Press Ups On Knees
Primary Muscle Group: Chest
Secondary Muscle Group: Triceps
Equipment Needed: None
The Benefits of Press Ups On Knees
Doing Press Ups on knees is a fantastic exercise for beginners who are looking to tone their upper body and lose weight. Press ups on knees has been adapted from the original Press Up exercise that is one of the most popular exercises in the world because of the muscle toning, muscle stabilizing and fat loss benefits that come from doing it. The good news is that you can also get all the same benefits from doing a push up on your knees! We suggest that you start by doing the press up on knees until you build up enough strength to be able to do a working set of press ups. Press ups on knees are a great way to tone up, burn body fat and improve upper body strength and balance if performed properly and included into a proper workout plan.
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The Risks of doing Press Ups On Knees
One key thing you need to watch out for when doing Press Ups on your knees is hitting a plateau. When this happens, you should progress to the standard press ups otherwise your results will come to a standstill.
You should also pay attention to any muscle discomfort because some people report back pain and shoulder pain from doing the press up movement. This is something you need to avoid because it can really set you back when trying to achieve your fitness goals. With that said, please read the below on how to a press up with perfect form.
How To Do Press Ups On Knees
1. Start at the top of the push up position with your hands on the floor, arms straight and underneath your shoulders.
2. Step your knees back behind you so that there is a straight line through your body from your knees up to your head. Engage your glutes, tense your legs and brace your core to keep your body rigid.
3. Keeping your elbows in towards your ribs and your forearms vertical, bend at the elbows to lower your body towards the floor. Your head and shoulders should move forwards of your hands as you get closer to the floor. Use your full range of motion to lower your chest in between your hands, as close to the floor as you can.
4. push your hands into the floor, keeping your body tensed, to move it up away from the floor back to the start position.
For Perfect Technique
1. Always keep your abs tight so that your back remains straight.
2. Keep your knees fixed in one place and don’t move them during the exercise.
3. The wider your hand positioning, the harder the exercise is.
4. Try to go as deep as possible in the lowering phase of the press up. Aim for an inch off the ground.
Variations
Once you have mastered the Press Up on Knees exercise you can try alternative exercises that target similar muscle groups such as;
How To Do a Standard Press Up
1. Start by lying on your front.
2. Place your hands on the floor shoulder width apart and your feet slightly apart.
3. Using your elbows push up off the ground, making sure your abs are tight and your spine is in neutral position.
4. Slowly lower your chest towards the floor by bending your elbows and keeping your back straight.
How To Do A Pike Press
1. Start with, your feet shoulder width apart then bend your knees and place your hands in front of you, just outside the line of your feet (shoulder width apart).
2. Move your feet back until you reach a press up position.
3. Keeping your arms straight, walk your feet towards your hands until your body resembles an upside down “V.” The aim of this exercise is to load your weight onto your shoulders for the push.
4. Keeping your elbows in and your head in a neutral position, bend at your elbows and smoothly lower the top of your forehead to the floor.
5. Gently touch the top of your forehead to the floor and then smoothly push with your arms, engaging the shoulders and returning to the starting position.