If you have never heard of the Hindu push-up, you are in for a treat. This push-up variation hits all the right spots and should be something everyone should add to their training routine.
Contrary to what most people think of push-ups, the Hindu push-up will actually engage neglected muscles of your lower body and go beyond just targeting your triceps and pecs on your upper body.
And yes, we have talked about multiple different push-up variations in the past, but once you find out the benefits, you will want to incorporate this push-up variation into your training program.
How to Do Hindu Push-Ups
- Begin in a downward dog position in which your feet are planted on the ground and your arms straight.
- Legs are straight, your butt is up in the air and your arms are stretched in front of your body. Your body language should look like a V shape.
- Dive through the middle aiming your head towards your hands.
- Without touching the ground with your chest or knees, hyperextend your back until you reach the common yoga position known as cobra pose.
- Look up and keep your hands and shoulders in front of your hands.
- Hold the position for a few seconds to feel the thoracic and lumbar extension.
- Bring the butt back pointing up returning to the V shape initial position.
- That is one rep.
Although quite similar, the Hindu push-up is not a diver bomber push-up variation, as the latter will make you reverse the standards instead of repeating it in a one-movement cycle.
Mistakes to Avoid
Proper position is 50% of the exercise. If you can set up your body properly, you will be able to get the best out of the Hindu push-up.
The first mistake you should avoid is your feet positioning. Make sure it is planted on the ground and, if possible, not on the tip of your toes. This will help you get a good stretch on your hamstrings, a muscle very important for our daily tasks, but that rarely gets the attention it deserves.
As important as the feet position is your upper body locked position. Except when diving down to lower your body, your arms should be stretched.
To get the best out of the exercise, make sure you are contracting your core throughout the movement.
The worst mistake you can make while performing a Hindu push-up is to touch the ground with your knees or waist during the movement. If that happens, you will lose tension in your body making the exercise lose its benefits.
Muscles Worked
Now we are getting to the good part of the Hindu push-up. The muscles worked for this exercise go beyond a normal push-up or most of its variations.
- Triceps
- Pecs
- Delts
- Biceps
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Core
- Lower back
Read More: The Best 15-Minute Fat Burning Home Workout (No Equipment Needed)
Benefits of the Hindu Push-Up
The crème de la crème. The benefits of the Hindu push-up are immense. Check out what Adam Sinicki, known on YouTube as The Bioneer, talk about the numerous benefits of doing Hindu push-ups.
In short, there are 6 big takeaway benefits of adding the Hindu push-up to your training arsenal.
- The hamstring flexibility it provides will increase your ability to run, jump and reduce the stiffness on your lower back.
- It will increase shoulder strength and mobility which translates to better handstand push-ups, military press and most Olympic lifting exercises.
- “It also activates the vestibular system because your head is swooping like this,” Sinicki explains. “There’s a lot of movement and it needs to coordinate itself and it needs to figure out where you are in space.”
- The thoracic and spine mobility the Hindu push-up does will improve your chances to avoid injuries and stiffness on your core and back.
- Any exercise that includes some form of the squat will be greatly improved.
- The overall arm strength and stretch of the Hindu push-up will help you with other core exercises such as the planche.
“All of this in a gentle and controlled way that you can do for relatively high repetitions without a risk of injury,” Sinicki says.
How to Add the Hindu Push-Up To Your Training
As Sinicki said earlier, you can do relatively high repetitions of this exercise to build up your overall strength.
The best way to incorporate Hindu push-ups into your training is to do them at the end of the end, probably when you are focusing on increasing your upper body strength.
A good starting point is to perform 3 sets of 6-12 repetitions. Find out how comfortable you are with the positioning of the exercise and remember to avoid common mistakes.
Read More: 30 Effective Home Workouts
image sources
- Hindu Push-up: Nikola Murniece / Unsplash
