If you are tired of endless regular push-ups from the floor in the process of chasing a good figure, then reverse push-ups can be an interesting alternative. Try it and you will appreciate how your muscles will work in a new way. How to do back push-ups correctly, you will be prompted by our tips for those involved in sports at home.
The essence of the exercise and the effect on the muscles
From the name, everything is very clear: during the exercise, the hands are located behind the back. As usual, back push-ups are a complex exercise that involves the muscles of the whole body. The fact that push-ups is an exercise only for the hands is a common misconception. Yes, your triceps, as well as the front deltas and the top of the pectoralis major muscle, are most actively involved in the work, but the press muscles also do the work, keeping your body on weight. The thigh muscles also work, preventing the legs from dropping to the floor. The correct implementation of push-ups is the ability to include the whole body in the process immediately and correctly redistribute the load on the muscles.
The right technique: turn on the whole body
The key to a good result in any exercise is the correct technique. Back push-ups also require arms to be wider than the shoulders, but not too far apart. The shoulder joint moves as if on a hinge, in a straight line. The elbows do not diverge to the sides, but tend straight back. Do not straighten your arms until the elbow joints snap - let them be straightened by 98-99%, and the joints remain included in the work.
How low you go down depends on your abilities and level of training. Do not deepen the push-ups if you feel discomfort in the shoulder joints.
Do as many repetitions as your body allows (usually for beginners it is 5-6 times, and for trained people there may be more - up to 10-20 repetitions). Rest for a few seconds, restore breathing and continue the exercise. For beginners, 2-3 approaches are enough, for more experienced athletes and amateurs - 4-5.
Breathing should occur naturally. Try to coordinate the inhalation with the opening of the chest - lifting up, and exhaling, respectively, with compression and lowering down. There is an opinion that, on the contrary, exhalation should be done on the rise, at the point of maximum tension, and lower yourself with an inhalation. If it’s so convenient for you, you can try this option, but most likely you will lose your breath.
Remember the strong center of the body. If the press is turned on, it takes part of the load on itself. Whatever exercise you do, always try to pull your stomach inward and keep it in good shape. The same applies to the position of the pelvis - the lower back is not failed, the tailbone tends to heels.
Advanced athletes strive to make the exercise more difficult by putting weights on the pelvis - in the gym pancakes from the bar are usually used for this. This can be done only in the case of the correct (one might even say - ideal) technique of the exercise and in the basic version. It is important not to put weights on the knees to protect the joints. Better to move it closer to the pelvis.
Common mistakes involved
Our body will always strive to deceive us and make it easier for ourselves, so the first time you will need to exercise self-control and monitor the implementation of the exercise. Errors may occur such as:
- elbows dilated to the sides - in this position, the shoulder joints are overloaded;
- hunched back - the load transfers to the latissimus dorsi muscles instead of using triceps;
- failed lower back in push-ups from the floor or support;
- relaxed belly.
Your case should not be turned off from work. If the entire load is only on the hands - this is fraught with injury to the shoulder joints due to improper distribution of forces.
Do not pull the shoulders to the ears, on the contrary, push them to the sides and open the chest. If the shoulders during the lowering of the body strongly crawl forward, this will create unnecessary tension in the neck, namely in the upper trapezium.
It is worth mentioning about another mistake that is not directly related specifically to reverse push-ups, but quite common. It is about holding your breath during exercise. Remember to evenly alternate inspirations. Your body now needs oxygen, so try to keep track of your breathing and control it. By delaying this process, you complicate the work of your body.
Benefits of exercise
Back push-ups are highly effective. Excessive complex exercise will not interfere with any training program, and the upper parts of the hands will quickly become noticeably more attractive. Yes, reverse push-ups on triceps affect more than ordinary ones, so women who want to give a beautiful shape to their hands often choose this exercise. Also, many small muscle groups are included in the work, which are difficult to use with any other exercises.
An additional advantage of this exercise is its versatility - it can be performed even at home, using a bed as a support. Even a weighted version is suitable for home workouts - grab a bottle of water or a heavy book.
Contraindications to push-ups
Like every exercise, these push-ups have their own list of contraindications:
- You should not do any push-ups if your shoulder or elbow joints are junking - the cause may be both a recent injury or chronic pain.
- It is also better to postpone push-ups if there are any problems with the wrists - instead of palms try to lean on your forearms, with your hands behind your back. Even if the eversion of the shoulder joints does not allow you to fully push out in this position, at least fix yourself at the highest point and stand there for a few seconds. For regular push-ups, this technique is also suitable.
- Any general ailment requires a balanced assessment - is it worth doing push-ups today or not? Will it harm my health or is it just a manifestation of laziness?
Back push ups from the floor
Starting position - sitting on the floor, socks on yourself, hands rest on the palms behind the back and look towards the pelvis. On inspiration, lift the pelvis and stretch the body in a straight line from the top of the head to the tailbone. You can stay in this position and work in statics - you will get the opposite bar. Do not drop the pelvis, do not tilt your head back and do not lift it strongly forward, creating excess tension in the body - the nape line continues the spine. As you exhale, go down, but do not try to go too deep - your shoulder joints will suffer. As you inhale, rise back, but do not straighten your arms completely.
If it’s easy for you to perform this exercise, then try to tear one leg off the floor and keep it on weight. It is important that no changes in the stability of the body occur at the same time: there is no point in doing push-ups with one foot on the weight, if at the same time you have a warped pelvis or chest. In this case, you better first just fix yourself in the "one foot on weight" position and stay in it for several seconds.
Push ups with bended knees
This exercise is a lightweight version of the previous one. Many trainers recommend that girls start with him. Here, in the initial position, the knees are bent, and the heels tend to the buttocks. Rising, you come to the position of a flat “table” - lower legs and arms are perpendicular to the rest of the body. You can also linger at the extreme point (not forgetting to pull the pelvis up), and then do a few dynamic repetitions.
As in the previous exercise, you can try to leave one foot on the weight. However, in this option, there is a big risk of failing the lower back and turning the stomach off. When straightening your leg, imagine that the abdominal muscles help you hold it, and try to feel this bodily-leg-to-body relationship.
Back push-ups from the chair
For this variation of exercise, you will need a chair or bench: make sure that the selected piece of furniture is stable enough and will withstand your manipulations with it. You place the chair behind you and grab it with your palms toward you. Then, as in push-ups from the floor, lower the body down on the exhale and lift it up on the inhale. Depending on how much load you need, your legs may be bent or fully extended. In general, it is believed that back push-ups from a bench or chair are slightly lighter than from the floor.
Bench Dips
In addition to the above, there is another option of push-ups with a bench. Rather, it would be more correct to call this option “using two benches”. The second name for this exercise is “failures.” You have to set two benches opposite each other and lean on one with your hands, and on the second with your feet. Then you slowly lower the pelvis to the floor. The palms behind you are turned on you. You can push yourself back a little faster than dropping. Do not lose the feeling of center and keep your stomach in a constant light tone.
The load in such backward push-ups from the bench depends on how much you raise or lower your legs. The wider the legs, the easier it is to go down. You can complicate the exercise as much as possible by throwing one foot on the other. Just do not forget then to repeat the same number of push-ups, placing the other leg on top, so that the muscles work evenly.
Dips
The muscles of your body will perceive this type of backward push-ups as the most difficult, because here you have no support on your legs, and your hands have to squeeze the weight of your whole body without help. But if you correctly redistribute the load and turn on the press, it will be much easier for you than if you just hang out on the uneven bars like a hose. To do this, slightly bend or even cross your legs: to hold them, your core muscles will automatically turn on. Ideally, you should go down to that level until the armpits are equal to the bars. But at the very beginning of training, of course, go down as much as possible. It is important to control the entire process of movement - do not fall down jerkily and do not rise upward, helping yourself with small movements of the legs. Then push-ups will bring you the necessary results.
Tips for practicing
Never exercise without preheating. To recall push-ups in between household chores and quickly make a couple of approaches - this, of course, is commendable, but without proper training it will not bring any results. Even in this express version (training in five minutes), it’s worth at least a little warm up to the push-ups themselves.
Alternate dynamics with fixation. Do a few repetitions without stopping at the extreme point at all, so that the blood circulates better through the muscles. On the last repetition, on the contrary, stop at the maximum amplitude and work on muscle endurance.
You should also not add additional weights to the exercises if you have not fully mastered the embodiment exclusively with your own weight.
After doing the exercises, do not forget to “cool down” at the final stage of the training - stretching and recovery.