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People just like you that are working with their own body weight to get strength, lose fat, build muscle, recover from injuries and live their best lives!
Many say they can do the push-up. But can they really do it in proper strict form? 🤔
Hands off paused push-ups are a great way to test your push-up strength in its full range of motion as well as check your form.
Many people say, “30 push-ups? Easy!” Once they start doing the exercise, you’ll see their chest not reaching the floor. You might also notice them using momentum and bouncing up and down. Doing push-ups as if it’s a sprint. 💨
Push-ups can be done in a faster tempo but that would be for a different goal. Faster tempo push-ups are specifically for building power and explosiveness. Not really exactly for everyone.
Add that speed tends to break your form if you’re not yet used to the proper form.
If you want to gain strength and muscle, then take the slower tempo for push-ups. Better yet, choose the hands off paused variation. ⚡
If regular push-ups are too easy, try this variation. Adding the pause eliminates the possibility to use momentum allowing maximization of muscle tension. The pause and release at the bottom also strengthen you in the fullest range of motion of the push-up.
The Hands-Off Paused Pushup is an integral step towards mastery of The Pushup Fundamental. Muscles targeted: pectorals, triceps, front deltoids, abdominals, trapezius. This movement improves bicep and tricep endurance, trapezius strength, and overall balance.
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👍 How to Know When It’s Safe to Attempt?
Simple, do regular push-ups. Once you’re comfortable with push-ups, I mean in strict proper form, you can move to this variation.
If the regular push-ups are still challenging, you can still move to the hands off paused variation to add intensity and make sure you utilize the full range of motion in a good tempo.
✅ Summarized Benefits
1. Trains core and other stabilizing muscles
2. Strengthen full range of motion of push-up
3. Builds stronger upper body
4. Boosts push-up numbers
How to Perform 💪
👍How to perform:
- Begin with body in a straight line, up on the toes, legs straight, and arms straight.
- Palms on the floor, tighten your abdominals.
- Bend at elbows, lowering chest all the way to the floor
- Lift hands off the floor a few cm and then return palms to floor
- Push back up into push up position, keeping body tight
- Repeat for specified repetitions
👉 Keep in Mind
Proper form of push-ups
Please, we can stress this enough. Below is the checklist for your form. This also goes to most push-up variations:
• Elbows tucked in. No flaring out
• Shoulders fully depressed
• Straight body line during the whole movement
• Full retraction of the scapula at the bottom-most part
• Protraction of the scapula at the top-most part
• Neutral head position
• Lockout arms at the top
• Engaged core
Coaching Pointers
Starting Position:
Tight core
Legs together
Extended arms
Planted toes
Straight legs
Flat hips
Lengthened spine
Flat Palm
Movement Position:
Elbows lifted pulling towards one another
Hands lifted
Planted toes
Chest on the floor
Finish Position:
Tight core
Legs together
Extended arms
Planted toes
Straight legs
Flat hips
Lengthened spine
Flat Palm
💡 Key Takeaway: The hands-off paused push-up is an excellent way to eliminate momentum and build true strength throughout the full range of motion. Master the pause at the bottom to maximize muscle tension and improve your overall push-up form.
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