one arm push up

There could be a number of reasons why you might be interested in wanting to dominate the one arm push up. The reasons could range from travelling on holiday when you are away from a gym or you are simply training at home and do not have any equipment.

It should be mentioned here that there are dedicated body-weight trainers all over the world that have been training very effectively for years without using any resistance except their own bodyweight. They continue to show muscle gains as well as strength gains.

Performing the one arm push up is something that one can do incorrectly or correctly just like doing any push up. There are some important principles that one should keep in mind when starting with one arm push-ups. This article will discuss the basic steps that should be taken when starting.

How to Perform the One Arm Push Up

  1. The first step is to assume the standard push up position which as you know is prone, feet together, hands on the floor just below the level of your shoulders and about shoulders’ width apart. There will be a slightly different angle on the muscles if you look down or forward but that will be discussed later.
  2. Just to note that when doing a one arm push up, you should spread your feet apart. Your feet should be a little wider than your shoulders in order to get the maximum leverage for balance and insure that you do not lose balance in the middle of the concentric movement.
  3. Before you start with your chest on the ground, put one hand behind your back. Then start your push up with pressing hard down with your one hand which is flat on the ground. Make sure that you are keeping your chest level and not turning it upward as you press down.
  4. It is important to not lock out at the top of the press so that you are able to keep your balance. But when you lower your body you should turn your torso so that you do not lose your balance completely. By turning your torso away you will be keeping the stress equal.
  5. Continue lowering yourself until your chin is about a fist’s width above the floor. Since you angled your torso, your chin should be about where the hand you now have behind your back was when you started the exercise. This is one repetition.

Depending on your specific objective you should change to the other arm and repeat the process. We all know that getting results is all about intensity (with proper form, of course) so one should repeat to near-exhaustion for an intense arm-chest workout.

How to Work Your Way Up to a One Arm Push Up

If you cannot manage what is suggested above then you should start by putting the hand which was behind your back onto something stable for support. This support should be something like a few books or a small stool. This will change the accent of stress when doing a normal push up to one arm.

As you get stronger you would then increase the height of this support which will be putting more stress on the arm that is doing the press from the floor. As you get higher than you should put your arm behind your back and try to do as many reps as you can. In time you will be doing a full one-arm push up.

By Daniel

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