How to Get Your First One Arm Push Up
Hey!
I have a guest post and video for you today from my friend Forest Vance.
Enjoy!
How to Do A One Arm Push Up – Forest Vance – Body Weight Strong
The one arm push up is definitely a strength-based exercise, however there’s a lot of technique involved. Using these tips, many of you will be able to go from never having done a one arm push up to being able to do five or more.
You do need to have a base level of strength to do a one arm push up. You need to be able to do at least 30 solid standard push ups. So if you’re not up to that level yet, practice your push ups and progressions – we take you through those in the Body Weight Strong program. We show you how to go from knee push ups to hand elevated push ups, then standard and feet elevated push ups.
To practice getting into position you can do a couple of exercises. One thing you can do is elevate your off hand on a medicine ball or kettlebell. Practice putting most of your weight on the working arm and just using a little bit of weight to stabilize on the opposite arm. While you’re practicing your goal is to use less and less help with the off arm.
Another way to practice getting into body position is to elevate your hands. So you can use a bar or something similar to practice the one arm push up at an incline. This will help you get the proper muscle recruitment pattern and get into position to feel the actual movement.
Now you’re going to try the actual one arm push up. So arms should be close into your body, you’re going to slightly turn so that your shoulder comes in towards your hand, and then push away as you push up from the floor. Body is tight, and you are pushing away from the floor kind of like a corkscrew. Down and push it up.
So there’s your progression for a one arm push up. I hope that’s helpful for you. Put those moves together and practice. I look forward to hearing your success in mastering your first one arm push up. If you like this workout, make sure you check out the full Body Weight Strong program
Great stuff there Forest! Thanks for sharing.
I’m off to go knock out some one arm push ups myself!!