The Power of Push-Up Weight!

Do you even lift bro? Well, in the standard push-up you support around 65 to 75 percent of your body weight. How much weight you push exactly depends on the weight distribution. So if you got more mass on your legs you will be pressing less weight and if you got more mass on your upper body you will be pressing more weight. Another factor for the push-up weight is the center of gravity. The more you move the center of gravity forward the harder it gets. To show a more practical approach we tried push-ups on a weight scale. Here you can easily see how the displayed weight varies depending on the push-up position. In the top position you support less and in the bottom position more weight. You can reduce the push-up weight if you place your hands higher than your legs. Of course the opposite counts if you reverse the angle. The higher you place your legs the more of your weight you are moving until you are doing handstand push-ups where you nearly support your complete body weight. Besides the push-up weight you also switch the focus more towards your shoulders instead of distributing the necessary strength output between your chest, shoulders and triceps. So how hard a push-up really is not only depends on the push-up weight but also on which muscles you target the most. You will always be able to produce more strength in horizontal push exercises like the bench press or push-ups than in any kind of overhead press movement. Okay and what about push-ups with feet in the air in a horizontal body position also known as planche push-ups? Well similar to handstand push-ups you not only have to push most of your body weight you also switch the focus way more towards your shoulders. A planche push-up is only possible if you move your shoulders in front of your wrists. In addition the more you extend your legs the more you have to increase that lean to stay in balance. So even if you would do weighted push-ups and add enough weight that you're pushing around 100% in total you would still not come close to the same strength output you need for a planche push-up. Another way to modify the push-up weight is doing it on your knees. Here you don't change the angle a lot but reduce the weight by changing the lever between the fulcrum and the point of action. The percentage of body weight in this variation of the exercise drops down to about 49 to 62%. Playing with the hand placement and working one side or another is also a great way to modify your push-up weight. You won't actually lift more than your body weight but you work your sides asymmetrically and this forces one side of your body to move more of the weight than the other. When you do one-arm push-ups you can effectively double the amount of weight you're lifting on each side individually. So instead of lifting 65 to 75% of your body weight with two arms you are doing it with only one. Doing push-ups like that can still not be compared to pushing the same amount of weight on a bench to 100%. When it comes to the bench the weight is concentrated at one point while it's distributed over your complete body when doing push-ups. Push-ups are also way more challenging in terms of abdominal, hip flexor and even quad work while the bench press is more challenging in terms of bar stabilization. Okay guys, if you now want to know how to integrate these modified push-up variations into a progressive day-by-day program you should head over to kellymove.com. Every guide comes in different levels, high quality videos and detailed instructions to unleash your full potential. If you like this video share it with a friend, like and subscribe. My name is Alex and I'll see you in the next video.