Tip: The Push-Up for Total Body Power

Nail your core. Build your triceps. Try this athletic push-up variation.

The Hinge Push-Up

Everyone loves conventional push-ups, but there are only a handful of people that can harness the power of the hinge variation.

This involves rocking back and forth from a lower forearm plank position at the bottom of your standard push-up before returning to full lockout. You'll build total body power, a superhero core, and get a wicked triceps pump when practicing these.

You have a few options when it comes to placing hinge push-ups into your program:

  • If you're a beginner or you have any pre-existing shoulder issues, do these toward the end of your workout for lower reps, preferably after overhead pressing and pulling.
  • If you're advanced or have better than average shoulder health, you have more leeway. Try turning this move into an activation tool at the beginning of your workout or as a hypertrophy move or core endurance tool when performing them as a superset with any other pulling movement.

Once you've got hinge push-ups mastered, think of them as a gateway to bigger and better bodyweight exercises, such as hinge dips and the ultimate expression of fluid pressing power, the muscle-up.