I was originally going do a post on the bridge. It is my favorite exercise. However, Anmol called me up today and asked me for a substitute for the bench press. He needs it so I present to you the most popular bodyweight exercise around- the push up.
Let us face it- push ups are cool. And everyone wants that lean look of power a guy good at one arm push ups gets. Beautifully proportional triceps, huge ripped shoulders and neat pecs. Before we get down to the exercise itself, I would like to talk a little about the push up and the bench press.
First of all, both exercises are primarily arm and shoulder exercises. The bench press does not primarily target the pectorals, it targets the shoulders and the triceps. Don't get me wrong, the pecs are worked insanely hard during these exercises, but they are not the prime movers. The pecs kick in when your humerus moves behind the body line or there is significant flaring out of the elbows. In the first case, most people simply don't maintain perfect form in the bottom position of the range of motion. Now this can be easily corrected- just use perfect form and you will get great pecs. But to build world class pecs, you need a some kind of pec fly. In my opinion the greatest pec exercise around is the cable crossover. Arnold loved it. If you are using bodyweight, I would say the best pec exercise is the dip- done with a slight forward lean. The pecs are worked hard during the entire range of motion and the resistance shifts, so the pecs are worked from all angles other than overhead. The second (elbows flared bench) wrecks havoc on your shoulders.
The key take away points are if building a proportional and balanced physique is the objective, a horizontal and a over head press are essential (we will talk about handstand push ups in a separate post). More importantly, PERFECT FORM is critical! The better your form, the better your results shall be!! Great pecs and well rounded shoulders with hanging triceps are always a product of perfect technique. If pec building is a major issue, you will have to add either dips or flys.
Now many people attempt to compare the push ups and the bench press. There are some decided advantages that benching has, but the main problem is that the bench press does not particularly relate with standing pushing power- which kind of is the whole point. The push ups- being a closed chain exercise- has a bit more carry over. But the biggest point of contention is weight- most strong guys out grow the push up. This is where I think the bench press is just the unimaginative man's way out. The push up can easily be made several times harder with a little innovation. The ordinary one arm push up- arm to the side, legs open, body twisting- is actually a very easy weight. But there are variations far far harder than it. Another advantage is that with push ups, you have to work every aspect of your strength to make the jump to the next technique. This forces you to develop a well rounded physique.
Last thing, just because a certain technique of the push up is equal in weight to a certain bench does not mean you will actually bench exactly that much. This is because-
a. You have to train specifically for the bench, in order to bench more.
b. There is significant spinal loading which you just are not used to if you do only push ups.
On the bright side, a couple of months of benching will bring your bench and push ups numbers on par. You just need to get used to it.
All right, on to the exercises!!
Exercises are listed in ascending order of difficulty.
1. Kneeling Push Ups- EVERYONE MUST START HERE! Perfect your form, especially in the bottom position. Go all the way down, pause for a second, press back up, pause or a second. Come up as fast as you can, go down in a controlled manner. Tuck your elbows in, keep your shoulders down and tight. Do not let your hips move at all, your body should be a straight line. All the above points apply to all variations of the push ups. Apply force through both arms evenly.
Knees and hands touch the ground, legs together, knees crossed and locked behind you.
Equal to 50% bodyweight bench press.
Master for a set of 35 before moving on.
2. Frog Push Ups- Descend like a standard push up, ascend like a kneeling push up. Initially only your toes and hands should touch the ground, your legs together, your body straight. Descend to the bottom position (1 Inch from the ground), and when you pause, bend your knees till your weight is now resting on your knees and your hands, than ascend. When you reach the top, straighten your knees and return to the starting posture. This takes advantage of the fact that the negative portion of a push up is easier than the positive.
Equal to 60% Bodyweight bench press.
Master for a set of 30.
3. Standard Push Ups- Maintain perfect form. Shoulder width hands.
Equal to 70% bodyweight bench press.
Master for a set of 25.
4. Close Push Ups + Easy Maltese Push ups- Your main weak link at this point will be your triceps and deltoids. Both these variations must be worked together in order to develop the strength required to move on to the next level.
Close push ups are to be performed exactly like standard push ups, except your index fingers and your thumbs will be touching. This variation is critical and is the foundation for real pushing power. Focus on perfect technique and really juice this variation- get everything out of it. By the time you master it, you should be having a beautiful set of triceps.
Equal to 80% bodyweight bench press.
Master for a set of 25.
Easy Maltese push ups will fire your deltoids and get that round shape at the top of your pecs. Take a hand spacing of about 1.5 times shoulder width and the hands should be in line with your upper abdomen. The fingers should be pointing straight ahead, just like a normal push up. Maintaining the hands in line with your upper abdomen will take a lot of control and power.
Equal to a bench press from the abdomen with 75% bodyweight.
Master for a set of 20 reps.
5. Ball Push ups- Assume the standard push up position. Now place one hand on a basketball. Now perform push ups, until your chest touches the ball. This variation works one arm (the hand on the ball) harder than the the other. The Range of motion will be restricted though, and the arm will be working in the bottom half of the ROM of an ordinary push ups. The beauty of the movement is that the other arm works equally hard in the top half of the ROM. Their combined effort amounts to more than the weight actually being moved. The key thing is to keep the shoulders parallel to the ground at all times.
Equal to 90% bodyweight bench press.
Master for a set of 20 on each arm.
6. Close ball push ups+ Hard maltese push ups-
Close ball pushups are the same as ball push ups, except the ball and the hands are under the middle of the chest, and the position of the hands is exactly like a close push up, except one hand is on a ball.
Equal to bodyweight bench press. (about the same difficulty as a classic one arm push up).
Master for a set of 20 on each arm.
Hard Maltese pushups are the same as easy maltese pushups, except the hand are a little wider and lower and the fingers are POINTING DOWNWARDS. This is much harder than the easy maltese variation.
Equal to 90% Bodyweight lower abdomen bench press.
Master for a set of 20.
7. One arm emphasis push up- Take a normal push ups posture, but more one arm should be slightly closer to the body, the other slightly more away. Perform like a normal push up, keep the shoulders parallel to the ground. The closer arm should be doing a lot more work.
Equal to 110% bodyweight bench press.
Master of a set of 17-18 on each arm.
8. Lever Push up- Take a normal push up posture, place one arm on a basketball or a couple of bricks (same height), and place it away from the body such that when you place your hand on it, the fingers should point away from the body, and only a slight bend in the elbows should be required when in the top position (working arm closer to the body, other on ball), the shoulders are kept parallel to the ground. It is okay to bend the elbow of the assisting hand while going through the ROM.
Equal to 120% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 15 on each arm.
9. Advanced Lever Push Ups- Same as above, except a ball will have to be used, and the elbow of the supporting hand will not bend at all, throughout the ROM. For this to happen, you will have to roll the ball away such that in the bottom your wrist would be on the ball.
Equal to 130% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 15 on each arm.
10. Supported one arm push up- Same as above, except in the start, the ball will be even further away, such that only the tip of your fingers are touching the ball. Thus, in the bottom your palm would be on the ball, as you roll it away.
Equal to 140% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 15 on each arm.
11. Supported Regulation Perfect One arm Push Up- Same as above, except your working hand will be even closer, such that it is below your sternum almost. It should be in the same position it would be in a close push up, maybe just a little more inwards. The elbows (just like in a close push up) will splay out just very slightly. (this creates the balance required to perform the one arm push up without opening the legs or twisting the body).
Equal to 150% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 12 on each arm.
12. Unstable Supported regulation Perfect One arm Push Up- Same as above, except the working hand will also be on a ball, and your feet on an object the same height as the two balls.
Equal to 160% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 12 on each arm.
13. Frog Regulation Perfect one arm push up- Descend in a one arm push up, hand underneath the sternum, elbow slightly flayed out, legs together, no twisting the body. Pause for a second in the bottom and with just a TOUCH of assistance with the index finger of the other hand, come up to the start position.
Equal to 170% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 10 on each arm.
14. 3/4 Regulation perfect one arm push up (to be worked with as a main exercise, followed up always by exercise 13, to hit the full ROM)- Go down 3/4ths of the way in a regulation perfect one arm push up, pause and press back up. If you cant go so deep, use a shallower depth and then increase it every time you workout. Use some kind of object like a ball or a brick to gauge depth.
Equal to 180% bodyweight bench press.
Master a set of 8 on each arm.
15. Regulation perfect one arm push up- All the way down, no twisting, no opening of legs.
Equal to 200% bodyweight bench press.
Keep in mind that no one has yet performed a one arm regulation push ups to my knowledge, before calling push ups easy. Try out the progression and tell me if you get there.
Good Luck!!
where did you get your information from , and can you do all the workouts you have listed?
ReplyDeleteI basically was a member of the mission Olympics in India, which was a teenage program for gifted athletes. I trained for 2 years as a boxer, until the program was shut down due to a fund crises. I subsequently moved into martial arts for a year and then moved into powerlifting and later my focus shifted to weightlifting. After about 2 years of this I met with an automobile accident which is described in my first post. Today I have been walking for about 6 months (it has been over a year) and am rehabbing. I have done my specialization in Strength and sports conditioning and have worked as an adventure sports trainer for Great Rocksports Limited. I was also a member of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
ReplyDeleteDuring all this time I have met and interacted with the best athletes in this country. My system is an amalgamation of the views of these athletes, as well as my own experience.
As far as performance goes, I don't think any athlete in the world can perform all the top end movements I have listed in my blog. But there are athletes that can do some of them. I personally have always specialized in Bridges and pistol squats, and as a result can perform most of the stuff given on this blog, related to those exercises. I have also performed one arm chins in the past, but have lost it after my accident. I am currently trying to re-achieve it.
The exact progression and information given in this article were given to me by my good friend Jeevan Pandey. He was a sprinter in the program I mentioned earlier. He was capable of a One arm regulation push up with his working hand elevated on 2 bricks height. he was working on getting it at the floor level, the last time I met him (about 18 months ago).
I hope this answers your questions as well as clears my credentials.
I cannot put into words the amount of respect I have for you and your blog. This is the most innovative and effective way of working out I have encountered in all the time I've spent searching online and talking to others about the subject, and that's a lot. Not only does it make exercising amazingly fun and progressions conceivable and solid, but the power your bodyweight methodology builds far surpasses anything I felt with weights. You are clearly a great intellectual as well, with intriguing commentaries and philosophies mixed into physical training.
ReplyDeleteBasically, I am a fan of everything you write - even the posts I don't completely agree with, and I think you would be a real interesting guy in real life.
I do have to ask though, if no one to your knowledge has performed a one-arm regulation push up, how do you know it can be done?
Thank you so much for your words. I hope you have gotten a lot of useful information here. I have in fact just quit my job and am starting a company based on calisthenics and at a time like this your words come as great encouragement.
DeleteAs far as the Possibility of a one arm regulation perfect push up goes, I have a few reasons why I believe it can be done. Firstly, if you try to get into the OARPU position with your hand where it should be in a normal push up, you will find that you cannot maintain a straight body. However, if you were to splay your elbows out and move them inwards, you will be able to hold the position. The reason for this is basic mechanics, as in the arm out position the center of gravity is on the left on the contact point for the transfer of force i.e the hand. Since there are no muscle groups other than the abs which can really fire to compensate for this, the position fails.
However, when the arm is in, the center of gravity, at least at the top, would be approximately over the hand, allowing the balance to be maintained, with the aid of core tension of course. The problem with the OARPU is that as you descend, your center of gravity will shift to the left, because your arm is in the way, which causes you to either twist or collapse from the position. However, if your arm were sufficiently splayed out and the hand under the sternum, the body would be able to descend without needing to twist, making the OARPU at least mechanically possible.
The problem with this is that the entire load is essentially shifted to the triceps, and to a lesser degree the anterior deltoids and the clavicular (upper) pectorals. The triceps, by simple ROM analysis, will have to move 70% of the load. If you move 65% of your bodyweight in a push up, your triceps must be capable of moving 46% of your bodyweight. In bilateral terms, it would be the equivalent of doing a EZ bar skull crusher/ lying tricep extension with your entire bodyweight.
So basically, if a person had strong enough triceps, mechanically at least, the movement is possible.
Which brings us to the second problem- can the triceps become that strong? I believe yes, and probably many people have that strength but have never specifically trained for this skill. There are two reasons I believe so. First of all, the amount of force generated by the triceps in exercises like military presses and bench presses in Elite lifters who press over triple bodyweight is equal to bodyweight. So the triceps are capable of producing such force. Secondly, the triceps are supposed to be the strongest muscles of the arm and a bodyweight bicep curl is not unheard of. It is spectacular but one arm chinning greats have done this feat. In fact almost anyone who can perform over 4 one arms chins seems to be able to curl bodyweight. My stand is, if the biceps can do it, the triceps can too. It would be the equivalent of a one arm chin for horizontal pressing.
Ultimately i is my observation that in all bodyweight exercise, as we move to more unilateral variations, the limbs become more prominent.
I hope that answers your question.
Oh, I've gotten a lot of good stuff from your blog. I'm currently almost at the one-arm chin, on my way to mastering the supported one arm push up and just finished step 2 of squats today! And best of luck on your company, thought I highly, highly doubt you'll need it. Incidentally, are you operating in India?
DeleteAnd if you don't mind, this ROM analysis you speak of seems very intriguing. I did some thinking of my own and I believe it's done by comparing the angle created by the beginning and end position of each joint during the movement and using their relative values to determine how much of the lift is performed by each muscle. Is that close at all? I could be wrong. Anyway, it's something I would be very interested in learning, so if you have the time, maybe a brief explanation?
Sorry for the late reply, things have been crazy of late. And yes I am operating in India, in New Delhi infact.
DeleteIn essence what you have said about ROM analysis is right. Except you take into consideration the cross sectional area of contributing Muscle Fibers, determined through an EMG. A while ago I had done a bunch of EMG studies to help a friend who was doing her master's thesis. Basically the result was that the contribution of various muscles to a movement, in terms of both the force produced, and the stress on the nervous system, is directly related to the degree of movement the corresponding joints go through.
Basically in the corresponding hands together and elbows splayed out position, in the EMG, the triceps were the most activated, followed by the Anterior deltoid, a surprising activation of the posterior deltoid and then the calvacular pectorals. The elbow is away from the body, making it the fulcrum of the movement. The Elbow virtually goes through full extension and felxion. The shoulder goes through a very shallow movement.
The muscular levels of activation were corresponding. The degree of elbow movement was 2.2 (approx) times that of the shoulder. The ratio of muscular activation was the same. This difference would probably be accentuated in the OARPU.
Interestingly, the study also provides a lot of support for the idea that greater ROM results in better muscular activation. Even in training my clients and myself, whenever I see a lagging body part, instead of using a new assistance exercise, I simply extend the ROM of the current one, and in 9 cases out of ten the problem is solved.
A good example is quad and hamstring development. Pre 1960 Olympic lifters had amazing thigh development on both sides. They had complete development. They used the heel flat rock bottom barbell squat, which maximizes the ROM at both the hip and knee joint. Post 1960s, after the introduction of the raised heel, Olympic lifters have better quad than hamstring development. Simple reason, the knee angle is still great, but the hip ROM is reduced.
Awesome man, thanks for the info
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ReplyDeleteHey Tejas, I've been on steps 8 to 10 for about a month and I have a few questions about proper form. I thought I had step 9 down as I was able to do a comfortable set of 15, but when I watched a video of myself, I realized that my body was bent so that my hip was closer to my working arm and my torso was also twisting to face the ball.
ReplyDeleteI have since been able to stop the twisting, but my body still bends to the side instinctively and it is difficult to correct this. Is it alright to have a slight bend at the bottom of the movement? It seems like it would only put more work on the triceps and less on the core.
And I ask this because I am finding step 11 literally impossible. Moving my hand those few inches so that it is under my sternum somehow makes the load much greater - I can barely do a negative, let alone push myself up. It's easier for me to angle my hand about 45 degrees so that my elbow naturally flays out a little during the pushup, but even then I can't do one rep. So I think I have to work steps 8 to 10 again, but would like some clarification on how. Thanks again!
The tendency to twist in the bottom is pretty strong in steps 8-10, but it has to be eliminated before moving on to 11. This thing is if you twist your body, your deltoid has to work less to maintain the strength curve. What happens is that the triceps take over the movement completely. While the triceps are really important, the deltoids allow the movement to happen in step 11. That is why splaying the elbows out is helping you- the deltoid gets a mechanical advantage.
DeleteOf course there is good chance that you are simply not strong enough to handle 11 yet, after all it is really really hard and it took me 2 years my self to get to 12 and I never managed to really master 12. I could not even handle 13 for a half rep. The secret to not twisting at all in 8-10 is to simply go back to Ball push ups and continue with the hardest variation you are currently using. The ability to maintain a perfectly symmetrical body is built during Ball Push ups and close Ball Push ups, as in those variations the stabilizers and the delts take the lion's share of the work. The triceps are not that useful. It is important to really focus on keeping a symmetrical body during ball and close ball push ups.
However I dont think it is a good idea to completely regress to 6 and 7. A better way would be to do ball and close ball push ups first, then perform a couple of sets of the hardest variation you can perform, than do a few more sets. That way you will grease the groove of the ball and close ball push ups but train hard enough to maintain your strength. If you are handling 10 well, step 6 and 7 will be very easy for you, so you should be able to train it often without over training.
The thing is most people dont take the time to work on ball and close ball push ups so their stabilizers and deltoids dont become as strong as they need to be. But step 12, I am stumped. I have not been able to figure out why I stalled there.
I figured out that my working hand was placed slightly more outwards than the position of my shoulder. Bringing it in really helped to minimize twisting and body-bending, but now I can only do 7.
DeleteOne other question I have is if the inside of my forearm should touch my ribs at the bottom of the pushup. It seems it is a minor detail, but bringing my elbow inwards makes the pushup becomes significantly harder. I think it moves some of the load from my shoulder to tricep. Is this the proper form I should master for steps 8 to 10?
You dont need to bring the elbow inwards, because as you progress you will need to splay out the elbow anyway in order to maintain balance. So there is no point in training in a different groove. Preventing twisting is more important I feel. I dont think getting the elbow in will help in the long run, as as you progress the triceps will increase in strength anyway, but it is the splayed out groove that will be used in the actual pressing.
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