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Resistance band push-ups are becoming one of the more popular exercises to build upper body strength. For fitness enthusiasts who have already mastered the traditional push-up, resistance band push-ups can be an exciting upgrade to target their muscle mass.
Push-ups are invariably recommended in almost every exercise routine. They primarily work out the chest, shoulders, and triceps, but they recruit every major muscle in the upper body.
As with any exercise, push-ups can become relatively easy if you practice them regularly, as your muscle strength increases gradually. If you're at a stage where you can do 15-20 push-ups without breaking a sweat, it might be time for you to consider moving on to more advanced variations of the exercise.
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Simply put, resistance band push-ups are a progressive variation of traditional push-ups that can challenge muscles at a greater level, leading to better muscle growth and mass in the upper body.
In this article, we will discuss about resistance band push-ups and how you can perform them, along with their variations, benefits, and muscles worked.
For more info, read about whether resistance bands are effective for fitness.
How to Perform Resistance Band Push-Up
It's essential that you perform push-ups with the proper form to get the most out of the exercise and reduce the risk of injury.
Here's how to perform resistance band-push ups:
- Decide about how you want to place the band in your hands. You can use either your palm or thumb to loop it.
- It hurts to loop a band around your thumb when it's a medium-sized band or larger. It's acceptable to loop a small band around your thumb if you're using one, but it's better to get used to wearing the band around your palm.
- Form an X by crossing the band. That will prevent the band from flying up behind your neck while you're doing the push up.
- Loop the band around your palms, and place it around your back.
- Get into the push-up position while on your knees.
- When you begin the push-up, the band should feel like it will stay in place.
- If not, adjust it till you're comfortable while seated on your knees.
- The thumbs should be directly under your shoulders or just outside shoulder width when performing a resistance band push-up.
- The elbows should be at 45 degrees to the body. Flared-out elbows are a weaker position to push from and can wreck the shoulders.
Tips for good form:
- Throughout the exercise, maintain a straight body, including the head. The position of the hips should be neutral.
- Maintain a 45-degree angle between your elbows and body. Don't let your elbows flare out during a standard push-up.
- An explosive upward motion followed by a slow negative motion characterises a good tempo.
- From the high plank position, move your body a bit forward to increase the chest resistance.
Variations of Resistance Band Push-Up
The following are some variations of resistance band push-ups that you can perform to challenge yourself:
1) Diamond Push-Up
A close grip push-up entails performing a push-up with your hands closer together. The elbows should stay close to your sides as you lower yourself. This push-up is used to work out the triceps and inner chest.
2) Wide Grip Push-Up
Your hands will be about half a foot wider than shoulder width when performing wide-grip push-ups. The elbows should slightly flare out to the sides in this position, and your range of motion should be restricted.
Wide grip push-ups are popular, as they focus more on the chest. While that may be true, they also activate the pec major less than standard and close grip push-ups.
As this variation doesn't involve much use of the triceps, you can do this push-up at the end of your workout session so that even if the triceps are exhausted, you will be able to work out the chest.
3) Incline Push-Up
In banded incline push-ups, keep your feet on the ground while raising your hands to a platform.
The incline push-up exercises the lower head of the pec major like a decline bench press does. Additionally, the back muscles are hit harder. For beginners, incline push-ups are beneficial. Start with a high platform, and gradually lower it till you can perform flat, conventional push-ups.
4) Decline Push-Up
In decline resistance band push-ups, you must raise your feet up on a platform while keeping your hands on the floor. Proceed to do a push-up the way you normally would.
Decline push-ups focus more on the upper head of the pec major. Additionally, they also strengthen the front delts more.
Muscles Worked in Resistance Band Push-Up
Regular push-ups work out the pecs (chest muscles), triceps, and shoulder muscles. Resistance band push-ups allow the pecs, shoulders, and triceps to exert more force than regular push-ups.
If you're interested in more muscle building exercises using resistance bands, check out these resistance band exercises for men to build muscles.
