The
Problem: Your Chest Needs More Muscle and The
One-Arm Push-Up Hits Your Triceps, Not Your
Pecs
One
of the key bodyweight exercises for chest is the
Push-Up. And when you get strong enough with regular
push-ups to require more resistance to build muscle
and strength, you then graduate to the One-Arm Push-Up,
right?
However,
you will immediately run into a major problem...the
One-Arm Push-Up in the three point stance is a TRICEP
exercise, not a chest exercise.
So
what to do you do if you want to work your chest
with enough resistance for muscle growth but the
standard push-up is too easy?
The Solution: Outrigger One-Arm
Bench Push-Ups
This
is a simple variation of the push-up that's going
to give you two major benefits...
1.
It puts more tension on one arm and pec, similar
to a regular one-arm push-up, only focusing more
on the chest than on the triceps. This dramatically
increases the resistance being placed on that working
side pectoral muscle.
2.
It puts a great stretch on the other non-working
pec as you're coming down into the push-up.
In
order to perform this one, you'll need to be able
to do at least 15 to 20 normal push-ups, though
you could potentially do these on your knees as
well, if you're not there yet.
For
this, you'll need a bench or a chair (or even stairs...basically
anything you can set your other hand on that's about
a foot and a half off the ground or so). I'm using
just a regular flat bench here.
Set
one hand flat on the bench and the other hand on
the floor a little ways away from the bench. Keep
your body stiff and straight.
Now
lower yourself down, like you would in a regular
push-up.
As
you can see, my right side is getting the brunt
of the load, which works the right pec more. My
left arm is being placed in a great pec-stretch
position every single time I come down to the bottom.
Get
as many reps as you can then switch sides.
Now,
when you switch arms, you generally won't get as
many reps since you'll already be fatigued from
the first set (the stretch-tension on the non-pushing
side is still demanding). If you'd like to keep
the workload more balanced, take a rest period in
between sides or simply start with the other side
on the next set you do.
The Bottom Line:
This
exercise solves one of the major problems
with the standard push-up...not enough resistance.
By setting your one arm out to the side like an
outrigger, you shift a LOT more tension onto the
working side, allowing you get enough resistance
to actually achieve substantial muscle growth, and
not just increase your muscular endurance (as tends
to be the case once you're able to do 20 or more
normal push-ups in a row).
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