These pushup variations are great for mixing things up and challenging your normal pushup muscles in new ways. I think it’s important to note, however, that doing regular pushups correctly is challenging enough for a lot of people.
The foundation for these variations is the proper pushup. That's where you have to start building. If you haven’t taken a look at the technique, I encourage you to refresh your memory here.
Like I’ve said on other pages, reading over the short technique description probably won’t teach you anything new. What it will do is remind you of some things you may not have thought of in a while. A little reminder is never a bad thing, right? I know it isn't because I see all kinds exercises that some people like to call pushups.
Here are some pushup variations that focus on isolating one side of the chest by making it carry more of the load. We are also going to get more of a stretch across the chest muscle. We’ll also introduce instability to strengthen the stabilizer muscles.
The idea of the offset pushup is raising one side higher than the other. For this you will need something to raise one hand on. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use a brick, a rolled up towel, an aerobic step, medicine ball, or anything else you have handy.
Using anything round or unstable like a medicine ball will activate a lot of stabilizer muscles to keep you stable during the movement. This makes the exercise significantly more challenging.
There are two main benefits to the offset pushup. First, you increase the load on the lower side, making it work harder. Second, it really increases the stretch of the chest muscles on the upper side.
The description is pretty simple. Get into the normal pushup position with one hand on the elevated surface. Do a set with one hand elevated, then switch and do a set with the other hand elevated.
As with any pushups or pushup variations, keep the abs and glutes contracted to keep your body straight. Don’t sag.
Also, with this exercise take time to notice that good stretch at the bottom.
Start from the normal starting position. Move the left hand forward a few inches. Do a set of 10. Notice how the right side of the chest and the right arm are doing a lot more of the work.
That is the idea of the staggered pushup. It is a very simple way to make the movement more challenging – one side at a time.
Switch so the left hand is aligned with the
chest and the right hand is a few inches forward.
The idea of the deficit pushup is to put both hands on an elevated surface so you can lower your chest below the level of your hands.
You can do these with pushup handles, but you don’t need to get that fancy. Do you have two bricks lying around? That will work. Two rolled up towels will work too. If you are at the park, find two rocks.
If you are at home, perfect. Arrange three chairs in a triangle. On is for your feet and the other two are for
each hand. You can’t get a deficit
pushup setup better than that.
These simple pushup variations are a piece of cake to work
into your chest workout. If you have the
regular pushup technique down, these variations are simple to incorporate and
will add a whole new challenge.
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