We have to progress to reach our training goals because most of us weren’t born with the strength we have. It often means starting from the ground up, even with the most basic exercises.
It is possible to make an exercise too easy to be effective, even with a simple move such as the pushup. When beginners are working their way up to the full version of the pushup or pumping through reps beyond failure, the first adjustment many trainers recommend is working your knees on the floor. The director of Men’s Health and founder of Forzag Fitness said that this was a bad call.
pushups are a great bodyweight exercise that uses more muscle groups than you realize when you do them in a gym class. That isn’t the case with kneeling pushups. Here’s why.
Why You Need to Quit Doing Kneeling Pushups
Kneeling Pushups Are Not a Full-Body Move
Pushups help your upper body muscles. Core responsibility is required in the exercise’s most basic form, from a strong plank position with the shoulders and hips aligned and stable. When you drop down for a kneeling pushup, you immediately eliminate any work from your lower body because you disengaging your hips from the movement. Poor upper body mechanics can be caused by this, as it cuts your movement in half.
Samuel says that the pushup is meant to be a full body movement. Abs are tight, mid back is tight, glutes are tight, quads and hamstrings are also tight. The quads can’t be a part of the movement when we’re down on our knees. That doesn’t prepare you for the pushup the right way. It’s not going to help you get to your goal.
Kneeling Pushups Are Just Too Easy
Half of the challenge can be eliminated by eliminating core and lower body engagement. You will be able to perform multiple reps in a back and forth manner without placing stress on your muscles because the difficulty level will be reduced. Because of its simplicity, the kneeling pushup allows you to get away with bad hand, wrist, and shoulder alignment, which will come back to haunt you when you progress to a full pushup.
Kneeling Pushups Force You Into a Two-step Progression
No one walks into a gym and lifts 50 pounds in one day, then doubles their max the next. The kneeling pushup is the same as the kneeling push up. It will be difficult to progress from a bunch of simplified half reps to a standard pushup. It’s never that easy for us mere mortals, and like any other exercise, you will need a gradual progression to full pushup form.
Samuel says they want to find a couple of progressions that will give them multiple steps so that they don’t have to go from their knees to a full pushup.
3 Kneeling Pushup Alternatives to Scale Your Workouts
The Pushup was elevated.
There are 3 sets of 10 reps.
If you’re at home, you need to place your hands on a Smith machine or a box or couch. Although you start from a higher point, the elevated pushup allows you to maintain shoulder to feet tension, which is the foundation for a solid pushup.
Samuel says that they are still moving a little bit less load because their hands are higher. You can decrease the height of your elevation by doing this. You can get closer and closer to your standard pushup as you lower the elevation.
There was a negative pushup.
There are 3 sets of 4 to 6 reps
When we think of pushups, we forget the importance of body control from the top position to the floor. Negative pushups force you to descend to the bottom of the movement in a controlled manner, maintaining body control and tension throughout the entire movement.
One thing we have to focus on no matter what exercise we’re doing is slowing it down so that we can focus on that position. You’re going to get so much more out of that five to 10, 15 to 20 seconds than if you rip through it and get only half the benefit.
Pushups are paused.
Get back to reps as soon as you can.
If you can knock out a few pushup reps but you’re not quite at the point where you can string together a full set, the rest-pause method may be the best option. If you can do two to three reps, then come out of the position for a few breaths and push through another couple of reps. Continue until you reach your desired number of reps. This will help you get used to that full pushup position and build strength.
Jeff Tomko has written for several fitness magazines.
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