From the great Girl's Hockey "Guru" I follow - Kim McCullough - (With a little Softball editing by me.) - Such a simple exercise that can help you so much!
Subject: 2 Reasons Why Girls Can't Do Pushups
Most girls' Softball players hate push-ups. And most of them aren't very good at them either.
When I tell the players I train that we are going to do push-ups in our workout, I usually get eye rolls, groans and excuses in return. Most girls struggle to do proper push-ups.
Here are the 2 main reasons why:
#1 - Poor Posture.
The main reason girls' Softball players struggle with push-ups is poor posture.
Before we get to how you are going to fix that problem, you have to realize that in order to be able to play Softball well, you actually need to have bad posture.
Think about it - you would never be able to field a ball, throw a ball, or hit a ball if you were always standing up perfectly straight with your shoulders pulled back.
Players have to let their shoulders roll forward slightly in order to be able to reach for a ball or swing a bat outside the frame of their body.
Players may need to have bad posture on the field, but they need to work on improving their posture off the field so that they can avoid shoulder injuries and back pain.
And push-ups are actually a great exercise for improving posture - when they are done properly.
In order to do the perfect push-up, your body must be in a perfectly straight line throughout the entire movement.
In order to maintain this position, players must be able to keep their core tight (I tell them to think about tightening up as though I was going to punch them in the stomach), squeeze their butts (that one usually gets a few giggles) and squeeze their shoulder blades together as they lower themselves down towards the ground. Squeezing your shoulder blades together actually activates your back muscles.
You might be thinking that pushups are an arm and chest exercise only. Wrong. In order to be able to maintain perfect position, you have to use your back muscles to take some of the load off of your arms and chest.
You'll find the pushups to be easier this way and that means you'll be able to do more of them.
Also, you can't let your head drop. This is one of the biggest red flags I see with young players trying to do pushups.
If you let your head sag down, you break the straight line in your spine that should extend from your head to your tailbone.
By breaking that straight line, you weaken yourself and will limit the amount of pushups you'll be able to do in the long run.
If you can keep your body in this perfect straight position throughout the movement, you take the load off of your arms and rely more on your stronger chest, core and back muscles to perform the movement.
The main reason that girls Softball players struggle to do proper push-ups is that they rely too much on their arm strength, and not enough on their core strength and stability. Their lack of core strength and stability can be easily seen by the position of their body throughout the push-up movement. Players either let their butts come way up into the air or they let their hips sag down to the ground - both indicate that the core muscles of the player are weak.
You may need to have slightly poor posture in order to play the game effectively, but you also need to counteract that bad posture by practicing basic strength building movements, like push-ups.
#2 - Lack of Practice
You have to practice your push-ups. You aren't just going to be able to wake up one morning at do 30 without ever practicing them.
The truth is that in order to play at the college level or beyond, you have to be able to do at least 30 perfect pushups. And those elite players can also do much more challenging versions of pushups like the close grip version, fingertip pushups and, my personal favorite, clap push-ups. Being able to do 30 regular pushups is really just a starting point.
Some of you may be reading this and thinking: she's crazy. I can't even do 5 good push-ups. Never-mind 30 of them.
The truth is that doesn't matter if you can only do 2 perfect push-ups or 20 right now.
The point is to practice so that you can improve your upper body strength.
This increased strength will help you prevent shoulder injuries, win battles on the field and hit harder.
And it also looks pretty cool when you can bust out 5 clap push-ups or win a pushup content against your guy friends.
So how many perfect push-ups can you do right now?
Figure out where you are starting from, keep track of your improvements over the course of the next month and then practice, practice, practice. Who knows, you may even start to enjoy them.
Work Hard. Dream BIG.
Your friend and coach,
Kim
Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS
Director, Total Female Hockey
Girls Hockey Director, PEAC School For Elite Athletes
