The one-handed push-up isn't just a great party trick. It's also a way of training your chest more efficiently than two-handed push-ups because it places your pecs under greater load. As with any other exercise, you should only try one-handed push-ups once you've built sufficient strength. The best cue that one-handed push-ups are in your future as a regular training tool is when you find yourself getting bored with regular push-ups or can perform sets of 30 to 40 slow, controlled push-ups with ease.
Step 1
Assume a standard push-up position. Your weight should be supported on your hands and the balls of your feet, with your hands directly below the line of your shoulders, one or two hand-spans further apart than your shoulders. Your body should be in a straight line from your heels to the top of your head.
Step 2
Spread your feet so they're a little wider than shoulder-width apart; this will help with stability. You may find that spreading them even further apart makes the exercise easier--this is a good way to start and then work up to having your feet closer together as you get stronger.
Step 3
Lift one arm up and place it behind your back. You can also stick it out to the side or straight up, if you prefer, to help with balance. Note that you'll need to exert a lot of core tension to keep your body in the proper position with just one hand on the ground.
Step 4
Maintain your body in as straight a line as possible as you slowly lower your chest toward the ground. You'll find that the shoulder of the arm doing the pushing will naturally want to dip lower than the other shoulder. This may be unavoidable as you build strength, but your goal is to eventually keep both shoulders as level as possible. Meanwhile, keep your abs as tight as possible to minimize your body's twisting. Your hips should stay square with your shoulders throughout the entire motion.
Step 5
Stop your downward motion when the shoulder of the arm pushing is roughly level with your elbow. If you feel any discomfort in your shoulder at all, stop and limit the range of motion so that it's pain free.
Step 6
Press up and return to your one-armed start position. Repeat.
Tips and Warnings
- Move the hand doing push-ups in a bit closer to the midline of your body, if necessary, to keep the motion smooth and controlled. This should make it a bit easier to keep your shoulders level. If you find doing a one-armed push-up from your toes and hands to be just a bit too much of a challenge, try dropping on to your knees, as with a modified normal push-up, and try it from there. If you're not strong enough to do a one-handed push-up on the floor yet--even on your knees--don't despair. Apply the same techniques to doing one-handed wall push-ups, then one-handed bench push-ups on successively lower surfaces until you can move to the floor.
- The motion for this exercise absolutely must be slow and controlled. If you lose control of the motion or let your body drop and try to catch it with the supporting arm, you run the risk of doing serious damage to your shoulder.
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