Plyometric push-ups are a way to improve your physical performance levels, increasing explosive strength, speed and agility. As you get used to simple push-ups, you should switch to plyometric push-ups, which are performed pulsed in a short period of time. These exercises include push-ups with clapping and jumping. Let's take a closer look at their advantages and disadvantages.
Push-ups with cotton
Benefit
- Such push-ups allow you to increase explosive strength and speed, which is necessary when delivering quick strikes in martial arts, in CrossFit complexes, and the like.
- Train a large number of muscles through a combination of movements in one exercise.
- They are energy-consuming, accelerate the metabolic rate, and help reduce the level of fat in the body.
Flaws
- They are a dangerous exercise. There is a risk of injury if you land on your hands untimely with insufficient speed or insufficient tone of the muscles and ligaments.
- Not suitable for beginners, only for advanced athletes.
What muscles work
In this version, unlike regular push-ups, the serratus anterior, iliopsoas and quadratus muscles are activated. The pectoralis major muscles, triceps, trapezius, latissimus, shoulder and forearm muscles also work. As always, the core muscles act as stabilizers - the gluteal, quadriceps, lumbar extensors, and abdominal muscles.
Technique
- Place your palms slightly wider than your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart. Maintain a straight line of your body, do not allow your lower back and pelvis to sag.
- As you inhale, bend your elbows, lowering your chest toward the floor.
- With an exhalation, perform a push-up from the floor, as you straighten your elbows from the middle of the amplitude, perform a powerful explosive push-up that helps lift your palms off the floor, and clap your palms in the air.
- As you inhale, land on your palms with your elbows slightly bent and bend your arms, lowering your chest toward the floor.
Push-ups with a clap behind your back
These push-ups require more explosive power, suspension in the air and a high jump. Therefore, before performing it, you should master the previous version well, increase the duration of the hover in the jump and the flight altitude.
- To perform, you should take the same starting position - arms slightly wider than shoulders, feet wider than the width of your pelvis.
- As you inhale, you should go lower, and with a powerful exhalation, when pushing out, you need to raise your torso as high as possible in order to have time to put your hands behind your back and clap.
- It is also important to land on time with slightly bent arms and repeat the movement.
Overhead clap push-ups
Another variation for developing explosive power. The technique is similar to the previous version, only now the clap is performed by pushing the arms forward, parallel to the floor. Thus, the clap is performed above the crown.
Development of hand speed qualities
The high-speed qualities of your hands, which, in addition to strength, help develop explosive push-ups, will be useful to you not only in strength and game sports, but also simply in life.
Neuromuscular synapse
The rate of muscle fiber contraction is strictly limited. The nerve that transmits impulses from the brain to the muscle cannot perform its function faster than a certain time interval. However, if we talk about the everyday concept of speed (and strength, by the way), then this quality does not depend on the time of impulse transmission along the nerve fiber, but on the ability to voluntarily put a large number of motor units into work at once.
One motor unit is a muscle fiber to which a nerve approaches, forming a neuromuscular junction. In order to perform a certain movement quickly and with maximum force, you need to engage many muscles at the same time. And this quality is developed not so much by training the muscles, but by training the nervous system. In this case, you need to perform the exercises as quickly as possible, and the movements should be sharp.
Reaction speed
One of the best exercises for this purpose is “explosive” push-ups. In most cases, in the “flight” phase, when you just push off, you need to have time to perform some additional movement with your hands, for example, clapping. In any case, you need to land on your palms - and you need to do this before you hit your face on the floor. That is, reaction speed and speed of hand movement are important. Therefore, explosive push-ups are most often used to train athletes in boxing, kickboxing, ARB, combat sambo, MMA martial arts, where a quick and powerful punch is needed. However, explosive push-ups have a number of modifications that will be useful for CrossFitters, so we advise you to include them in your training complexes.
Superman push-ups
Like other plyometric push-up variations, the Superman push-up builds explosiveness, speed, and power. But at the same time it requires a higher level of physical fitness, since it involves lifting not only the hands from the floor, but also the feet.
The disadvantage can be considered a high risk of injury; unprepared athletes can receive a number of injuries if the technique is unsuccessfully performed.
What muscles work
Unlike other types of push-ups, the quadriceps muscles of the thigh, buttocks, latissimus and other muscles of the back surface of the body work stronger here. Otherwise, all the same stabilizers are turned on.
Technique
- Place your palms under your shoulder joints and your feet hip-width apart. Maintain a straight line throughout your entire body throughout the approach.
- As you inhale, bend your elbows, pressing them as close to your body as possible.
- With an exhalation, push up and from the middle of the amplitude, with a powerful movement, push off the floor as high as possible using your hips and arm muscles. When hovering in the air, you need to raise your arms in front of you at the same time as your legs fly up. The position at the top simulates flight above the ground.
- As you inhale, return your palms and feet to the floor and repeat the movement.
⁉ Question answer
How do I know when I'm ready to move from classic push-ups to clap push-ups?
The body, ligaments and joints must be prepared for such a load. The following data can serve as a guide: 1. You need to be able to perform classic push-ups from the floor at a fast pace at least 50–70 times in one approach. 2. Practice preparatory exercises, such as explosive push-ups, before moving on to clap push-ups.
Explosive push-ups
This type of exercise is best to start mastering plyometric push-ups. Firstly, they are the simplest technically. Secondly, they are less traumatic, since the separation of the palms from the floor is small.
The disadvantage can be considered possible injury due to incorrect technique, as well as shock load on the joints. Therefore, for pain and injuries of the joints of the upper extremities, this option is contraindicated.
What muscles work
As always, when doing push-ups, the pectoral muscles, triceps, anterior deltoids and elbow muscles are included in the work. The core muscles also act as stabilizers.
Technique
- Place your palms under your shoulders, feet hip-width apart.
- As you inhale, lower your chest toward the floor, bending your elbows along your torso.
- As you exhale, straighten your elbows and use momentum to push off the floor, lifting your palms a short distance from the ground.
- As you inhale, land your palms on the floor with your elbows slightly bent.
