One arm push-ups

Could someone give me a routine that would focus on aquiring the one arm push ups? Right now I can do about 20 perfect form push ups, I know its not much, but I would really like to progress to one arm push up.

Also give me some excercises that will build strength for one arm push up, thanks.

We don't focus on one arm push ups.

If you want to do that, just slowly shift your weight to one hand when you do your push ups. Over time you will simply have all your weight on one hand.

I honestly don't know too much about one-arm push-ups, however I do know that perfect form would be completely straight body with your legs together. I've actually never even seen anyone do this. I've only seen them done with a small straddle, or feet together with slight elevation of the upper body.

Are you sure your push-ups are perfect form? Are you elbows going straight back? I've found that perfect push-ups are much harder on your triceps compared to how just about everyone normally does them. You'll also notice that one-arm push-ups are done with your elbows going back keeping it close in to your body. You won't be able to accomplish this if your normal push-ups are bad.

Anyways, I say try to do them like "archer chin-ups" with the non-working arm straight. After you can do those, then maybe one-arm negatives. Also, do one arm planks.



haha, I just tried them. About a year ago, I always wanted to do them thinking they'd make me strong. I was never able to do them without using horrible form. My legs were always really wide and my body twisted so much. Eventually I gave up and later found out about proper GST and I haven't tried to do them since. Now, I'm able to do them with a small straddle and no upper body twisting.

jakralj said:

.....Right now I can do about 20 perfect form push ups.....

Impressive.  I've been learning how to do a perfect pushup for years now, and there's always new form cues I'm discovering.  I'm starting to believe I'll never find a "perfect" pushup, and that there's always just a bit more I can get out of the exercise, just by learning something new.

Anyway, here you go https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/10439-the-perfect-one-arm-pushup/

That's a nice little discussion / argument I got into over whether a "perfect" one arm pushup was even possible.  General consensus around here seems to be if you learn to planche and hollowback press you'll have far more pushing strength, and look cooler to boot.

I learned the one arm pushup in maybe a month, I just tried kneeling one arm pushups until I could do 15 or so, then moved it onto my feet.  If you just want to satisfy yourself that you can do it before moving on, straddle your feet as wide as you can and twist your body toward your arm.  You almost end up pushing with your lats.

Sure, it'll be ugly as hell, but you'll impress people that don't know any better.

If you guys mean a legs together straight body OAP then it is theoretically possible if you put your hand beneath your sternum and keep it there for the whole ROM which requires phenomenal triceps strength and has never been done yet. I call this one the one arm diamond push-up. It is impossible to remain straight if we are talking about the one where the pushing hand goes underneath the shoulder like in a regular 2 arm push-up which I argued is due to the balance which requires you to twist or bend at the hips to shift your weight and COM toward the working arm. I would call this version the regular legs together OAP.

B1214N said:

It is impossible to remain straight if we are talking about the one where the pushing hand goes underneath the shoulder like in a regular 2 arm push-up which I argued is due to the balance which requires you to twist or bend at the hips to shift your weight and COM toward the working arm.

As much as I don't want to start this up in another thread, I have to ask peoples experience with this.  So, one arm planks.  Has everyone needed to bend at the hips and shift their centre of gravity over their hand?  Has anyone actually done even a one arm plank with their hand under their shoulder without bending at the hips or straddling the feet?

Bipocni said:

As much as I don't want to start this up in another thread, I have to ask peoples experience with this.  So, one arm planks.  Has everyone needed to bend at the hips and shift their centre of gravity over their hand?  Has anyone actually done even a one arm plank with their hand under their shoulder without bending at the hips or straddling the feet?

If I keep my other hand off my supporting arm, then I have to lean slightly across it with feet together.

I can eliminate 90% of the lean by using the other hand above my elbow (only for balance). I can feel the slight lean, but I'm not sure someone could see it unless they were looking straight on at ground level.

Bipocni said:

As much as I don't want to start this up in another thread, I have to ask peoples experience with this.  So, one arm planks.  Has everyone needed to bend at the hips and shift their centre of gravity over their hand?  Has anyone actually done even a one arm plank with their hand under their shoulder without bending at the hips or straddling the feet?

From my experience and also from watching others, you will be slightly bending, leaning, or twisting towards the pushing arm at the straight arm plank if your hand is placed under your shoulder and legs are both together and on the floor. When you lower down towards the bottom of the OAP, that's when you really have to bend or twist even more towards the working arm to keep balanced.

Hey Jak,

To train for the true "ultimate" one arm push-up so far remains an ideal to reach for. It may or may not be possible, but you can certainly train for it and gain tremendous pushing strength.

The best way, in my opinion, to train for the one-arm push-up is to first become proficient in a few preparatory exercises as follows: one-leg push-ups, close-push-ups, uneven push-ups (one hand on an elevated block and out to the side, the other on the ground), one-arm kneeling push-ups. There is no real "right" amount of sets or reps, but I'd say to aim for 3x15 for each.

Then you can start specific work. Here I would start by doing one-arm incline push-ups on a wall, then move down to a chair, then to a table or a stack of books etc, until you are on the floor. Also, start learning it with a straddle.

Here you will have arrived at the standard recognized one-arm pushup which is actually a tripod one-arm push-up. In this version the athlete has his legs spread for a wider base, and keeps his elbow out from the centerline of the body, which engages the larger muscles of the torso to do the pressing. 

If you wish to progress further, then you can work on gradually placing the feet closer together so that you have the loaded hand closer to the body. The exercise than transforms in to the "snake" one-arm push-up. Which is what most athlete's who claim to have a "true" one arm push-up are doing. This is wrong because there is some twisting and bending, which is fine, but it is not the true final progression. 

Finally, on your quest for the "ultimate" one-arm push-up. You can gradually work on straightening the body and twisting less, but be warned even a slight straightening of the hips increases the load on the shoulder and arm exponentially. 

Now, you can just start doing the specific work straight away and achieve it in a few months (which is the path I took), but I'd say spending 1-2 months on the preparatory work will go a long way.

*NB. You may want to include archer push-ups as well, but that's up to you it's a useful progression for some, but not necessary.

Hope that helps,

Chris.

Thanks Chris, that was something I was looking for.

About the so called perfect form one arm push up, I think its impossible and here is my simple explanation why: try to make a wooden figure, a doll or something like that, of a man in the lower position of the perfect form one arm push up(chest close to floor). Than, if you put that doll on a desk or something, it will not stay in position, but it will fall on the shoulder of non working arm.

jakralj said:

Thanks Chris, that was something I was looking for.

About the so called perfect form one arm push up, I think its impossible and here is my simple explanation why: try to make a wooden figure, a doll or something like that, of a man in the lower position of the perfect form one arm push up(chest close to floor). Than, if you put that doll on a desk or something, it will not stay in position, but it will fall on the shoulder of non working arm.

True, but we're not a static object, we're a collection of moving parts capable of generating immense force.  Imagine the same doll, with thousands of tiny motors inside it's body generating tension.  The arm could be pushing sideways, towards the other shoulder, for example.

We're complicated machinery.  Take that doll and place it in a manna, planche or even handstand.  It will probably fall over.

I mean think about how ridiculous standing up is.  We have a tiny little base of support holding up a structure many times it's length, yet we almost never fall down.  In fact, I can stand on one leg, with my eyes closed, for over a minute easily.  That's relying solely on proprioception.  I can't think of a single artificial structure that can match the same dimensions.   No one would ever build a skyscraper that gets wider as it goes up!  I've seen statues supported on one foot, and they're always fixed in place.  Not so with us.

I think BeastSkills has a tutorial for a "strict" OAP, where his hand is lose to his body, but I think ge still twists while executing it. Nakaathletics on YouTube has progressions for the OAP. The above mentioned tutorial is good too.

On incline OAP: I can do about 20 on a 30° incline, but one on the ground is impossible for me. In fact, incline OAP is easier than a regular floor pushup.

Bipocni, I dont think you understood what I am talking about. Carve a wooden figurine of a human performing manna, planche or any other position, and it will stay in that position if it is made detailed enough. Carve a wooden figurine of a human performing a perfect one arm push up, and it will not be able to stay in that position on the floor. I mean try doing something like this: planche but with your arms closing a 90 degree angle with your body (so the arms will be vertical to ground, and your body will be parallel to the ground) . It is simply impossible, doesnt matter how strong you are.

Jak. I'm sure someone had this discussion before one-arm handstands were believed possible. I bet someone said something like "Carve a wooden figurine of a human performing a two-hand handstand and it will stay in place, carve it doing a one-arm handstand and it will fall because it is impossible." (closed legs)

Ever seen circus performers or equilibrists? They commonly do techniques not thought possible because of physics. I'd say the ultimate one arm push-up is one of those easier "Seemingly impossible" moves. 

ChrisUK said:

Jak. I'm sure someone had this discussion before one-arm handstands were believed possible. I bet someone said something like "Carve a wooden figurine of a human performing a two-hand handstand and it will stay in place, carve it doing a one-arm handstand and it will fall because it is impossible." (closed legs)

 

Ever seen circus performers or equilibrists? They commonly do techniques not thought possible because of physics. I'd say the ultimate one arm push-up is one of those easier "Seemingly impossible" moves. 

I hope you realize that the legs together one arm handstands that you see hand balancers do have the body slightly leaned towards the supporting arm and are not completely vertical like a perfect 2 arm handstand...

I was referring to  generalities in that example..  

In plain English what I meant was: I) Someone claims something is impossible to do ii) Someone else then finds a way to do it. 

We will just have to see then if a straight body OAP with the hand underneath the shoulder with legs together and on the ground is possible or not without any external help. My bet is that we will never be seeing one happening.

I disagree with what you said about circus artists or equilibrists commonly doing things that are not thought possible because of physics. Can you name some or show me some? Also, if the "ultimate" OAP is one of those easier "seemingly impossible" moves then why hasn't it been done yet?

By being an easier "seemingly impossible" move it is something that some people still hold possible, and will set goals and progressions for themselves to work towards. It is a worthwhile ideal to aim for.

Whereas something like a 1 finger (not 1 arm but 1 single finger) planche with 50 guys sitting on top of you is clearly impossible and not something people will be aiming for.

ChrisUK said:

(...) a 1 finger (not 1 arm but 1 single finger) planche with 50 guys sitting on top of you is clearly impossible and not something people will be aiming for.

If the UK in ChrisUK is indicative that you are from the country of the mini and Benny Hill, I think you might be wrong!

If it can be formulated clearly, some Pommie will attempt it!

I stand completely corrected.   that was quite the entertainment.

(Heh yeh I'm from both the UK and from the US. Currently attending college in Washington, DC.)