How heavy are push-ups?

How heavy are push-ups?

The push-up is one of the best-known exercises. There are many variations of the push-up, and these variations can differ substantially in their difficulty. This allows beginners to use an easier variation to start and then progress to more difficult variations as they improve.

This study quantified the relative load of different push-up variations: hands elevated (30 or 60 cm box), feet elevated (30 or 60 cm box), knees on the ground, and the regular push-up. The push-ups were performed on a force platform to assess ground reaction forces, and these were then expressed as a percentage of bodyweight. The subjects were recreationally fit young adult males and females.  

The 60 cm hands elevated variation was the easiest push-up and equaled 41% of bodyweight. A regular push-up equaled 64% of bodyweight and the most difficult version tested was when the feet were elevated the most (74% bodyweight).  

Therefore, by elevating your hands or feet, you can adjust the difficulty of the exercise as desired. Increasing the height of your feet relative to that of your hands will increase the load.

Study:
Ebben et al. Kinetic Analysis of Several Variations of Push-Ups. J Strength Cond Res, 2011

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How heavy are push-ups?