Drop in a series of arm pushups and you’ll receive several different messages. The first message is that you have upper body strength for several days. Secondly, you are not afraid to do your job. Learning how to do push-ups on your arm requires balance, adjustments and lots of practice. And finally… you’re kind of a show-out.
We get it. Push-ups on your arm are a celebration worthy of a celebration. So if you have single-arm pushups in your repertoire, go ahead and show off.
But if doing one arm pushup is one of the training goals you struggled to meet, we have a plan to help you get there.
One Arm Push Ups: Step-by-Step Instructions
- Suppose you are stacking your shoulders above your wrist and doing push-ups with your feet slightly wider than your hip width. Keeps your body straight from your feet to your head.
- Maintain tension throughout your body and lift your left hand off the floor and back on your back.
- Bend your right elbow and lower your body towards the floor.
- Push away from the floor to return to the starting position.
- Perform equal personnel with both arms.
Tips for doing one-arm pushups
Ready to try your hand with one arm push-ups? CSCS’ Cody Braun offers tips for doing exercise safely and effectively.
1. Build a base
If you try one arm push-up before you’re ready, you’ll be irritated (or worse still injured).
“I recommend 30 basic levels of non-broken pushups before graduating to a one-arm pushup version,” says Brown. “There’s a big jump from a normal push-up to a one-arm push-up, so your upper body should be stronger before you try it.”
2. It progresses gradually
Better yet, try out a couple (still challenging) push-up variation before going all in with one arm.
“I recommend starting with a 1.5-arm pushup, also known as Archer’s pushups,” says Brown. “In this variation, you place about 75% of your body weight on one arm, and the other arm still helps.”
Once mastered by Archer’s push-ups, Brown suggests that he proceed to push-ups on one arm, with his feet on the floor and his hands on something like a bench or box. “The higher the surface, the wider the legs, the more accessible it becomes,” he says.
3. Use irradiation and torque
“One of the best tips to effectively nail down one arm push-up is to create a full-body tension, also known as irradiation,” says Brown. “Irradiation allows for the creation of whole body stability, which helps with the total strength output.”
“The other key is to focus on creating torque (twist force) through the arms planted by corkswings,” says Brown. Rotating your arms from the midline will help you maintain balance and improve stability.
4. Don’t expect perfection
Just like learning new skills, mastering one-arm push-ups takes time and practice. “It’s important to understand that the first batch of reps may not be pretty, and that’s fine,” says Brown. “Over time, we’ll clean up the form.” So we stick to it, but make yourself easier.
Brown also points out that one may feel more strongly than the other. “That’s fine, because one of the benefits of one-sided (one-sided) training is reducing the deficit of that strength,” he says. Practicing one-arm push-ups is a great way to “even do things.”
Benefits of One Arm Push Ups
In addition to ego boosting and plenty of gym credit, one-arm push-ups offer real health and fitness benefits.
Use only weight to build serious strength
Like standard push-ups, the single-arm version builds strength into the arms, chest, shoulders and core while pumping the heart. However, for those who can crush the person after having the person in charge with both hands, single arm push-ups present an even more important challenge.
“One-arm pushups are perfect for senior campaigners who want to continue their build-up strength on their weight alone,” says Brown.
Balance and stability trains
By removing one arm from the play, it doesn’t just increase the load on the work arm. It also reduces the base of the support and adds an instability element. One-arm push-ups are intense muscle exercises and Balance act.
Improves one-sided strength
Also, defects in the upper body are revealed. With standard pushups, it’s easy to compensate for the “weak” side. You simply push harder on the strong side. Using one arm at a time will lead you to focus on strengthening the muscles that need the most attention.
