Not everyone will do handstand push-ups, because the exercise requires not only strength in the muscles, but also the ability to maintain balance. This type is also called vertical push-ups, they are performed against the wall, and experienced athletes do push-ups at all, without support.
Before moving on to the technique of performing the exercise, let's take a look at its anatomy, advantages, disadvantages, and safety techniques.
Vertical push-ups from the floor can lead to injuries and bruises, especially if untrained athletes practice them without the support of a coach or co-worker.
What musculature is involved in the process?
We are not exaggerating at all if we say that push-ups in a handstand affect almost all muscles of the body (except for the legs):
- Target musculature - triceps, anterior and middle deltoid muscles, clavicular part of the pectoralis major muscle, trapezius;
- The muscles of the core are responsible for maintaining balance and a stable position of the body in space - the press, gluteal muscles, and extensors of the spine. A similar muscle group will be involved if you squat against a wall.
- Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints, as well as ligaments and tendons are actively working.
So now you know what the push-ups are swinging upside down and which muscles get the most stress. Let's move on to the pros and cons of the assignment.
Benefit and harm
Standing push-ups against the wall require excellent muscle coordination, a developed sense of balance, trained stabilizer muscles, and of course, remarkable strength in the hands. Just imagine, a person will not only have to go upright, but also do push-ups, that is, push all their weight upside down, and more than once.
The benefit of this exercise lies in the high-quality training of all the above muscle groups, also, the athlete increases the level of his endurance, strength, learns to better feel balance. In a way, this is an accepted and successfully overcome challenge to oneself, because not everyone will be able to master this exercise. Thus, a person trains willpower and character, increases self-esteem, and experiences emotional satisfaction.
If the athlete is ill-prepared or has health problems, exercise can harm him. Let's find out the contraindications:
- Pregnancy;
- Exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- Acute inflammatory processes;
- Blood pressure surges;
- Injuries to ligaments, joints, tendons of the upper shoulder girdle;
- Visual impairment, eye diseases;
- Mentally unhealthy conditions and diseases;
Please note that in addition to the risk of not being held in a handstand and falling, thereby receiving an injury or serious injury, you can injure your spine if you put your head on the floor. In no case should this be done. First, the spine in this position is extremely unstable. Secondly, the cervical spine becomes vulnerable. Third, you can injure your head without even understanding how it happened.
Preparation phase
Hand push-ups upside-down from the wall are easier to do than without vertical support. However, despite the simplification, the exercise still remains difficult to coordinate and requires solid preparation from the athlete. Try a regular handstand (as if you are going to walk on your hands). Happened?
Below are some great exercises to help you prepare your body for the new technique.
- Traditional push-ups from the floor with a delay at the bottom. It is important to stay for 3-5 seconds, using the triceps muscle as much as possible (do not spread your elbows too much);
- Push-ups in the closed horizon. Bend your knees and hips, touch your chest with your knees. Place your palms on the floor and transfer your body weight to your hands. Bend your elbows so that the folded body stands horizontally, your hands should touch your hips tightly. Start push-ups;
- As soon as the previous exercise becomes easy for you, try to bring your legs back and up from its starting position into a handstand. Start small, and raise your legs as high as your muscles allow. Gradually bring the body upright.
- Vertical push-ups against the wall begin to be done after learning how to perform a handstand. The same goes for push-ups without support.
As soon as you master the exercises listed above, and begin to do them confidently and boldly, you can proceed to push-ups in a handstand, the benefits and harms of which have been described above.
Execution technique
- Warm up;
- Do a handstand (against the wall or from the horizon), put your palms on the floor shoulder-width apart, the body is stretched, the spine slightly bends in the lumbar region, the pelvis protrudes slightly in front of the head, the feet are strictly above the head;
- While inhaling, gently bend your elbows, while the chest should, as it were, go into a horizontal plane. The shift in the center of gravity must compensate for the deflection in the lumbar spine.
- As you exhale, slowly rise up, pressing your palms into the floor. The chest returns to a vertical plane, the pelvis helps control balance.
- Do the required number of repetitions.
If you are wondering how to learn how to do push-ups in a handstand against a wall, do the same, but you can put your feet on a support. You can lean on your heels, toes, a full foot. In this case, it is not necessary to control the balance with the pelvis. The distance from the wall to the athlete is approximately 1 step.
This exercise is quite difficult to perform. Therefore, do not be discouraged if at first you fail. You can start with more familiar variations (including push-ups from the wall in the usual position not upside down).
Exercise variations
We have figured out how to learn to do push-ups while standing on your hands upside down, let's also list the variations of the exercise:
- Handstand against the wall;
- In a handstand without support;
- Kipping push-ups - at the lowest point, before going up, the athlete bends his knees and brings them to his chest, and at the very moment of pushing up, he sharply straightens his legs. Thus, he creates a forward jerk, making it easier for himself to exit to the starting position;
Now you know how to learn to do upside down push-ups, let's also look at the nuances of safety.
Safety engineering
- Do not make sudden jerks, work smoothly;
- Do not put your head on the floor if it did not work out, in no case do not transfer all the weight to it and your neck;
- Place a soft mat under your head;
- During lowering, the elbows are slightly parted to the sides;
- The body should be collected, tense in every muscle;
- Spread your fingers as wide as possible to increase the footprint in the rack.
In conclusion, we recommend that you carefully prepare for the exercise. It is very difficult to do push-ups in a vertical position, and you need to start the task only when you feel that you are ready. Good luck and sporting achievements!