For many of us, especially those of us who have been at home more and had less access to equipment, the push-up has been a great training option. All you need is your body. And since most of us have our bodies with us most of the time, that makes push-ups a convenient exercise.
We can knock out a couple reps after brushing our teeth, taking our dog for a walk, or before we go to bed. Or in our shower (if your shower is big enough, and you don’t mind potentially slipping on your face).
But what if they’ve become too easy? What then?
Sure, you could do more reps. You could add more and more sets that you do each day—say, doing three sets one week then four the next. At a certain point though, it becomes harder and harder to just keep adding reps or sets.
Especially if strength is your goal, then doing sets of 25 plus reps isn’t the best way to achieve that goal. Thankfully, if push-ups have become too easy, there are plenty of ways to challenge the standard push-up.
Since the following variations are more challenging than a standard push-up, I would recommend starting with 2-3 sets of 4-8 reps. Depending on how strong you are though, you may be able to handle a little more, so adjust the reps and sets as needed.
Tempo Push-Ups
This may surprise you.
Tempo push-ups have to do with…changing tempo. Yup, crazy I know. Kidding aside, changing the tempo of the movement is a great way to increase the difficulty of a standard push-up, because it increases the time we are under tension during the movement.
There are many ways to do this (as the video below shows). We can go slow on the lowering portion (the eccentric), pausing (doesn’t have to be just at the bottom), or go slow on the rising up portion (the concentric).
If this is your first time trying tempo push-ups, I would recommend starting with an eccentric focus; that is, take 2-3 seconds to lower to the bottom position each rep. Then experiment with pausing during the push-up, going slow on the concentric, or with any combination of all three.
1.5 Rep and Ratchet Set Push-Ups
Like Tempo Push-Ups, 1.5 Rep Push-Ups and Ratchet Set Push-Ups help us create more time under tension. As a bonus, they make you feel like riding up and down an elevator. Only, it’s an elevator that changes direction constantly, and one that doesn’t have nice elevator music.
For 1.5 Rep Push-Ups (as shown in the video below), you will lower to the bottom position, come halfway back up, go back down, then come all the way back up. That’s one rep.
The Ratchet Set Push-Up is like the 1.5 Rep Push-Up, but from hell. You go all the way down, come a quarter of the way up, go back down, come half way up, back down, then three quarters of the way up, back down, then all the way up.
I would recommend starting with the 1.5 Rep Push-Up since they’re easier, then when or if able, progress to trying the Ratchet Set Push-Up.
Weighted Push-Ups
A weighted Push-Up is exactly what it sounds like: adding weight to your body to challenge the push-up. This can be done using several items. Weight plates positioned on the upper/mid back work well (as shown). But you could also use chains, a small child (preferably yours), or any other household object that can safely balance there.
As always, quality of movement is key. So, if the object is too heavy or forces you out of a good push-up position, then I recommend trying the other variations that might work better.
Feet Elevated Push-Up
If you’ve done Modified Push-Ups before (sometimes called Incline Push-Ups), then think of these as the opposite. Instead of raising your hands off the ground to make a push-up easier, you raise your feet off the ground to make the push-up harder.
If you’re unaccustomed to this variation, then I would recommend with elevating your feet a few inches to start, then progress the height as you feel comfortable.
Other Push-Up Variations
The above variation are some common ones that we use at BSP NOVA, but it is by no means an exhaustive list. There are plenty other variations you could try. To showcase a few more, check out the video below for a few more ideas.
The variations shown include:
- Push-Up w/ Shoulder Taps
- Push-Up w/ T-Stabilization
- Push-Up—Downward Dog
Pick the Best Push-Up Variation For You
If push-ups have become too easy for you, then give the above variations a try. The goal is to find a variation that adequately challenges you so you can keep getting stronger. That might be starting with changing the tempo (which I recommend), adding weight, doing 1.5 rep or ratchet sets, or by elevating your feet.
Either way, just because a push-up has become easy doesn’t mean it’s not a valuable movement anymore. It means you need a more challenging variation to get the results you want.
By the way, you might not be ready for these variations…yet. If you’re not, and if you’d like some help with learning to do a push-up from the floor, then we’d be happy to help. Click the link below to claim your free week—and to start your journey to push-up mastery.
You might also like:
- Technique Tuesday: 5 Tips for a Better Push-Up
- Why Learning the Push-up and Inverted Row Can Actually Improve Everything You Do in the Gym
- How To Get Stronger Even If You Don’t Have Equipment
- How Progress With Weight Loss Actually Works
- How Understanding Your Goals Helps You Achieve Them (and not pursue unimportant goals)
- Why Training to Failure Doesn’t Work
- Session Tempo: Moving Slow, Moving Fast
- How To Get Your Workout In (Even If Your Time Is Limited)