maxopedia

I noticed someone got to this site by coming in from a Google query "jump stretch push ups". So I thought I'd write in a bit more detail about the important topic of adding resistance to push-ups.

work harder, not smarter

Like any exercise, there are a few basic things you can do to increase the amount of total work that you perform while doing the exercise.

• increase range of motion

• increase resistance
• increase acceleration
• decrease amount of rest

Each one of these items simply alters one variable in the classic physics equation Force = Mass x Acceleration . If your muscles can output more force, you are stronger. The reasons your muscles can output more force might be somewhat opaque, but that's no worry.

push-ups and the home gym

As far as I can tell, the venerable push-up is a forgotten and maligned exercise. However it is an essential exercise for a tiny home gym that lacks a bench. For the amount of space that it requires and the number of exercises that it enables, a flat bench is an awful addition to a home gym.

In addition, the bench-press is an extremely inferior exercise to the push-up. Bench-pressing takes most of your body pretty much out of the equation. To be sure, bench-pressing at the power-lifter level requires whole-body technique and effort, but I'd bet the guys at Westside Barbell would agree that bench-pressing is probably the last thing you need to be doing to get your bench-press up. They'd tell you to dumbbell press on top of a physical therapy ball first. They'd tell you to work your triceps to increase your lockout, and they'd probably get you doing some pull-ups or barbell rows to get your lats in action. Strength training is all about the whole system.

So how about ways to make push-ups more difficult and add resistance?

• elevate your feet on a chair
  • although this does increase resistance, it also changes the angle of the exercise - the more you elevate your feet the more it becomes similar to an incline bench-press
• place a weight plate on your back
  • obviously this has safety issues - I'd like to make a vest that can hold a plate or two securely
• buy a weight vest
  • I don't really recommend this due to cost, but a weight vest is an awesome item for a home gym - I wish I had one
• clap pushups (push very forcefully off the floor and clap your hands together before coming back down)
  • these beauties amount to plyometric exercises; do them sparingly unless you want to hurt yourself
• figure out a clever way to use a resistance band
  • I saw an example in the Jumpstretch literature I received with my bands, but it looks uncomfortable...
• one arm push-ups!
• one arm, one leg push-ups!
  • the one place I've seen these mentioned is in Pavel Tsatsouline's The Naked Warrior

Of course, don't even get me started on elevated, one-arm one-legged pushups with a weight vest. Or you can have someone sit on your back, but don't take that as a suggestion.