Reverse hand push up is a strength-building exercise to add to your workout routine. The exercise works out your upper body increasing strength in the upper muscles. It primarily targets your abs and back muscles. It also activates your leg muscles.
When done correctly and consistently, it is effective for your triceps, deltoids, core, and pectoral muscles. Proper form is essential to perform the exercise as it involves a more complex range of motion.
A reverse hand push up is done with your hands and fingers facing backward towards your feet. It entails lowering and raising your body using your arms and toes planted firmly to the ground.
The reverse hand push up exercise can be carried out at home and has no special equipment needed. Just ensure a leveled ground for better balance.
HOW TO DO REVERSE HAND PUSH UP PROPERLY
- Resume a plank position and bring your feet together. Rotate your shoulders and wrist to turn your hand and fingers towards your feet. Place your hands slightly out shoulder-width apart and your legs hip-width apart. Plant your toes firmly to the ground.
- Engage your core by squeezing your quads and glutes with your ribs down and pelvis slightly tucked. Chin up throughout the movements! This will be your beginning position.
- Lower your chest in a controlled manner towards the ground as you inhale. Bend your elbows until your biceps are nearly parallel with the ground. Your elbows should remain tucked and as close as possible to your body. Align your upper arms with your back with your wrist below your elbows.
- As your chest nears the ground, pause, then engage your biceps to push back to the original position. This counts as one rep.
REVERSE HAND PUSH UP MUSCLE WORKED
The reverse hand push up can be an effective cardio exercise to add to your workout. The exercise increases your upper body strength and targets your leg muscles to a lesser extent. It primarily targets abs and quads, glutes, triceps, deltoids, core, and pectoral muscles.
ABDOMINAL MUSCLE
It is also known as the rectus abdominis muscle or the abs. They are straight parallel muscles that extend along the abdomen front. They are essential in breathing and during respiration when exhaling heavily. Also, they help to keep the internal organs intact.
Exercising the abs helps burn calories and reduces your waistline to a slimmer one. It also helps in improving an upright posture and also prevents back pain. Abs also help to breathe better and improve your sports performance.
They help control your breathing as you inhale and exhale between the reverse hand push up workout movement.
TRICEPS
The triceps consist of three heads: the medial, the lateral, and the long head. The key responsibility is to straighten the arm by extending the elbow joint.
The triceps help build your upper body strength, improving your shoulder and elbow movements.
Strong triceps are good for flexibility and increase your shoulder and arms stability. Moreover, strong triceps increase your range of motion.
They help lower and lift your body by adding strength to your upper arms.
BICEPS
Biceps consist of a short and long head that works a single muscle. They are located at the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and elbow. They are attached to the arm bone by connective tissues known as tendons.
Biceps are responsible for the flexion and outward rotation of the forearm.
Exercising on the biceps increases the strength and size of the upper arm muscles.
In reverse hand push up, the biceps are engaged to push back your body to a start position.
BENEFITS OF REVERSE HAND PUSH UP
1. TRANSFORMS TO A DESIRABLE BODY
A reverse hand push up is an exercise that engages your upper muscles and activates your abdominal muscle. The exercise helps to burn fat giving you a more attractive waistline. Working out on the biceps also helps increase desirable upper arm size.
2. INCREASED UPPER BODY STRENGTH
The workout concentrates more on the upper body muscles. Therefore builds strength in the upper body muscles, including the shoulders, arms, chest, and core.
3. IMPROVES YOUR ATHLETE PERFORMANCES
The reverse hand push up workout increases your range of motion and improves flexibility.
ALTERNATIVE TO REVERSE HAND PUSH UP
Below are similar workouts to add to your exercise routine that targets the same muscles.
DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
The use of dumbbells increases the range of motion compared to barbells.
How to do dumbbell bench press:
- Lie with your torso facing up and your back flat on the bench. Keep your legs on the ground, bent on the knees.
- Hold a pair of dumbbells on each side of your hips. Your palms should be facing toward your feet.
- Engage your core and raise the dumbbells towards the ceiling until your elbows are fully extended. Engage your lats while rotating your shoulders outwards. Maintain a stable back.
- Controllably lower the dumbbells until your upper arm is level with your back. Hold for some seconds at the bottom.
- Slowly start the upward movement back to the start position. to avoid muscle strains, do not bring contact with the dumbbells at the top. This completes one rep.
OVERHEAD PRESS
The exercise works out your upper body, targeting the pectorals, deltoids, triceps, and traps. Use dumbbells in place of barbels. The dumbbells give more range of motion for different angles hence more areas to be triggered.
How to do overhead press:
- Hold the dumbbells in each hand at a shoulder height level to get to a standing position. Keep your feet at shoulder-width apart and your palms facing each other. You can hold onto this position as long as you can.
- Lift the dumbbells over your head with your arms fully extended on the sides.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the start position. You can add more weight with time as you do as many repetitions as possible.
REVERSE HAND PUSH UP MISTAKES TO AVOID
The reverse hand push up might seem like a straightforward exercise to execute easily. But there are tiny mistakes to watch out for during the workout.
1. AVOID TAKING YOUR HANDS TOO FORWARD
Observe the above steps to benefit from the exercise and engage your targeted muscles. You should note your hand’s placement during the reverse hand push up— they should not be far from your body. Please keep your hands below your shoulders, and don’t place them too wide.
2. AVOID POINTING THE ELBOWS OUT
Flaring your elbows outwards during a reverse hand push up exercise may cause injuries to your shoulder muscles. Practice maintaining your arms shoulder-width apart and when bending your elbows when doing the reverse hand push up. Bend them backward and keep them always tucked close to your sides.
3. AVOID KEEPING YOUR HIPS TOO LOW
Keeping your hips too low will stress your shoulder muscles. Therefore you will fail to distribute your weight evenly. Always keep a straight spine throughout the reverse hand push up exercise.
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