Arthritis is a common disease in middle-aged and older people. It is often present in the joints of your hands and fingers. This can make doing push-ups extremely difficult and painful, but there are variations of the push-up that can help relieve the stress on your arthritis.
Step 1
Place the exercise mat on the floor. If you do not have an exercise mat, you can substitute a folded towel. Put your knees on the end of the mat and your fists on the ground. Do a bent knee push-up, doing the same movements as you normally would do with a push-up. This will put much less stress on your wrists by focusing the weight on your fists. This position should only be used if you do not have arthritis in your fingers.
Step 2
Stand about an arm's length from a door or the wall. Stand on a mat or use shoes with high traction in order to protect you from sliding away from the item you are leaning on. Put your hands on the wall and keep your body straight. Bend your arms until your nose is in contact with the item you are leaning on, then move yourself back to the starting position. The closer you stand to the wall or door, the easier the push-up will be.
Step 3
Put your knees on the floor and hold push-up bars in each hand. Put your hands on the grips and lean in a push-up position with your stomach facing the ground. Do a push-up, meaning bend your arms and lower yourself to the floor, then push yourself back up. Holding the push-up bars will help relieve the tension on your hands and wrists when you are performing the push-ups.
Step 4
Put a Swiss ball on the wall and hold it against the wall right below your shoulder height. Step back so that your arms are extended, holding the ball against the wall. Bend your elbows and lean in towards the wall, while holding the ball. Then push yourself back out to the starting position. The flex of the ball will help make the push-up fairly easy and make it soft on your hands and wrists.
Things You'll Need
- Push up bars
- Wall space
- Swiss ball
- Exercise mat
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