The Press Up: Mastering the Floor Before the Barbell
If you walk into any park or budget gym in Buckinghamshire, you will see people doing "press ups." Or at least, that is what they would call them. From a coaching perspective, what we usually see is a collection of "half-reps," "worming" (where the hips hit the floor before the chest), and flared elbows that look like a recipe for a shoulder surgeon's next holiday.
I want to be honest with our community: the full, CrossFit-standard press up is an elite-level movement. In my years of coaching at CrossFit Chiltern, I have found that very few people—even those who have been training for years—can perform a single rep with perfect integrity on day one. Most people "fudge" the movement to chase volume, but in doing so, they rob themselves of the structural results and joint safety we are looking for. Today, I want to break down the Chiltern Standard for the press up and show you how to scale it so that you actually build the strength to master it.
The Chiltern Standard: Integrity Over Volume
A real press up is a moving plank. It is a total-body expression of tension. At our box, we don't count a rep unless it meets three non-negotiable criteria:
- The Rigid Chassis: Your body must move as a single, straight line from your ears to your ankles. No sagging hips, and no "piking" your bottom in the air.
- Chest to Floor: We require physical contact between your sternum and the floor. This ensures you are working through the full range of motion.
- The Full Lockout: The rep isn't finished until your elbows are completely locked out at the top, showing total control of the load.
If you are doing 50 "reps" but your chest is four inches from the floor and your hips are "snaking" up, you aren't doing 50 press ups; you are doing 50 bad habits. You are teaching your nervous system that "mediocre" is the standard, and on your 5-year journey to success, that is a script we refuse to follow.
The 45-Degree Rule: Shoulder Health
The biggest technical error in the press up—and the one that causes the most "scratchy" shoulders—is flaring the elbows out at a 90-degree angle to the body (The "T" shape).
Flaring the elbows creates a massive amount of "impingement" in the shoulder joint. It traps the delicate tissues of the rotator cuff and forces the joint into an unstable position. At CrossFit Chiltern, we enforce the 45-degree tuck. Your body should look like an "Arrowhead" from above, not a "T." By keeping your elbows tucked in, you engage your lats and triceps to support the shoulder. But more importantly, this creates transferrable strength. This 45-degree angle is the exact same mechanical path we use for our Overhead Presses, our Dips, and even advanced gymnastics like Handstand Push-ups. By mastering the floor with tucked elbows, you are building the foundational software that allows you to master the rest of our programme safely.
Scaling for Success: The Roadmap to Rep One
If you can't hit the Chiltern Standard on the floor yet, do not panic. We don't want you "struggling" through bad reps; we want you "practising" good ones. We use two primary scaling methods:
- The Hands-Elevated (Incline) Press Up: This is our preferred method. By placing your hands on a box or a barbell in a rack, we reduce the percentage of your body weight you have to move while keeping the "Rigid Chassis" intact. This allows you to practice the full range of motion and the 45-degree elbow tuck with a load you can actually handle.
- The Banded Press Up: For those who are close to a full rep but need a "nudge" at the bottom, we use a resistance band looped across the hips. This acts like a "spotter," helping you out of the hardest part of the movement (the floor) while allowing you to feel the full weight of your body at the top lockout.
We avoid "knee press ups" where possible. Why? Because dropping to your knees breaks the "Midline Tension" habit. It teaches your brain that it’s okay for the core to be "soft" during a press.
