1. Screw your hands into the floor

2. Keep your neck in line with your spine

3. Squeeze a business card in your armpit

Imagining as if you’re squeezing something super-thin—like a piece of paper—will help you activate your lat muscles to assist in the movement and to keep your upper body rock-solid.

Pull your shoulders down and away from your ears and toward your feet. Then engage your back muscles by pretending as if you’re trying to draw your shoulder blades together so they meet in the middle.

5. Squeeze those Abs

Imagine you are doing a plank and aim to keep your whole core tight.

Get into a pushup position with your glutes relaxed. Feel how your lower back is being pulled towards the floor? Now squeeze your glute muscle as hard as possible to feel your hips rotate into place and remove the stress from your spine.

• 4. Draw your shoulders back

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  The benefit: Having your shoulders shrugged up around your ears puts your neck and upper back in a compromised position. “Not only are they not working to keep your upper body as one rock-solid unit, but it’s also putting you at risk for injury, since movement in your shoulders when you perform the exercise will push your neck around,” he explains.How to do it: Pull your shoulders down and away from your ears and toward your feet. Then engage your back muscles by pretending as if you’re trying to draw your shoulder blades together so they meet in the middle.

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  5. Pull your palms to your toes

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  The benefit: It’s easy to allow your torso to sag or bow, especially when you’re performing a lot of reps or you don’t have a mirror to check your form. “But this cue actually helps you contract your core—like a mini crunch—enough to keep your back flat and your torso stable,” says De WispelaereHow to do it: After your upper body is fully in position. Try to pull your hands towards your feet by clenching your core.

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  6. Clench your glutes

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  The benefit: Your glutes play a vital role in performing a pushup, even though it might seem only like an upper-body exercise. “Squeezing them helps you lock your hips into place so your body can form one straight line from your heels to the top of your head,” explains De Wispelaere. It will help take stress off of your lower back, reducing your risk for injury, and activate your core, making the pushup as much of an abs exercise as the plank.How to do it: Get into a pushup position with your glutes relaxed. Feel how your lower back is being pulled towards the floor? Now squeeze your glute muscle as hard as possible to feel your hips rotate into place and remove the stress from your spine.

• 7. Pull your feet together

• 7. Inhale down, exhale up

  As you lower towards the ground, take a deep breath in. As you push up, quickly exhale as much air as possible.

  Repeat with every repetition during slow and controlled sets.

  8. Pull your chest to the floor

  Get into a solid pushup position. As you lower, focus on using your lats and upper back to control your downward movement to pretend as if you’re pulling yourself towards the floor.