PUSHUPS MAXIMUM: making the best out of bodyweight push ups

PUSHUPS MAXIMUM: making the best out of bodyweight push ups

A key to gaining mass is to aim for a high volume of work while lifting weight that is heavy enough to challenge the muscles. You also want to keep the rest somewhat brief in between sets to get the full pump in the muscles…this is the optimum condition to put on size quickly.

However, the problem with bodyweight exercises like the push up is that you quickly get too strong for them to be challenging. A set of 50 reps of push ups is high rep "endurance training". The problem is that even if you go to failure, the exercise isn't really hitting the muscle fibers with the most growth potential

The body will always respond better to a wide variety of stimuli. The every so dreaded PLATEAU is usually a result of stagnant training. The body becomes so "good" at performing the movements of the usual training program that it no longer has to adapt to deal with it. Eventually, it will actually start to detrain, and the individual may experience a loss in strength.

My aim in this article is to detail ways in which the push up, a staple in any athletes workout, can be maximally utilized to build mass, while delivering on endurance and strength. You will find below, some of the most difficult types of pushups you will ever meet.

 

Triset - Three exercises are performed consecutively without any rest.

Giant Sets - Four or more exercises are performed consecutively without any rest.

Failure - That point in an exercise at which you have so fully fatigued your working muscles that they can no longer complete an additional repetition of a movement with strict biomechanics. You should always take your post-warm-up sets at least to the point of momentary muscular failure, and frequently past that point to maximize benefits.

Isometrics - Isometric exercises involve producing force in a static position, with the result that joint angle does not change. Typically, these exercises are performed against an immovable object or weight like a wall.

One Legged Pushups

Assume the standard push-up position and simply raise your right leg straight up, so that now you are only balancing your weight on your left foot. Do push-ups in this position and make sure to keep that right leg straight and in the air.

Weighted Push ups

Get an old school bag, fill it with discarded rocks , paving stones, or any heavy, solid object, until it weighs between 20 -50kg, depending on your fitness level. As your muscles tire, reduce the contents of the bag. Assume a pushup position with your body forming a straight line from your ankles to shoulders. Your arms should be straight. Lower your body as far as you can - your upper arms should drop lower than your elbows. Pause, hold the contraction for 5 secs, and then slowly push yourself back to the starting position. An isometric variation is to drop down half way and hold the position for 10 secs before returning to the starting position.

Slow Motion Push Ups

With this type of push up, you slow the movement down to the point where you are holding the contraction for 5 sec at top and bottom. This means that you never lock out your arms; this makes pushups more difficult because it retains tension in the muscle and the slower it is performed, the less output the muscle is able to provide. This principle also works well with pull ups and dips.

Do 3 reps and rest 10 seconds then 3 more reps…repeat; When it becomes tough to do 3 reps, extend the rest time to 20 seconds. When it becomes to tough to get 3 reps, extend rest time to 30 seconds. Keep doing this exercise for 15 minutes straight. As soon as it gets tough to complete 3 reps add another 10 seconds to the rest time in between sets.

Tips: Make sure to avoid failure on all of your sets, but push yourself. By avoiding failure, you are limiting fatigue and you will get in more sets and reps in the 15 minute period.

By performing the pushups very slowly, you could further increase tension in the muscles so three to five reps is hard. For example you could spend ten seconds lowering your body and ten seconds raising your body. From there you can do the exercise as described above (continuous sets until fatigued). This would be a good technique when you are traveling, but I would not use it as a long term replacement for resistance training.

The Sideways Push Up

This is a more intense variation of the one arm push up. Assume the push up position with your legs spread as far as possible, with increased strength you will reduce the spread of your legs. Rotate your body upward and raise your right arm as if you are trying to touch the ceiling. You should be facing sideways with both arms straight so that they form a ‘T’; execute 3-5 pushups in this position. Repeat with the other arm; to make it harder, hold a dumbbell or any heavy object in the raised hand.  

A variation of the sideways pushup is the ‘T’ pushup lower yourself to the ground and push up. As you come up, rotate your body so that your right hand comes off the floor and your right arm extends overhead. You should look like a giant “T” tilted on its side. Return to the starting position, lower yourself, push up, and rotate until your left hand points up.

The Plyometric Pushup

To perform the Plyometric Pushup, assume a normal pushup position. Lower yourself to the floor. With explosive force, push off the floor with enough force that your hands leave the floor. Repeat 30 times. You could clap two or three times in between bounces, for the fun of it.

In a Box Plyometric pushup, you place two boxes; one on either side of you, the height of the box should not exceed your triceps if you are in the push up position. Push off from the ground and land with each hand on a box. Always enforce a pogo stick like reaction off the ground. You should "bounce" off the ground, not stick and go. The intensity can be adjusted by increasing the height of the box. A variation of this type of push up requires only one box; from the push off position, you bounce of the floor and land with both hands on the box.

The Clock Push Up

This type of pushup is a variant of the plyometric pushup. Here you execute the pushups while alternating between the points of the clock with each rep, e.g. 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 9 o’clock.

  

The Diamond Push Up

Place your hands together so they form a diamond. You can either put your hands underneath your chest or your head to hit different muscles. Once your hands are in place, perform a push-up by trying to place your nose in the middle of the diamond. Go for 25 reps, if you can. You can heft your weight bag onto your back if you find the diamond pushup easy.

A variant of the diamond is the Tiger Pushup. You should look like an upside down V. Place your hands close together in a diamond position. Now, lower your head to the ground by bending your elbows, but keep your butt up in the air. Push yourself back up.

The Hindu Push Up

Get in position by standing with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Bend down and place your hands on the floor while keeping your arms and legs straight. You should look like an upside down human “v” with your butt being the point of the “v” and your head pointing down to the ground.

To perform the Hindu push-up, you make a swooping motion with your body. Bring your head down and forward by bending your elbows. When your head gets close to the ground, continue moving your torso forward by arching your back and lowering your hips. Your hips will now be near your hands. Make sure to get a good stretch in your back. The first time you perform a Hindu Push-up you might find yourself falling on your face during the initial descent. Keep at it though. Return to the starting position and repeat.

A variant of the Hindu push up is the dive bomber pushup. This is performed in exactly the same manner as the Hindu Push-up, except you follow the same swooping motion you made on the descent in reverse when returning to the starting position. This increases the work done by the muscles.

The One Handed Push Up

Assume the normal push-up position, but spread your feet wider than shoulder width apart. Place one hand behind your thigh. Lower yourself slowly to the ground and press up. Repeat until you can’t do anymore and then switch to the other hand. The more square and level you keep your body, the more difficult the push-up will be. To make it easier, turn your torso and legs away from the pressing hand. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WEIGHT FOR THIS TYPE OF PUSHUP!!!

A variant is the Rocky Pushup, where you alternate hands with each rep.

The Handstand Push Up

To perform the handstand push-up, assume a handstand position. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your inverted body towards the ground. In order to maintain balance, you’re going to have to call on your core and other smaller stabilizing muscles. Because you’re pressing yourself off of the ground, the handstand push-up is great for your deltoid (shoulder) muscles. This can be done against a wall until you have developed a sufficient amount of stability to do without the wall.

The Fingertip Push Up

In this variant of the regular push up, Instead of resting on your hands, rest your weight on your fingertips. If you seek truly herculean strength, try out the Bruce Lee Push up which is a one handed pushup using only two fingers.  

There are so many variants of the push up, you never have to bored again. Start out with one, and maximise your benefits.