A pseudo push-up, more commonly known as pseudo planche push-up, is a derivation of the standard push-up. Instead of positioning your hands near your chest and shoulders, they're placed more in line with your waist or navel. The arms are then extended straight, bringing your body off of the floor. Like the standard push-up, a pseudo push-up conditions the upper body.
Deltoids
One of the main muscles worked with a pseudo push-up is the deltoid. This muscle forms the rounded contour of your shoulders, explains Elastic Steel, a website dedicated to body conditioning. By positioning your hands nearer the waist or navel, you engage the anterior, or front part, of the fibers that make up this muscle as you extend the arms into the press and then again when bringing the body back into the supine position.
Pectorals
Much like the standard push-up, you'll also work the pectoral muscles of the chest. As you extend the arms to elevate the body away from the ground, you cause a contraction in the pectoralis major, which is the large, fan-shaped muscle that makes up the majority of the chest, as well as the pectoralis minor, or the thin, triangular muscle running from the ribs to the shoulder under the pectoralis major. You also engage these two muscle groups as you lower back to a supine position.
Triceps
The pseudo planche push-up also focuses on the triceps, or triceps brachii muscle, which run along the back of the upper arm. It consists of three bundles of muscles that join together at the joint of the elbow. The main reason that the pseudo push-up engages the triceps is that this muscle group is actually responsible for the extension of your arm. It's impossible to bring the body away from the floor without engaging this muscle group. Each time you complete a repetition of this exercise, you must work the triceps.
Abdominals
Though you're not directly contracting your abdominal muscles in a repetition for a pseudo push-up, it's hard not to engage this muscle group. As you extend and then bend the arms, the abdominal muscles naturally contract as a way to maintain your balance in the exercise. Both the upper and lower abdominals as well as the oblique muscles, which run along the anterior portion of your sides, must hold a contraction throughout the repetition.
Member Comments