I think the old "try to squeeze a pencil between your shoulder blades" cue makes people over emphasize the pinch and makes pressing a bit awkward, but the cue that really worked for me is the idea that I should be "reaching" my chest to the sky at the bottom. Made for a much more natural feeling arch and a great stretch, which as you mention is the whole point
A lot of people mention that always arching is bad for your "natural rhythm" of your scapula and maybe they have a point but the antidote to that is to just do pushups with protraction at the end every now and then
I think the old "try to squeeze a pencil between your shoulder blades" cue makes people over emphasize the pinch and makes pressing a bit awkward, but the cue that really worked for me is the idea that I should be "reaching" my chest to the sky at the bottom. Made for a much more natural feeling arch and a great stretch, which as you mention is the whole point
A lot of people mention that always arching is bad for your "natural rhythm" of your scapula and maybe they have a point but the antidote to that is to just do pushups with protraction at the end every now and then