10 Pushup Alternatives From Amateur To Intermediate

The pushup exercise never gets old. For Many people, it is a source of disappointment and frustration because it is not a simple workout. Depending on an individual’s strength level, the pushup can challenge the bench-press with regards to strength gains. Merely including a resistance band in your pushup routine is just as challenging as performing a weighted barbell bench press. If you deem that pushups are an easy workout, it is safe to suggest that you may need a change in how you do them.

Pushups largely focus on your chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles. They also target the ab muscles, but may not be as impactful as the three other stated muscles. Think of pushups as performing a plank but with some movement involved. You need to be stiff in your abdomen and maintain a straight back to avoid harming your spine and messing up your body posture. Also, make sure you keep your chin raised and your chest towards the ground to get the complete range of motion.

1. Knee Pushup

The knee pushup is a handy pushup alternative. This Variation works well for beginners who cannot complete one quality standard pushup. Use this as a means of progressing to other more advanced variations.

To perform this exercise, begin on your knees and position your hands and shoulders similar to a regular pushup. When lowering your body down, keep your chest slightly off the floor. Maintain a straight line from the shoulders to the knees.

2. Negative Pushup

Another way to get used to performing pushups is by lowering your body to the ground in a slow and controlled manner. Performing negatives guarantees that you’ll adapt to performing quality reps. Also, grab a legitimate workout supplement from steroids-evolution to help you improve your routine.

Begin in a plank pose with your hands and feet pinned to the ground. The hands have to be positioned below your shoulders. Gradually lower your body to the floor. While doing so, try talking about three seconds to do each repetition. As mentioned before, your chest should reach the ground first, then your hips will follow. Once you’re on the floor, get back to the plank position and repeat the steps.

3. TRX Pushup

Depending on where you place your feet, TRX pushups can be easy or hard.

Position yourself behind a TRX and take hold of the handles. Move forward with the handles in front of you and your arms straight. Lower your body until your chest and thumbs are in contact, then push back up. If the workout feels like a piece of cake, move your feet back, then repeat the process. You may also prefer doing this variation on a raised surface to make it more intense.

4. Incline Pushup

To get the sensation of what it’s like performing a complete pushup, try this variation. It offers you ease, and you do not have to sacrifice your form while performing reps. You can use a bench, couch, or bed as a raised surface to place your hands on.

With your hands placed on the inclined surface, diagonally straighten your body. Once you are in an incline pushup position, perform the normal pushup motion with your chest aiming to reach for the elevated surface first. Eventually, you can decrease the incline height until you can do pushups from the ground.

5. Close Hands Push Up

This type of pushup is for advanced and intermediate trainees. A few quality reps of this routine will have you feeling the burn in new areas.

With your body in pushup position, bring your palms closer and align them under your chest. While using a narrow stance, perform a pushup. When you compare this pushup variation to the original, there are more triceps muscles engaged.

6. Hands-On Dumbbell Pushup

This method lets you go a few inches lower, making the workout more challenging. Try maintaining straight wrists to keep the pressure off of the ligaments in that area. A push up handle can work as well for this style.

Have the handles or dumbbells positioned where your hands would be when performing push ups. Grab your dumbbells and do a complete push up. Gradually lower yourself to take full advantage of the extra inches.

7. Lateral Push Up Move

With extra room in your workout space, this style will get you moving more than a standard pushup.

Perform a regular pushup, and once you raise your body, move with both feet and hands one step to the left or right. Repeat the same action, alternating to either side per rep.

8. Decline Pushup

This variation is different from its reverse (incline pushup). When you have your feet raised, the workout gets more challenging. The higher the surface, the more difficult the exercise.

With your feet placed on the raised surface, perform a pushup. Maintain your core and spine to make the exercise more effective. You will feel that this practice puts more focus on the chest muscles. Keep in mind that when you elevate your feet higher, the strain increases on the shoulder muscles.

9. Plyometric Clap Push Up

If you find yourself doing the previous workouts comfortably, this may be a challenge for you. This variation should not be attempted by beginners to avoid a high risk of injury.

The only modification is that when pushing back up, you need to thrust your body upward to gain height. The extra height provided allows you to clap your hands and get your palms back in position on your way down. Make sure that you get enough rest between sets.

10. Assisted One-Arm Push Up

This variation is the decisive test of pushup power. It is so hard that training regular pushups wouldn’t be enough preparation.

You will require a resistance band to train. Find something above head height and tie the resistance band. Hold the band with one hand near the chest and the other hand and your body in the pushup position. Your feet should be spread apart while performing the exercise and the band should offer assistance with your motion. As you progress, use bands with lower resistance until you can do a complete one-armed pushup.