No other upper body exercise is as simple or as effective as the standard “military” pushup. Using only your bodyweight, pushups train all the muscles of your upper body, your arms, triceps, shoulders, back, neck, and your core.

There are many simple variations of push-ups. By changing the position of your hands or feet, you change the angle and muscles targeted.

You can also increase the resistance of pushups by using a single hand or by moving the width of your hands closer together or further apart during the exercise.

If you are a beginner, start with their knees on the ground, as opposed to keeping your entire upper body straight and inline during the exercise.

Best Push Up Bar Workout

There is one affordable addition to your pushup workout that can take your training to new levels – push up bars. Simple elevated push up bars increase your height, range of motion and the difficulty of your workout while protecting your wrists.

Push ups can force your wrists into hyper-extension, over extending the wrist which will eventually lead to pain and nerve problems. With push up bars the wrists are kept in a more neutral position, and will be stabilized by your forearms resulting in your forearms getting more of a workout.

Push up bars increase your distance from the floor, this added distance from the ground gives you more distance to push up and intensify your workout.

Push up bars also increase your workout options by offering a wider range of positions. You can easily widen your arm stance and even perform one armed push ups more safely with added wrist protection.

Push up bars are a simple tool that makes push-ups more challenging, allowing you to get more out of every rep.
Increased intensity increases effectiveness. To make an exercise, including push ups, more difficult and more effective you can simply increase the number of repetitions that you do, you can do more sets of more reps, take shorter (or no) breaks, use more weight by adding weight to your back or a weighted vest, or you can increase range of motion with your push up bars – while taking pressure off your wrists.

6 Powerful Exercises Using Your Push Up Bars

Here are six exercises for every fitness level using your push-up bars. Even as a beginner you will outperform the regular push up to improve your form and strengthen your muscles, and as your strength improves, so will your workouts. These exercises include strategies for increasing the difficulty of your routine using your bars:

1. Wide grip pushups – Widen the distance between your hands. Adjust the bar or grips so your hands are wider than normal. This intensifies the workout for your arms and back.

2. Hand Rotations – Perform 10 standard push ups, now rotate your hands 90 degrees outward and perform 10 more. Now rotate your hands 180 degrees until your thumbs are pointing toward you and perform 10 more pushups. Each rotation results in a different angle (and stress) on your forearms, arms and chest promoting new strength and tone.

3. Elevated Push ups – Use a chair, bench, table or stability (exercise) ball to raise your feet. Raising your feet higher than your head puts more weight and stress on your shoulders, chest, core and arms. You must work harder and that builds muscle faster.

4. Handstand push-ups – Once you become stronger and more familiar with training, continue raising your feet higher and higher until you eventually are able to perform a handstand on your push up bars. Once in the handstand position (next to a wall for beginners) perform as many pushups as possible. This may only be one push up at first, but this movement will build strong and well defined shoulders.

5. Triceps Dips – Your push up bars will make tricep dips easy to work into your routine. Grasp the bars at your sides and extend your legs in front of you. Lower and raise your body using your triceps for a challenging arm workout.

6. The L Sit – This is an advanced use for your push up bars, from your tricep dip position, pull your body back until you are centered above the bars, keeping your legs straight in front of you. Tighten your core, and lift and HOLD your legs and butt off the floor. Hold as long as possible as you train your core and strengthen your abs and upper body.

Push Up Bar Safety

Always practice safety as you exercise. Avoid training injuries as they will set your progress back by days, weeks or months.

Start slowly and build up your strength and balance before you attempt the advanced movements. Trying the difficult exercises before you are ready can cause injury.

Concentrate on keeping your core tight during push ups as it prevents injury to your back, and avoid going too deep (low) before you are warmed up and properly stretched.

Push up bars are simple, inexpensive, and the ultimate piece of home workout equipment. If you’re ready to build your chest, arm, core, shoulder, and back muscles and strength, investing in push-up bars is a great first step. They will help you achieve the results that you want safely and quickly.