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Plyometric Push Ups
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3 Ways To Do Plyometric Push Ups
Plyometric push ups are one of my favorite chest exercises to do. They can seem a little intimidating at first but once you start doing them you will quickly realize how effective and fun they are to do. There are three different ways in which you can do plyometric push ups. Working out should be both fun and challenging and from my experience plyometric push ups fits those two very nicely. In this post I will unpack the three ways in which you can do plyometric push ups so keep on reading.
What Are Plyometric Push Ups?
If you are wondering what plyometric push ups are they are essentially a normal push up but as you come up you explode off the ground so that either your hands leave the ground, or both of your hands and feet leave the ground at the same time. Lets unpack each version of the plyometric push up.
Option #1 For The Plyometric Push Ups - Hands Off
The first option you can do to start out with plyometric push ups is lifting your hands off the ground as you come up from the push up. As you rise from the push up you will want to explode up so that your hands leave the ground. If you have never done these before make sure to only have your hands go off the ground a little bit (maybe a couple of inches). This will help you get into the motion of the plyometric push up. One important note is that if you are doing plyometric push ups on a hard floor it can hurt your wrists so make sure that you take it easy and don't overdue it so that you hurt yourself. If you can't do these on the ground another option would be to do them against the wall. Do wall push ups and as you come up from the push up explode so that you push your body and hands away from the wall. Or you can do knee push ups as an alternative. Once you get a hang of this version you can try the next option.
Option #2 For Plyometric Push Ups - Hands & Feet Off The Ground
The second option for plyometric push ups is to have both your hands and feet off the ground at the same time. In order to do this you need to have good control of your body. If you don't have good control over your body you should not be attempting this option. A tip when you are doing this option is to use your hips a bit to get off the floor. So as you explode up try and use your hips to help you get off the ground. Just like the first option, start out by going only a couple inches off the ground. Then once you get comfortable try and go as high as you can.
Option#3 For Plyometric Push Ups - Add In A Clap
This is the most advanced option for plyometric push ups. Instead of going up and just leaving your hands in the air where they came off the ground you will do a clap in mid air. It is easy to not be able to get your hands back in place in time and you end up doing a face plant on the floor, I did this my first attempt years ago. But once you get the hang of it you will have a lot of fun doing them.
Bonus Options For Plyometric Push Ups
Once you get the hang of all three options for plyometric push ups you can start adding in extra tweaks here and there. For option 1 plyometric push ups you can alternate hand positions as you come up and down. So you can do wide to diamond push ups switching your hands in the air. You can also do the same with option 3. Have fun with it and let your mind explore and see how many variations you can come up with.
Closing Thoughts On Plyometric Push Ups
By now it should be very obvious that I am a big fan of plyometric push ups. I like a challenge so with that I want to know how many plyometric push ups you can do in a row. Hopefully we can get a good response here on this post with numbers and have a little fun. Write down how many you did and which option. Have fun with it and I hope that you enjoy plyometric push ups.