25 Best Functional Presses for Athletes & Bodybuilders
Dr. Joel Seedman, Ph.D.
Perhaps the single most effective method for improving functional pressing strength for athletic performance, sports, or daily life is to become stronger and more proficient on basic foundational upper body pressing exercises such as traditional barbell and dumbbell presses. However, once you’ve mastered the basics particularly with 90 degree eccentric isometrics, including a few slightly more “sport-specific presses” certainly won’t hurt and may even provide an added boost to your upper body pressing efficiency.
Before we get into my 25 favorite “functional presses” here are the criteria I use to determine whether or not a press falls into the “functional” or sport specific category. As a reminder, any press is functional and sport specific provided proper technique is employed and the individual is getting stronger. With that said, the variations in this article should never replace basic foundational presses. They would simply be included in addition to the basics.
5 Essential Criteria for A Functional Press
1. Employs an explosive concentric phase
2. Includes an eccentric element or deceleration/impact component
3. Involves either a standing/kneeling position or involves hip & leg drive to initiate the movement.
4. Requires an element of full body stability and motor control
5. Involves significant core stabilization
3 Non-Essential Yet Desirable Criteria
1. Involves 2 or more force vectors including a vertical, horizontal and/or rotational force vectors.
2. Includes either a single leg base, split stance, stride, lunge, or half kneeling position
3. Employs knee drive for acceleration on the concentric phase
25 of My Go-To Functional Presses
Eccentric Accentuated Barbell Push Press
Although the force vectors involved in a traditional push press, jerk, push jerk, or any combination of the overhead olympic lift are perfectly vertical, the push press is probably the most classic example of a true “functional pressing” exercise. The combination of full body power, stability, and strength make this a top exercise for just about any athletic task or sport. It’s also one of the most functional strength and mass builders particularly when applying eccentric overload as I show here with a load that represents 120% of my 1RM max for a strict overhead press. Read more about push press here.
With that said it’s not necessary that the lifter rely solely on the traditional barbell push press or jerk to perform functional overhead pressing. In fact, I often have my athletes perform them with a variety of modifications.
Some athletes will find dumbbells and/or kettlebells to be more joint friendly. Furthermore, the ability to load the upper body isolaterally (each arm individually) as well as unilaterally (one side at a time) provides added value.
Eccentric Isometric Push Press
The eccentric accentuated element of the push press can be emphasized even further by using an eccentric isometric protocol on the negative phase as NFL athlete Marcelis Branch shows here.
Not only does this add to the functional strength and hypertrophy stimulus, it helps improve muscle function and body mechanics particularly when hitting the eccentric isometric at the 90 degree position with a brief pause.
Read more about eccentric isometrics in my book MOVEMENT REDEFINED.
Deconstructed Eccentric Isometric Push Press
Although the push press is one of the most effective functional strength, power, and hypertrophy exercises, particularly when applying eccentric overload, one of the most common issues lifters struggle with is the knee dip just prior to the drive and press phase. This is often because they lack proper foot, ankle, and knee mechanics. While this may seem like a relatively small issue, it has a direct impact on bar path which ultimately impacts how efficient one is at the push press.
For instance, typically one of several issues is present 1) valgus knee and ankle collapse, 2) excessive foot and hip external rotation (i.e. knees and feet rotated out), and/or 3) excessive anterior weight shift (i.e. shifting onto the balls of the feet too early rather than sitting back on the heels). All of these represent energy leaks and compensation patterns which impact the entire kinetic chain thereby compromising power output during the push press, not to mention bar path and pressing efficiency
One of the best methods I’ve used to improve the knee dip element on the push press is by using a deconstructed eccentric isometric protocol for the entirety of the movement. Simply, the athlete will use the eccentric isometric protocol for each of the 2 phases of the exercise and pause in each phase. The first eccentric isometric will be on the knee dip phase. Because this eliminates the stretch reflex it will require even greater neural drive and strength to produce power out of the bottom position. It also has a tremendous impact in terms of cleaning up technique. That’s because eccentric isometrics by virtue of enhancing proprioception and sensory feedback enhance sense of feel and kinesthetic awareness ultimately enhancing body mechanics.
The second eccentric isometric will be on the negative or lowering phase of the actual overhead portion of the push press which, as previously alluded to, not only cleans up form but adds a significant strength & hypertrophy stimulus.
Behind The Neck Push Press
The behind the neck push press is another outstanding functional pressing exercise. While I don’t typically recommend behind the neck strict overhead shoulder presses for safety reasons and because they can be quite tough on the shoulder joint, I am a fan of behind the neck push press. Here’s why.
Performing a strict press behind the neck is not ideal, as relying exclusively on the shoulders and upper body to press a load up from this biomechanically compromised and semi vulnerable position isn't optimal for the joints and connective tissue. However, the push press is a different story provided you have the mobility to perform traditional barbell back squats seeing as the first half of the movement mirrors a back squat with the lifter simply holding the weight on their upper back. In fact, the shoulders and upper body do very little to initiate the movement and press the weight off the shoulders/traps. Rather, it’s the legs that launch the bar out of that position.
Once the lifter has launched the weight off their back and the bar has reached the mid height position, that is where the upper body and shoulders kick in. Essentially, the upper body and shoulders end up pressing and taking over the movement in nearly the same position as a traditional push press or overhead press.
While a controlled eccentric down to the midrange position is likely ok on the shoulder joint I typically don’t recommend doing so due to the vulnerable shoulder position, the same reason I don’t recommend the strict press from behind the neck. With that in mind I recommend performing a free fall and catch (at least for the bottom half of the movement) as my awesome client Ben Lai shows here with a behind the neck thruster. With this maneuver you’re simply using the legs to absorb the impact as the bar lands back into the starting position on the traps.
This is a technique that’s been employed for decades by Olympic lifters and appears to be relatively safe provided the lifter is efficient with their mechanics. In fact, the drop and catch here is a very effective rapid eccentric training method that teaches the lifter how to handle impact, force absorption, and deceleration, particularly with their core, hips, and legs, as they have to rapidly decelerate the barbell, similar to rapid eccentric isometrics.
It’s also worth mentioning that when it comes to performing a full thruster, which is essentially a 90 degree squatting push press, doing so with the bar held in front of the body tends to be a bit awkward particularly as it’s tough to hit the bottom 90 deg position without losing control of the barbell forward. That’s because a proper squat or lunge involves a slight hip hinge & forward lean. When the weight is located at the front one has to maintain an overly upright torso in order to avoid dumping the load which ends up producing faulty squat mechanics. In contrast, loading the weight on the back resolves this as the weight simply rests against the traps without ever feeling like the bar is going to roll forward.
Additionally, push pressing from behind the neck involves a more linear bar path relative to the front where the bar path has to arc back slightly. For many athletes the behind the neck push press can feel more natural. As an added bonus you don’t have to worry about hitting yourself in the chin with the barbell.
Like most of the other moves in this article, the behind the neck push press is easily modifiable and can be regressed to split squat versions, single leg versions, and single leg knee drive versions. In fact, these single leg or semi-single leg provide 2 key benefits:
First, producing power and absorbing impact from a split squat, lunge, or single leg squat position has incredible transfer to sports & arguably more so than a bilateral squat position. Secondly, when performing traditional push presses you don’t know if one leg is dominating. These are essentially a form of unilateral (semi-single leg) exercise that helps to address imbalances & asymmetries. Don’t be surprised if these expose an imbalance.
Makeshift Jammer
The jammer exercise is an old school football move that uses a specific machine to simulate a standing press quite similar to a blocking position used in football. If you don’t have access to that machine, never fear. The makeshift jammer setup I show here which was originally developed by Purmotion founder Jorge Bonnet is a great substitute and in many ways far more versatile and superior to the classic jammer machine.
In fact, nearly 5 years ago Jorge introduced this brilliant move to the fitness industry naming it the Power Swing. Since then many strength coaches have caught onto its effectiveness and have recently employed it including Michael Drack, John Rusin, Lee Boyce, Budd Jeffries and others.
With that said it’s important to momentarily digress and highlight that Jorge has actually introduced dozens of unique functional movements to the industry for which, unfortunately, he’s often not given credit. In fact, many of the unique functional landmine variations we see nowadays on social media were literally borrowed from Jorge and PurMotion. So the next time you perform a movement that he developed, please be sure to give him the appropriate credit particularly when the drills are as ingenious as the ones he developed. Additionally, the next time you see someone performing those moves make sure you point out to them that it was likely Jorge Bonnet that came up with them and remind them to give appropriate credit.
Now as far as the makeshift Jammer setup is concerned, it’s quite simple. Use either a traditional barbell or specialty bar such as a football bar, slide it through the handles of Olympic rings, set approximately 2-4 feet above the ground, load the barbell up and you’re set to perform a number of unique standing presses.
Also make sure to use a controlled eccentric or preferably an eccentric isometric as this adds both to the functional element of the movement (i.e. force absorption and impact training) while also adding to the strength and hypertrophy stimulus. Unfortunately most folks get very little benefit out of their jammer training as they almost entirely disregard the eccentric phase of the movement.
Here are a few more of my favorite variations.
The make shift jammer setup provides 10 unique benefits.
1. Provides a standing press that includes 2 force vectors namely a horizontal force vector as well as a slight vertical force vector. That’s because you’re moving out and slightly up along a semi-circular path due to the rotational motion of the barbell produced by the unique hanging setup.
2. Provides a standing press that mimics the classic jammer move yet also includes an element of instability similar to free weights as opposed to the jammer machine which essentially involves a fixed path with minimal if any stabilization required. Simply, it’s the classic iron game scenario of free weights (in this case the makeshift jammer) vs machines (i.e. the classic jammer machine).
3.Allows easy height adjustments to simulate different pressing positions as well as different muscle groups. A lower position will more closely mimic a flat or decline press while adjusting the straps to a higher setting will more close mimic an incline pressing position.
4. Provides greater versatility and options for standing presses as the lifter can perform split stance variations, squatting variations, lunging presses, single arm variations, single leg presses, leg drive variations, split jerk variations, and more.
5. Allows the user to select the grip width that feels most natural as they can essentially use any grip width they desire in contrast to the jammer machine which has a preset grip width that typically is not adjustable.
6. Provides a strength curve that more closely matches that of our body similar to accommodating resistance. Simply, the farther out the lifter presses the barbell toward the end concentric position, the greater the tension and rotational torque produced that essentially wants to drive the bar back to its initial starting position. In other words, as one presses out and the orientation of the straps becomes more parallel to the ground, the force of gravity acts to provide increasing tension.
7. Provides a more joint friendly pressing option. As noted above, the strength curve is such that the weaker bottom position is deloaded with less tension relative to the stronger top position which is placed under greater tension and overloaded.
8. Involves greater core stabilization and full body motor control.
9. Exposes asymmetries and imbalances as the bar will likely tilt and or twist if the lifter presses with faulty mechanics.
10. Allows very smooth tension adjustments by simply adjusting your body position relative to the axis of rotation. The further out you step the greater the tension. Similarly, stepping back just a few inches can provide a significant reduction in tension ultimately allowing the lifter to fine-tune the exact level of tension. This also allows for seamless implementation of micro biomechanical drop sets whereby the lifter, as they fatigue, can simply step back every few reps during the set and decrease the tension to match their muscular fatigue.
Cable Presses
The standing cable or band resisted chest press is perhaps the single most basic functional chest pressing exercise there is.
Although the traditional single arm variation is the classic variation, these can be modified a number of different ways to be performed in either a lunge, squat, or half kneeling position, as well as a BANA 2:1 Eccentric Overload method.
Besides proving many alternatives for standing chest presses they also provide many other unique attributes and benefits that are difficult to replicate. Read more about cable chest presses here.
Cable Makeshift Jammer
By simply attaching either rings, TRX, or any suspension system to a cable pulley, one can perform every makeshift jammer variation analogous to the barbell variations described above.
Using the TRX also requires very precise symmetrical pressing mechanics as pressing too much with one side will cause the straps to slide and shift.
Additionally, the cable versions are potentially even more versatile than the barbell jammer variations as the varying degree to which the height of the pulley can be adjusted allows the lifter to perform everything from very steep decline presses where the lifter is pressing almost straight down, to an overhead press when the pulley is at its lowest setting. Furthermore, simply looping a lat pulldown bar between the handles allows very similar bilateral standing presses as the barbell makeshift jammer.
Perhaps the main difference between these variations and the barbell makeshift jammer options is that there’s really only one force vector based purely on the force produced from the pulley height. In contrast, the barbell jammer variations involve a combination of 2 force vectors (a horizontal and a slight vertical vector) resulting in a more circular motion due to the axis of rotation created by the strap system.
Some may argue that the multiple force vector press is more functional as well as easier on the shoulder joint since it reinforces greater external rotation of the shoulder during the eccentric stretched position. In other words, the lifter may find it more natural and effortless to pack their shoulders and centrate their glenohumeral joint. With that said, both jammer setups provide value as each produces a slightly different training stimulus.
Here are 8 more variations of the makeshift jammer press all of which are highly sport specific and transferable to athletics.
Landmine Push Press and Squatting Overhead Thruster
The landmine push press is not only one of the most shoulder-friendly explosive overhead pressing exercises there is, but its also a great functional strength & mass builder particularly when combined with eccentric overload.
The fact that there’s both a vertical and horizontal force vector makes it very sport specific and transferable to athletic scenarios. It’s also very easy to modify, making it one of the most versatile full body pressing movements in existence. See 40+ more landmine exercises in full article here.
Landmine Squatting Press
The landmine squatting and lunging presses are also great variations that combine lower body eccentric isometric holds either in a squat or split squat followed by an overhead press from that athletic stance. Read more about squatting overhead presses here.
The same concept can also be applied to free weight variations such as barbell and dumbbell variations. However, because you can’t lean into the movement like you would with a landmine these are significantly more challenging and require substantially greater levels of mobility and motor control.
Landmine Squatting Thruster
The barbell thruster exercise has become a CrossFit staple over the years. However, if we examine the movement more closely we can see there is a significant mismatch of force vectors. For example, during the bottom of a properly performed front squat the lifter should demonstrate a slightly forward torso lean of 10-20 degrees as this simply indicates optimal biomechanics with the hips set back as they should be. The resulting force vectors produced from this position on the subsequent concentric phase would indicate that the bar is ready to be launched up and slightly forward at that same 10-20 degree angle.
Unfortunately, due to gravitational forces and the nature of barbell movements, the lifter must immediately alter the natural path of the barbell and press it up and slightly behind them. While it’s obviously a movement that any lifter can adapt to over time and learn to make these adjustments, this arguably represents an unfavorable kinematic sequence. In fact, one of the main reasons why the push press exercise (arguably a more functional movement) is performed with such an abbreviated squat (which is actually more of a shortened dip and knee bend) is because it keeps the lifter’s torso in a more upright position thereby optimizing the force vectors for the overhead launch.
With that said, one could argue that the landmine represents the optimal tool for performing the overhead thruster as it allows the lifter to maintain the slight torso lean throughout (particularly during the bottom of the squat) while still maintaining a force vector that is perpendicular to the barbell. Here’s one of my awesome clients and national figure athletes Leslie Petch showing how it’s done while also using accommodating resistance in the form of band resistance. This further emphasizes the explosive power element of this exercise while also placing more constant tension on the targeted musculature since the strength curve of the exercise more closely matches that of the body (i.e. less tension in the weaker bottom position and greater tension in the stronger top position).
The same move can also be applied to a lunge or split stance position as shown here by NFL athletes Bryce Jones and Julian Williams. Just like a squat, a proper lunge involves a slight angled torso lean and hip hinge making the landmine the perfect tool for combining the lunge with a push press from the front. As a bonus the lunge version addresses balance, hip mobility, stability, & symmetry making this a phenomenal movement for athletes looking to improve power particularly applied to sprinting and running mechanics.
Kneeling Landmine Push Press (Kneeling Thruster)
The landmine push press is also one of the only effective ways to perform a kneeling push press variation as shown here by NFL athletes Austin Larkin and Julian Williams. Think of this as a combination kneeling hip thrust and push press. There are 7 reasons why this exercise is so effective.
1. Provides a push press that emphasizes the posterior chain (glutes). A traditional push press involves predominantly quads & calves in terms of lower body contribution as the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings) does very little. The angular force vectors involved with the landmine allow the lifter to sit into their hips & use their posterior chain to launch the weight up.
2. Emphasizes greater spinal rigidity and core activation. The kneeling position helps to engage the core & maintain greater full body tension. Standing variations tend to allow athletes to get away with more deviations and weaker core activation.
3. Provides a very low back and knee friendly push press that emphasizes full body explosive power.
4. Blasts the shoulders, triceps, glutes, chest, upper back, and core, especially when performed using a controlled eccentric both on the pre-launch with the hips as well as the upper body eccentric overhead press.
5. Requires the athlete to rely on their posterior chain and create a strong muscle mind connection with their glutes in order to launch the weight up. It happens almost automatically since the movement is so user friendly & feels so natural.
6. Can easily be modified to single arm or half kneeling positions as well as BANA 2:1 method to change the emphasis & make it more unilateral focused while also emphasizing hypertrophy.
7. Can be modified to include more glute drive by adding band resistance to the hips.
Barbell Wall Presses
The barbell wall press shares many similarities to the landmine press, most notably the utilization of both a vertical and horizontal force vector.
However, there are 5 elements that set the barbell wall press apart from landmine press.
1. Many individuals find the bilateral overhead landmine press (double arm version) to be too crowded on the shoulders, wrists, and elbows due to the very close grip hand position. The barbell allows the use of any grip width the lifter chooses including those they would typically use for traditional barbell variations. For larger athletes or those with less flexibility these can feel more natural.
2. The wider grip is arguably more sport specific as the hands can be placed shoulder width apart similar to a grip width used in blocking for sports such as football.
3. The use of the barbell makes these more transferable to other traditional compound barbell movements such as the bench press, overhead press, and even overhead Olympic lift variations.
4. When performing the bilateral version of the landmine press, it’s easy for the lifter to allow one side to dominate. The barbell wall press on the other hand requires the lifter to use symmetrical loading and press equally from both sides. It’s also for this reason that these are superior to performing the same moves on a smith machine as the smith machine doesn’t punish the lifter for asymmetrical pressing aberrations. There’s also significantly greater motor control required for these.
5. The barbell wall press still provides significant instability and motor control similar to the standard overhead press. The main difference is that many lifters will find these more shoulder friendly and easier on the low back and spine as the lifter can lean into the barbell ultimately taking pressure off the back and the shoulder joint. It’s also substantially easier to lock out and move into the overhead slot position (a position that can be problematic for some) due to the slight inclination of the movement.
These can also be performed in a squat cage which is an old school bodybuilding movement known as scrape the rack press. However, the wall version involves a smooth bar path and greater instability due to the plates being in contact with the wall.
Here are a few more advanced variations including push presses, single leg push presses, lunging split squat variations, squatting, variations and more all of which have incredible transfer to athletic performance and sprinting.
Wall Ball Push Press Thruster
The wall ball push press thruster shown here by my awesome client Leslie Petch, takes the basic standing push press but adds a slight incline position as you lean back against the ball press against the wall.
These have 5 benefits.
1. On traditional dumbbell and barbell overhead presses and push press, the top lockout position can give some folks trouble. Similar to the landmine push press and barbell rolling push press, the slight incline position makes the top lockout much easier while also taking pressure off the shoulder joint as well as the low back and spine.
2. These eliminate excessive lumbar extension and low back arch so common with push press variations. That’s because the lifter is forced to press their entire back including their lumbar spine against the ball thereby keeping the spine in a neutral position.
3. These allow for very natural dumbbell and barbell squatting thruster variations. Because the lifter is leaning against the ball, they can easily move into the bottom 90 degree squat position without any torso inclination. On traditional thrusters the torso is angled slightly forward at the bottom of the squat as it should be, due to the necessary torso and tibial inclination required for free-standing squats. Not only does this produce a force vector mismatch for the press as the lifter will be more likely to drive the weight forward rather than straight up, it also places undue stress on the shoulders and wrists as the weight is pulling the arms and shoulders forward into internal rotation. The wall ball version resolves this common overhead thruster issue as the torso stays vertically stacked throughout.
4. One of the most common issues on traditional push press is keeping the heels down until the very last second when the lifter launches the weight up and reaches full extension with the hips and knees. The wall ball thruster variation is very conducive to ingraining heel drive on the push press as the lifter’s tibia are near perfectly vertical throughout.
5. Besides helping the lifter keep the heels down during the push press, the fact that the tibia are essentially perfectly vertical even in the bottom of the 90 degree squat, makes these much more knee friendly than traditional push press or thrusters where significant anterior knee drift is necessary.
6. Few push press variations, particularly those that involve dumbbells and barbells, rely on the hips to help drive the weight up. Instead, most push press and or thrusters are predominately quad and knee driven when it comes to the lower body’s contribution to the lift. From a biomechanical standpoint this makes sense as relying on the hips would disrupt the bar path and cause the bar to move forward rather than straight up and slightly back. The wall ball thruster on the other hand allows the larger muscles of the hips as well as the quadriceps to contribute to the movement as there is equal parts hip flexion and knee flexion in the bottom of the squat while still maintaining perfectly vertical force vectors against the load.
7. Sloppy form, weak core activation, and lack of full body tension are common problems on explosive overhead movements as many folks tend to struggle with motor control and body alignment. The wall ball variation helps reinforce strict and rigid technique with a tight core and full body tension as losing tension or alignment anywhere in the body will cause the lifter to bounce off the ball. To stay pressed against the ball without losing control or bouncing away from the ball literally requires the lifter to stay tight from head to toe while maintaining control of their body throughout. Additionally, any excessive arching or loss of spinal position will also result in the lifter being punished with a significant bouncing effect.
Hip Thrust Chest Press
Here I have Austin Meadows performing a hip thrust chest press which is a very functional pressing exercise. Think of this as a push press but for the bench press.
This is both an explosive power exercise (on the concentric phase) & an eccentric overload stimulus on the eccentric or negative phase. This is similar to the eccentric overload pivot press. The main difference here is that you're adjusting the concentric to provide less overall tension to the upper body pressing musculature and more to the hips as you're using explosive hip drive on the concentric rather than smooth and controlled pressing technique. Although it’s detracting very slightly from the overall hypertrophy stimulus it has great transfer for athletes due to the explosive hip component.
These can also be performed in a single leg fashion as my bodybuilding athlete Ben Lai shows here. Besides being a great functional hypertrophy & full body strength movement it also has tremendous carryover to sports as well as running mechanics as the whole body must work together to create power throughout the kinetic chain. As an added bonus there’s additional core strength needed to resist rotation and twisting.
Dumbbell Variations can also be employed making these suitable for isolateral variations (both arms working independently) and single arm variations both of which require more motor control and core stabilization.
Once these become easy, you can also progress them by performing them with dumbbells as well as with band tension around the hips to reinforce more powerful & forceful hip drive.
Thrusting Glute Bridge Chest Press
The thruster glute bridge chest press is essentially the same movement as the thrusting variation shown above except the lifter will be on the floor as my awesome client Leslie Petch shows here.
This changes the angles of the movements such that the bottom eccentric position is in a flat position and the top concentric position is in more of a decline position thereby emphasizing the chest more so as the flatter and decline positions minimize shoulder contribution.
These can also be performed on 2 benches rather than the floor which allows full eccentric elongation of the glutes prior to the concentric drive thereby maximizing hip drive and posterior chain activation. Here are 4 examples of that.
Planking Push Press
If you’re looking for a unique and effective way to improve your overhead pressing mechanics that's also low back friendly try performing planking ab rollout shoulder presses. What truly makes these functional is the ability to perform push press variations that require incredibly high levels of core activation and spinal rigidity.
Here I’m performing 7 unique variations along with my awesome figure athlete Leslie Petch and and NFL athlete Vantrel McMillan. Simply anchor bands to the bar and your feet then press and rollout. In reality the movement pattern is almost identical to an overhead military press except you’re holding a plank position throughout. As a result this does wonders not only for crushing your entire upper body and legs but it also teaches the lifter how to engage their core during vertical pressing exercises something most individuals struggle with. In fact, it’s quite difficult to collapse into excessive lumbar extension due to the unique nature of the movement.
As shown in the video there are a number of variations from single band to double band as well as push press variations which engage the whole body, single leg versions, trap bar presses, bear crawl overhead presses, and single arm push presses. It's also an effective way to incorporate accommodating resistance on overhead presses. The tension and difficulty is easily adaptable to a number of fitness levels simply by changing the band tension or using a double band vs. single band setup. Although these look like a core dominant ab rollout exercise the upper body particularly the deltoids, lats, triceps, upper pectorals, are really what get hammered although the core does get worked quite extensively. See 50 more ab rollout exercises here.
Bonus: Single Arm Pushups
Yes this doesn’t exactly fall under the category as truly sport sport specific as you’re not in a vertical standing position not are you using any form of hip drive to help assist the movement. However, it could be argued that the single arm pushup involves more oblique slings & full body activation patterns than just about any movement in existence.
Most lifters including elite powerlifters, Olympic lifters, & bodybuilders will find these exercises impossible. That’s because if you have even one weak link in your kinetic chain these variations will expose it. Unfortunately most powerlifters, weightlifters, & bodybuilders while demonstrating high levels of strength in some areas, have many weakness, imbalances & asymmetries that compromise their body mechanics & muscle function.
With that said, the best way to train to get to this level is 90 degree eccentric isometrics. In fact years ago before I started training with 90 deg eccentric isometrics I was unable to perform any single arm pushups .
Fast-forward nearly a decade later after not practicing these for almost 10 years, I found myself being able to blast out reps simply because the 90 degree eccentric isometrics trained & prepared my body to handle any & all scenarios I throw at it.
Read more about 90 degree Eccentric Isometrics in my book 600 page MOVEMENT REDEFINED that took me 8 years to write & details all my training methods & my journey.
Looking for a training program that allows you to implement all of the unique exercises we post on this website combined with foundational movements to create the most effective training program that’s fully customized to fit your needs? Check out my Complete Templates Training Program which offers endless training options and years of programming methods.
