How to do 1 arm push ups (like Rocky)
Published: Fri, 10/26/12
It's my birthday weekend so I'm taking the afternoon off to go hang
out with my friends Ryan, Elliott and Chris.
After that the wifey and I are headed to Howl-o-Scream at Bush Gardens,
an amusement park here in Tampa. During Halloween they turn it into
a park with haunted houses and I get a real kick out of seeing how scared
people get (myself included at times.)
Enough about me, this email is about you. I'm glad you enjoyed yesterdays
email about doing 100 push ups. But have you ever tried a 1 arm push up?
Here's How to do One Arm Push Ups
There is a lot that can be said about arm pushup training as there are many
different variations that one can do. The now famous one arm pushup started
with people like Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone and even Jack Palance who
did a one arm pushup in from of millions of people getting an Oscars award.
There is a lot that can be said about arm pushup training as there are many
different variations that one can do. The now famous one arm pushup started
with people like Bruce Lee, Sylvester Stallone and even Jack Palance who
did a one arm pushup in from of millions of people getting an Oscars award.
There are basically two types of one arm pushups that one can do or practice
to do. The first and without a doubt the most famous is the "arm out" pushup
that was done by Rocky and Bruce Lee on film. The first step is the position
of your legs, which should be spread wider than your shoulders.
The arm out is vital as one tends to automatically put your hand directly under-
neath you in order to maintain your balance. But this is not going to be doing
a one arm pushup as you will only be pushing your bodyweight up and not
isolating the one side of your body correctly.
When in this position you will immediately feel the tension on your hand that
is on the floor and your opposite leg which is what is keeping you balanced.
You will feel that your torso start to twist and your hips sag but the objective
is to keep your body tight and as straight as possible.
Your non-pressing arm should be tucked behind your back in order to keep
balanced a bit easier. But there are many other options that one can choose
on what to do with the other hand. For example one can elevate the hand or
even tie your hand to a rope from the ceiling.
The second type of the basic one arm pushup technique is the "arm in" style
or technique. When doing this type of pushup one will obviously be putting
a lot more stress on the triceps of the arm underneath you. The big difference
here is that the upper arm should be about 45 degrees to the body.
The first technique mentioned above the angle of your upper arm to the body
should be about 90 degrees. The legs should be a little closer together than
the wide stance you did in the first technique. You need to make sure that
you keep the arm very tight in order to not lose balance.
By twisting the hand from the start, the arm and elbow will naturally
want to pull in closer to the body than if you weren't applying any force
through the hand. Again, the hand is not moving, but this act of trying to twist
it will create a chain-reaction that carries up and into the torso, and ultimately
creates the proper tension.
The last part of the second basic arm pushup is something that you need to
focus on and that is the tension in your back or lats. You should try to push
your arm into your one lat. The progression that one goes through in order to
finally do reps of one arm pushups is important.
When doing progressive calisthenics one should not do half a movement until
you can do it properly but rather select an easier method to get the technique
right. What this means is that you should start just simply leaning against a wall
and doing a one arm pushup.
The next step after you are doing reps leaning against a wall is starting on your
knees until you can do reps. One can then progress by resting your hand on a
medicine ball or even a basketball, which is more difficult of course.
to do. The first and without a doubt the most famous is the "arm out" pushup
that was done by Rocky and Bruce Lee on film. The first step is the position
of your legs, which should be spread wider than your shoulders.
The arm out is vital as one tends to automatically put your hand directly under-
neath you in order to maintain your balance. But this is not going to be doing
a one arm pushup as you will only be pushing your bodyweight up and not
isolating the one side of your body correctly.
When in this position you will immediately feel the tension on your hand that
is on the floor and your opposite leg which is what is keeping you balanced.
You will feel that your torso start to twist and your hips sag but the objective
is to keep your body tight and as straight as possible.
Your non-pressing arm should be tucked behind your back in order to keep
balanced a bit easier. But there are many other options that one can choose
on what to do with the other hand. For example one can elevate the hand or
even tie your hand to a rope from the ceiling.
The second type of the basic one arm pushup technique is the "arm in" style
or technique. When doing this type of pushup one will obviously be putting
a lot more stress on the triceps of the arm underneath you. The big difference
here is that the upper arm should be about 45 degrees to the body.
The first technique mentioned above the angle of your upper arm to the body
should be about 90 degrees. The legs should be a little closer together than
the wide stance you did in the first technique. You need to make sure that
you keep the arm very tight in order to not lose balance.
By twisting the hand from the start, the arm and elbow will naturally
want to pull in closer to the body than if you weren't applying any force
through the hand. Again, the hand is not moving, but this act of trying to twist
it will create a chain-reaction that carries up and into the torso, and ultimately
creates the proper tension.
The last part of the second basic arm pushup is something that you need to
focus on and that is the tension in your back or lats. You should try to push
your arm into your one lat. The progression that one goes through in order to
finally do reps of one arm pushups is important.
When doing progressive calisthenics one should not do half a movement until
you can do it properly but rather select an easier method to get the technique
right. What this means is that you should start just simply leaning against a wall
and doing a one arm pushup.
The next step after you are doing reps leaning against a wall is starting on your
knees until you can do reps. One can then progress by resting your hand on a
medicine ball or even a basketball, which is more difficult of course.
This is just one of the techniques covered in the "Muscle Building Experiment"
which is a body weight training program for putting on muscle mass.
Gotta run bu make sure to keep training hard,
Mike Westerdal
CriticalBench.com
P.S. Yes you can gain muscle with just body weight exercises. Here's how.