make the first pushup mistake you mentioned and I didn’t even realise it! Thanks Kevin
I totally agree with what you said at the beginning of the episode. There’s no need to look for ‘wrong’ in everything. Some people are just misinformed and like to advertise that fact to others.
12:03 am on December 15th, 2008
What the heck was that that Tim said above? Good Grief! Thanks for your hard work, Kevin.
6:19 pm on December 15th, 2008
Hey Guys,
I just want to say something to everyone out there. Kevin is kind enough to share his viewpoint on issues and what is working for him throughout all the shows and emails. He is not a dictator or setting up some kind of dogmatic rules for anyone to follow so let’s all stop finding fault with what he is doing because there is none to find. Whether he is drinking carrot juice or not doesn’t matter. He is doing a really good thing with getting information out there to us that he feels is important to spread so relax all judgements. Nobody says you have to agree 100% with what he says so…chill : )
Love ya Kevin & Annmarie
9:06 pm on December 15th, 2008
I always like to think of the other side, so I’m glad the guy posted his assumption so you could correct the error of it. Some would have made the wrong assumption and just not ever come back to this site and then miss out on all the good stuff here. Maybe a question would be better than an assumption so we all could benefit from the it?
9:30 pm on December 15th, 2008
Hi Kev,
This is my first post. I just found your show a couple nights ago. Thank you and AnnMarie for all that you do. True renegades!
Really good tips on push-ups. I was definitely pushing my elbows out too far and I think that’s why I wasn’t seeing any change. I started doing them right the night that I saw the show and I felt a difference almost immediately! I am a LMT and in my massage the next day I could feel it in my arms. Veyr cool.
I also wanted to comment on what you brought up at the beginning of your show. I understand your frustration with that poster assuming that you drank carrot juice. You are working really hard to deliver an important message and it sucks to have someone try to break you down. But really I think you can look at it as a good thing-I mean, this person is asking questions! He wants to know the truth and challenge information that is given to him about health! He is also a renegade, although a mistaken one, and I think it’s great that he is raising him voice in question instead of blindly following. It is obvious to me that you are passionate about health and I look forward to learning from you but I will never follow blindly, I will always ask questions, and I think ultimately that leads to the most productive and beneficial relationship for everyone. Rock on, you guys! You are awesome!!!
10:58 pm on December 15th, 2008
I’m a little backlogged in my email so I actually saw this a little late, but I do have something to say of a little more serious tone than usual. I hope whoever reads this can hear me with an open heart.
I have been an audience to the health and natural healing world for several years now. I have not done this because it was fun or interesting or a new fad or something I heard of to lose weight. I have worked very hard to heal myself of so called “chronic, digenerative diseases”, and I have cured things I was told by medical doctors were incurable. I have spent years doing this, which required a great deal of diligence and open-mindedness. And even though I am not finished with my work on myself, I consider myself a success.
I did not accomplish any of my feats by finding the “wrong” in anything but the things that contributed to the illness I was experiencing. It was very difficult for me to learn what I learned and carry it peacefully. I have had to learn how to dissolve my charge around what I think I know, and let people have their own experience. It was ultimately entirely about what worked for me and what did not, and adjusting my world view.
In this journey, I have tried so many things, I’ve almost lost track. It took so long for me because I didn’t just take every person’s word for it that I came accross. I had to learn to listen to my body, and grow my intuition. I had to learn what I wanted my discernment to look like. I took what seemed in alignment with me at the time, and I left the rest. That is the power and beauty of discernment: choice. We are priveleged to have it.
My discernment looks like something that tries to stay open-hearted, and open-minded, as best as it can, in order to obtain the highest good for myself and share it with others. This is what I believe most of us in the natural health movement are doing, to which Kevin is no exception.
In my opinion, it does not serve anyone to be aligning with the negative. I have never heard of the healing powers of pessimism. I do, however, know that it is hard for a lot of people out there to have hope. I know it is hard in the face of things that feel insurmountable, in a place where you feel powerless, to maintain hope and believe that help is available and that you can be happy. But you can. And you are more powerful than you know.
What I mean to say is that life is a buffet of all kinds of amazing things. There are things at the buffet that some of us love, and there are things that make some of us gag, and there are some that are neither here nor there. That’s why we don’t take some of everything. And if we do, it’s because we want to experience it, regardless of whether it tastes like the perfect thing for us or not. But usually, we take what we want, and leave the rest.
These are offerings. Everything put out in the world with the intention to serve or help is an offering. We don’t have to take everything offered to us. It is up to the individual to decide if they want to or not, and whether or not to attach a “why” to it. We don’t have to point fingers at eachother and tear eachother down because we think things are wrong. “Because” is just a story anyway. We have the power to build ourselves, and that is part of what this incredible revolution is about. We ARE powerful. It isn’t about anyone but you.
Kevin,
Thank you very much for everything that you are doing. You are a pioneer, and a true renegade, and a true-hearted soul. All the best to you in this journey. Thank you for sharing all that you do.
Love and light,
~Season (RawSeason)
5:52 pm on December 17th, 2008
I found Tim’s post very interesting. Food for thought! Thanks!
12:03 am on December 18th, 2008
kevin, I’ve been doing pushups for years! NOW I find out I’ve probably been doing them wrong. I wonder if it has anything to do with the tingling feeling in my upper back lately .. doesn’t “hurt” but I feel a RUSH back there, so I definitely think something is out of kilter. I think my elbows have been going out, my head down, and I tried doing it the “correct” way .. I couldn’t do it! Whaaa! I need to see a video of myself .. how do I really know how I’m doing it? Since I do pushups only really, my back is really too built up I think, too … can’t wear sexy little shirts.
10:56 pm on December 18th, 2008
The only issue I see me doing wrong.
Is I have a habit of bending my head down.
Also when doing allot of push ups I do not go all the way down when I get over about 25.
The dog climbing on me also does not help.