What are Russian push-ups? Find out together with a trainer and learn the technique

Fitnesstränare

“Russian push-ups are a variation of push-ups on the bars for working out the upper body. The most active muscles are the pectoral, broadest, triceps and deltoids. The exercise allows you to train with your own body weight and progress well without additional equipment. It is particularly popular with streetlifters and calisthenics athletes”.

What muscles are worked in the exercise?

Russian push-ups are a multi-joint exercise that involves several muscle groups.

1. Pectoral muscles. They take on one of the main loads when performing this exercise. During Russian push-ups they bring the shoulder to the torso at the moment of lifting.
2. Broadest muscle. Performs a pulling movement, pulling the torso from a forearm rest to a hand rest position.
3. Triceps muscles of the shoulder. They help to extend the arms at the elbow when lifting the torso to the top point.
4. Anterior bundle of the deltoid muscle of the shoulder. Flexes the shoulder when performing the exercise.
5. Muscles of the abs. The rectus abdominis and obliques help stabilize the torso during the exercise.
6. Forearm muscles. They allow you to hold on to the bars during the exercise and also help stabilize your arms.

How to perform Russian push-ups correctly?

To technically correctly do the exercise with maximum benefit, you need a high level of physical strength, developed coordination and good stretching of the shoulder girdle.

Beginners are advised to start with simpler variations of push-ups. When you reach 15-20 pull-ups on the bar and 30-40 push-ups on the bars, include Russian push-ups in your training program.

Teknik

• Take the starting position, resting the palms of your hands on the bars. The back is straight, the gaze is directed straight ahead. Next, bring your shoulder blades together and lower them down, and bring your chest forward.
• As you inhale, bend your arms at the elbow and lean your body back and down so that your arms extend along the bars. The main emphasis is on the inside of your forearms.
• As you exhale, pull the body up to the palms at the expense of the broadest muscles of the back, transferring the weight of the body to the hands. The movement starts with bringing the shoulders forward.
• Then complete the movement by extending the elbow joints to a straight arm position.

Do two or three approaches of 5-10 repetitions. Between approaches, pause for one to two minutes for muscle recovery.

Benefits of Russian push-ups

Increase upper body strength and endurance. Russian push-ups help pump muscles and increase overall body endurance.

Muscle growth and joint strengthening. If proper technique is followed, the exercise helps build upper body muscles and make ligaments and joints stronger.

Improved performance in sports. The exercise is useful not only for forming a beautiful and athletic figure. It will help you improve your sports performance if you are involved in sports such as volleyball, boxing, wrestling, climbing, sambo, jiu-jitsu, MMA, taekwondo.

Health Maintenance. This exercise activates several muscle groups and joints simultaneously, helping to strengthen and maintain muscle tone in the joint area. Strong muscles help reduce swelling, stiffness, and pain, and help improve nutrient metabolism and mobility.

Improved coordination. Performing Russian push-ups on the bars requires good coordination. This exercise helps to develop dexterity and coordination of movements.

Possible contraindications to performing Russian push-ups

Regular exercise helps to improve the quality of life, having a positive effect on physical and psychological well-being. It is necessary to consult a doctor before starting training to rule out possible contraindications. This is especially important if you have:

• problems with the cardiovascular system;
• diseases of the spine and joints;
• pregnancy;
• obesity;
• endocrine and nervous system disorders.

If you have injuries or joint pain, elevated body temperature, infectious diseases or exacerbation of chronic diseases, it is recommended that you temporarily refrain from exercising.

Exercise recommendations

Warm up. We advise you to warm up before training, because during Russian push-ups on the joints, ligaments and tendons have a serious load. Do five to seven minutes of joint exercises and 10 classic push-ups on the bars. This will reduce the likelihood of injury and increase strength gains.

Learn the technique. Learn all the technical nuances of the exercise. Pay attention to the position of the back, shoulder blades, arms, palms, correct breathing and speed of execution.

Breathe correctly. Correct breathing makes training more effective. High oxygen levels in the blood increase efficiency and concentration. Exhale as you bend your arms and lower your torso to the lowest point, and exhale as you extend your arms and raise your torso to the highest point.

Control the pace of the exercise. We recommend performing the exercise at a measured pace. It is better to do fewer reps at a moderate pace than a large number of reps at a fast pace. This allows you to eliminate inertia, and the entire load will fall on the muscles, triggering the necessary adaptation processes in the body to develop strength and muscle growth.

Increase the difficulty of the exercise. For progress, you need to gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise. Use additional weights, change the width of the bars, reduce the rest time between approaches, change the speed of exercise and the amplitude of movements.