The Perfect Pushup is the brainchild of Alden Mills, a former U.S. Navy SEAL. The Navy selected Mills' platoon to participate in a study to help determine why SEALs suffered so many injuries. The study indicated that outdated training methods were responsible. This inspired Mills to develop the Perfect Pushup, which is designed to be gentler on your joints than a standard pushup.
Identification
The Perfect Pushup device consists of two handles, each on a rotating, circular, 8-inch base with a rubber bottom. As you perform a pushup, you hold the handles and rotate your hands from an overhand grip to a neutral, palms-facing-each-other grip.
The standard Perfect Pushup handles each way about 2.5 lbs. The device has a maximum user weight of 400 lbs. The handles are available in red or black.
Wrist Pain
One of the most common complaints about pushups is wrist pain. Because your palms are flat on the floor, your wrist is bent. This places a lot of pressure on your wrist joints. Raising up onto your fists straightens your wrist, which alleviates the pain in your wrist joints, but this position can be painful on your knuckles. The Perfect Pushup eliminates this problem. Your wrists are straight, but you don't have any pressure on your knuckles.
Rotation and Elevation
The Perfect Pushup allows you to rotate your arms while doing a pushup, similar to how you turn your arm when throwing a punch. For some users, this is more natural and comfortable than having your arms locked in place, as is during a standard pushup.
The Perfect Pushup handles elevate your hands about 4 to 5 inches off the ground. A study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise found that this elevation increases muscle activity in your chest and triceps, as compared with floor pushups, during standard and wide-grip pushups.
Other Exercises
Although the Perfect Pushup is designed specifically for pushups, you can do several other upper-body exercises with this device. Use the handles for chair dips, tricep pushups, kickbacks and pike presses. The Perfect Pushup handles also reduce wrist strain during cardio exercises that typically require you to place your hands flat on the ground, such as mountain climbers and burpees. Hold the Perfect Pushup handles instead to alleviate the wrist pain associated with these exercises.
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