Every Marine has an opinion about the right way to do pushups, but now the Marine Corps has officially resolved the matter for all time.
The Marines' Training and Education Command on Wednesday released an instructional video showing the dos and don'ts when doing a pushup.
After a brief introduction about how the Corps' new rules allow Marines to do push-ups in lieu of pullups for their Physical Fitness Test, the brief video gets into the nitty-gritty of how to do the perfect pushup.
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In Warren Commission-like detail, the 3-minute-and-23-second video shows Marines how parallel their arms must be; how far apart their feet can be; how straight their bodies must be and other fine aspects of doing the perfect pushup.
"The body must remain rigid in a generally straight line and move as a unit while performing each repetition," the narrator says. "When viewed from the side, the body should form a generally straight line from the shoulders to the ankles."
The video also shows the proper way Marines can rest during pushups by flexing their back or sagging in the middle, as long as they don't bend their knees to the point where Marines are supporting most of their body weight with their legs.
A red circle with a line through it appears each time the Marine demonstrating the pushup breaks form.
"If the Marine rests on the ground or raises either hand or foot from the ground, the performance will be terminated," the narrator warns, as the Marine demonstrator waves an arm and leg in the air to show what not to do.
While the video should answer all of Marines' questions on how to do pushups correctly, Marines will still be able to argue about how to do the perfect pullup.
