Push ups are an exercise that a lot pf people overlook, because they consider them too easy, too boring or not very effective. Anyone who thinks this probably isn’t aware of the different ways to increase the difficulty and intensity of them.
Give some of these push up variations a try and I can assure you that you’ll look at push ups in a whole new light. Unless you’re incredibly strong and fit, I’d bet a significant amount that you’ll be seriously humbled by some of these push up variations. They’re designed to give your chest, shoulders. core and triceps a different challenge completely.
Programme them as you would any other push up, just be prepared to be capable of a lot fewer reps than you’d manage in normal push ups. If you struggle for form, contact a personal trainer for help!
7 Push Up Variations to Level Up Your Workout…
All of these will need equipment of some form, so watch the video and check whether or not you’ve got the right kit. Also, make sure you’re warmed up properly before attempting these push ups…
Push ups on handles
This is the quickest and easiest way to increase the effectiveness of the push up. The handles increase the range of movement for the torso. It means the chest, shoulders and triceps maintain a longer time under tension, which translates directly into greater muscle growth and strength.
You can adjust the difficulty of these exercises by increasing or decreasing the size of the handles you use. A larger raise, the harder you can make the exercise potentially.
Chaos push ups
These are a type of push up that not many people have heard of, but they can be crazy tough when used at the right time. Instead of a flat surface, you perform push ups on a thick resistance band stretched between two points. The chaos push ups are so-called because the band isn’t stable, meaning the movement pattern is chaotic!
The chaos push ups are excellent for shoulder and core work, as well as chest and tricep work. Give them a go!
Weighted push ups
This is the most obvious way to make push ups more difficult… get a weight on your back and get pushing! Obviously only do this when you can hit at least 15 good quality push ups without stopping. You can increase the difficulty by adding more weight to your push ups.
Weight can be applied by vest or plate. Whatever you do though, make sure the weight you add is stable. You can’t concentrate on your form if you’re wobbling all over the place trying to balance a weight on your back!
Atomic Push Ups
The atomic push up is one of the signature exercises from the TRX training system. It’s a fantastic exercise and a way to build a genuine challenge for the core into the movement. By adjusting the position of hands, feet and depth of the TRX, you can make the exercise tougher.
Just make sure you’ve securely anchored the TRX, because you don’t want to crash into the floor mid-rep!
Slam Ball Push Ups
The slam ball push up is a variation on the tricep push up, where your hands are close together. The hand position forces the triceps to do more of the work, meaning it takes some of the pressure off the chest and shoulders. The fact you’re doing these on a slam ball adds to the instability, making it tougher.
You can add a ball slam or burpee into this if you want to make it even more challenging. Just remember it’ll fatigue you even quicker if you do.
Ring Push Ups
What happens when you take a standard bodyweight exercise and combine it with the rings? You make it much less stable, more unpredictable, more challenging and generally tougher and more effective. These reasons are why I consider ring push ups a huge upgrade on the standard version. The core, chest and shoulder engagement is significantly increased compared to the standard method.
Personal trainer tip - set the rings close to the floor (6 inches off), because if you set them too high you lose a lot of the benefit of the exercise.
Push Up to Row
This exercise is like the renegade row, but with an added element of difficulty. It takes the push and the row, then combines it. This means you’re getting the benefits of the deficit push up, with the core engagement of single limb balance. It’s a fantastic exercise for the core, chest, shoulders and triceps.
Keep the dumbbells to a medium weight, rather than too heavy. If you go too heavy, you’ll ruin your balance and the form will go with it.
Push Up Variations to Level Up Your Workout
If you use these push up variations, you’ll soon realise that the disrespect you’ve shown them over the years is completely unjustified, and that all it takes is a little creativity to take exercises to a new level.
Push ups aren’t just a chest exercise. They use your core, your shoulders, your triceps and activate a lot of the important stabilising muscles in the upper body. The allow your shoulder blades to move naturally, and this has a beneficial impact on shoulder health and movement.
In many ways, the push up is a better exercise than the bench press. It’s certainly safer and more functional, so it’s worth bearing in mind as an alternative if all you do for your chest is bench press.
Give these a go and see how you get on. My guess is you’ll be VERY surprised and impressed at the difficulty of these push up variations.
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