Monday, September 14, 2020

Day 13 of 22: Push-ups with Scapular Extensions

Another day, another blended push-up challenge. This time we take our standard chair push-up and add that shoulder/scapula protraction that we did on challenge day seven, which turns this into a really great upper body strengthener, and yet is still gentle enough for everyone to try. The least intense way would be non-weight bearing at all, taking the arms through the range of motion, then doming the upper back (like in Cat Pose but not tucking the pelvis) to achieve activation in the serraturs anterior. 

Practicing this on an incline does activate the arm muscles and chest muscles quite a bit more, and calls the core and legs more into action. Of course, the most intense version would be horizontal on the ground (or perhaps upside down ha ha), but that's out of the scope of this class.

Hopefully you can see the extension of the upper back when I press up from the push-up; it's really a nice stretch for those muscles under the shoulder blades and your feel pretty strong in the trapezius and other supporting muscles. Then when you lower back into the push-up, you feel those muscles engage again. Two sets of eleven gets us to the end of challenge day 13! Thanks for joining!

To donate to my challenge, click here: https://fundraise.activeheroes.org/fundraiser/2872670

To start your own challenge, click here: https://activeheroes.org/22pushups/


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