Weighted Pushups: The best exercise you're not doing.
How did I realise weighted pushups were such a fantastic movement?
Well, as I work out in the comfort of my own home, I often have time to try out different exercises that may look a bit weird to the average gym goer. I try to find more efficient ways to do old school exercises as you really can’t beat the basics.
BUT, you can always put a fresh spin on these basics. Weighed pushups aren’t exactly new but a lot of people just don’t know how to properly perform it. With that in mind, let’s crack on with it.
Here’s your guide to weighted pushups: The best exercise you’re not doing.
WHAT ARE WEIGHTED PUSHUPS?
The standard pushup is an amazing exercise that builds a huge chest, shoulders and triceps. It also works the core as it is used to stabilise the body throughout the movement.
The only problem with regular pushups is that once you can do them with ease, adding more reps simply won’t build muscle. You want to be staying in the 6-12 rep range ideally for the best muscle building results.
This is where weighted pushups come in. Doing these by having someone load weight plates on your upper back is one way to do it, but frankly, it’s uncomfortable, unsafe and can only be done with a training partner to load and unload the weights.
HOW TO DO THEM
Invest in a dipping belt and load the weight that way. This allows for virtually unlimited overloading of the exercise (which is key to muscle growth).
To allow the dip belt to be effective, you need some clearance from the ground. To achieve this, set a barbell up at around knee height and bench a body’s length away. This will be your platform.
The position of the load is also important, loading the weights around the mid to lower back allows the pushup to play to its strength – the fact that the scapula isn’t fixed against an object such as in the bench press.
This allows for reduced inflammation around the target muscles and is what makes this unique move so beneficial.
ADDING THEM TO YOUR WORKOUT
And here’s a sample workout to include weighted pushups in:
Bench Press: 3 sets of 8 reps
Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 10 reps
Cable Laterals: 3 sets of 12 reps
Weighted Pushups: 3 sets of 12 reps
Cable Flyes: 3 sets of 15 reps
If you want more exercise breakdowns like this then click through to my wellbeing section, here.
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