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Perfect Pushup Review: Is The Perfect Pushup Hit or Hype?

The Perfect Pushup promises to help you achieve better results from your pushup workouts. But is the Perfect Pushup a hit or a just a bunch of hype?

The_Perfect_PushupProduct Reviewed: Perfect Pushup Basic
Manufacturer: BodyRev/Perfect Pushup
MSRP: $39.99
Place of Purchase: Dicks Sporting Goods

Perfect Pushup Pros:

  • Ergonomics protect against wrist strain associated with flexion at wrist during standard pushups
  • Well-constructed, sturdy; foam hand grips are comfortable
  • Rotation may protect against shoulder strain
  • More challenging from a stabilization standpoint than fixed-position pushups
  • Novel and fun; breaks up the monotony of the usual pushup

Perfect Pushup Cons:

  • Price may be a little high for some people
  • Perfect Pushup workout plans are limited with the basic model
  • Perfect Pushup routine included on the poster required some deciphering
  • Marketing claims that youll get shredded with the Perfect Pushup are unrealistic

Ratings (1-4 Scale: 1 = poor, 2= fair, 3= good, 4= excellent)

Construction: 3
Comfort: 4
Durability: 3
Price: 2
Does It Do What It Claims? Yes, with qualifications
Would You Buy It Again? Yes, with qualifications

Overall Rating: 3

Perfect Pushup Review

When it comes to bodyweight exercises, the standard pushup is pretty much already perfect.  Not only does it help strengthen and condition the chest, triceps, shoulders and back, but it also improves core stability, improves balance, and can even help contribute to a tighter mid-section.

So when the Perfect Pushup says that for $39.99 (less, in some places) its improved the lowly, but already wicked-effective pushup, its difficult to not respond with some skepticism. And it doesnt help that the Perfect Pushup gained much of its initial fame courtesy of As Seen On TV type advertising and infomercials a label thats been attached to countless useless fitness devices and gadgets ranging from the Thigh Master to Tony Littles Gazelle.

But heres the thing: People who have rolled the dice and actually bought the Perfect Pushup uniformly have good things to say about it.  So in the interest of making myself a human guinea pig so you dont have to be stuck with a basement full of ineffective fitness contraptions, I decided to spring for the $39.99 and put the Perfect Pushup through its paces myself.

The Standard Pushup Not So Perfect After-all?

Pushups should be part of every persons workout routine, regardless of gender or experience level.

They are the ultimate portable body-weight exercise, and can be performed anywhere that you can find a 6×3 swath of open floor – whether thats in your apartment, dorm room,  hotel room, living room or the gym.

While pushups themselves are very simple exercises to perform, they are actually bio-mechanically a very sophisticated exercise, recruiting nearly every major muscle group in some way to support the body during the movement (provided you are doing them with correct form.)

The pushup is also extremely versatile, letting you emphasize certain muscle groups by simple changes in hand-arm positioning (wide versus narrow), incline or decline, or through elevation of the hands, which deepens the range of motion.

But even the nearly-perfect standard pushup has a kink or two.

The main sticking point with pushups is the strain that they can put on the wrists.

When you perform a pushup with standard form, you hands placed flat on the floor and bent at the wrist. While you arent supporting 100% of your body-weight with a pushup (the floor takes some of the load for you), you are balancing a fair amount of your total body-weight on your toes and wrists.  The wrists are actually quite strong when they are in a neutral position, but once you bend them backwards, they are weakened, and the risk of strain to tendons or Carpel Tunnel Syndrome is increased dramatically. In fact, many people simply cant comfortably perform standard pushups because of the discomfort it causes the wrists.

The other point of possible strain or injury during a pushup is in the shoulders. While many people are able to comfortably perform pushups without any discomfort in the shoulder girdle, for some people, having the hands fixed in a single position in relation to the shoulders, can stress the rotator cuff. This is especially troublesome if youve had past shoulder injuries or if you perform the exercises with your hands position wide in relation to the shoulders.

Finally, the because the floor naturally limits your range of motion, if your goal is to maximize muscle recruitment during a push-up, you need to find a way to allow yourself to go beyond parallel in other-words, allow your chest to move below the horizontal plane of your hands. This is typically accomplished by elevating your hands on platforms (or less safely, stacks of phone books as Ive been known to do) or pushup bars.  The main issue here is around stability of the platform that you choose. Some of these elevation mechanisms can occasionally slip, causing potential injury.

The Perfect Pushup to the Rescue?

The manufacturers of the Perfect Pushup claim their device is designed to overcome these three issues associated with the plain-vanilla pushup, and then add a twist (literally) to how you perform pushups. This twist is really their secret sauce even if the other characteristics of the Perfect Pushup are really no different than what you could get with a pair of pushup bars.

How The Perfect Pushup Works

Just in case you are one only the handful of Americans who havent stumbled across a Perfect Pushup commercial or infomercial, heres how the Perfect Pushup works:

The Perfect Pushup basically takes a standard pushup bar which keeps your wrists in a neutral, non-bent position and attaches the pushup bar to a rotating base. This base allows you to maintain neutral wrist position while simultaneously rotating your arms (primarily at the wrist.) This ability to rotate is intended to allow you to compensate for your own bio-mechanics taking stress off from the wrists and shoulders.

It also allows you to simulate the compound motion of certain dumbbell chest press motions by allowing rotation at wrists, elbows and shoulders something that is impossible with standard pushups. So if youve ever performed dumbbell chest presses with your palms facing forward and then rotated them to face each other at the top of the movement, youll know the motion Im talking about.

The manufacturers of the Perfect Pushup claim that this allows you to work your muscles more completely, more comfortably and more safely.

From US Navy SEAL to Perfect Push-Up Guru

The Perfect Pushup was invented by Alden Mills, a former US Navy SEAL and professional trainer.

His company, BodyRev, has introduced several products over the past two years, include a mobile version of the Perfect Pushup that you can pack in your suitcase, and the Perfect Pull-Up which is a removable pull-up bar that can be installed in standard door frames. BodyRev also makes a light-weight resistance device called the REV 8 and REV 10 that is used by health and fitness clubs as part of a mixed-weight and cardio workout group course.

According to the Perfect Pushup website, the back-story behind the invention of the Perfect Pushup is that while serving in the US Navy SEALS, the platoon Mills commanded was chosen to be part of a year-long study into why Navy SEALS suffered unusually high injury rates during their careers (Im assuming this is in addition to the usual injuries sustained from being shot at, placing underwater demolitions or the occasional hand-to-hand combat.)

The outcome of this study (which is not cited on the Perfect Pushup website) was apparently a change in the US Navys approach to training SEALS. Instead of relying heavily on traditional bodybuilding exercises, the Navy instead switched to a more functional-approach to training, that better mimicked the demands of combat.

Mills took what he learned during the US Navys transition to functional training and basically founded a fitness equipment company producing products based on functional training principles.

However, what the Perfect Pushup site does notconfirm is whether the US Navy uses some variation on the Perfect Pushup for its training regime. In other words, its a little hard to tell if all of the talk of Navy Seal training is just a clever way to get you to think this is some type of Navy Seal product, when its really just a post-SEALS invention of Mills with no real analogous piece of equipment in use by the Navy SEALS as part of their training.

So you need to decide for yourself.

The Perfect Pushup Products

BodyRev offers four Perfect Pushup product configurations:

  1. Perfect Pushup Basic (MSRP: $39.99): Includes the Perfect Pushup Handles, DVD and Exercise Poster
  2. Perfect Pushup Mobile Unit (MSRP: $49.95): Includes 2 portable Perfect Pushup Handles, Neoprene carrying case and Perfect Pushup Workout Cards
  3. Perfect Pushup Complete (MSRP: $99.95): Includes Perfect Pushup Mobile Units, Perfect Pushup Basic Handles, Instructional DVD, Power 10 Workout DVD, Power 10 Workout Cards and Perfect Pushup Mobile Workout Cards
  4. Perfect Pushup Quick Start Kit (MSRP: $49.95): Perfect Pushup handles, Power 10 DVD, Power 10 Advanced DVD, Power 10 Workout Cards, Neoprene Knee Pads and Knee Pad Workout Cards

Other than the Perfect Pushup Mobile Unit and the configuration that gives you both the standard Perfect Pushup and Mobile Unit in a single box, the only real difference between these products seem to be the extras, like the additional workout cards, and Power 10 DVDs and the neoprene knee pad. Whether these add-ons (which cost BodyRev probably less than $2 in materials) are really worth the price difference is your call.

For this review, I purchased The Perfect Pushup Basic Set, which includes the Perfect Pushup handles, DVD and a workout instruction folder. I bought the product at Dicks Sporting Goods for $39.99 although I have seen t for less online and at places like Walmart and Walgreens.

The Perfect Pushup Construction

Overall, I was surprised at how sturdy and well-constructed The Perfect Pushup handles/paddles were. I actually expected that they would chintzier for some reason.

The handles rotated smoothly, and they had foam padding on the grip part of the handle for comfort. A Neoprene-like pad on the bottom of each Perfect Pushup paddle prevents slippage. This was effective on both carpet, concrete and hard-wood floors. So in terms of stability, there doesnt seem to be any danger of the paddles/handles slipping out from underneath you, even when I did very wide-grip pushups.

Perfect Pushup DVD and Perfect Pushup Exercise Poster

As I pointed out earlier, the Perfect Pushup Basic Set comes with a Perfect Pushup instructional DVD and laminated workout poster. The workout poster shows you the five basic push up positions:

  • Regular Position with hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart
  • Wide Position
  • Narrow or Close Position
  • Knee Position
  • Chair/Decline Position

For each Perfect Pushup variation, the poster shows your the recommended hand rotation for each Perfect_Pushup_Postermove. For a beginner who has never performed any of these variation with a standard pushup, the chart would be useful. However, for a trainee who already has knowledge of these alternative positions, it doesnt bring much value.

The information on the backside of the Perfect Pushup poster is more useful. It provides a Perfect Pushup workout schedule, a 2 minute Navy Seal drill routine, and instructions on how to determine your Perfect Pushup one set max. It also has some suggestions for customizing the basic workout routine and pointers on maintaining form and proper breathing during the exercises.

The DVD had little value. It only offered a demonstration of the exercises and techniques that were already on the Perfect Pushup poster. For a beginner, it might be useful to see the motion demonstrated by an actual model, but beyond that, it probably would never be watched again.

The Perfect Pushup Workout Plan

The Perfect Pushup Basic comes with an instructional DVD and and a single 21-day Get Ripped (their words, not mine) workout plan based on Navy SEAL-style Two-Minute Drills.

This Perfect Pushup workout routine basically has you doing a drop-set of Perfect Pushups during a two minute period, totaling 3-4 sets. You then perform two more Two-Minute Drills across the day for wide position and close/narrow position, for a total of 9-12 sets each day. Some days, the workout plan has you performing pushups with your feet on a chair (in both wide and narrow-grip positions), which simulates an incline bench position and targets your upper pecs and front-delts more than the flat position.

The Perfect Pushup workout schedule is basically a one-day-on and one-day-off schedule, so you always have a rest and recovery day in between.

If you have problems performing the standard Perfect Pushup, there also is a variation of the workout plan that allows you to perform the exercises from your knees until you build additional strength to perform them completely from the upright position.

The Perfect Pushup: A More Challenging Pushup?

The actual number of reps for each Two-Minute Drill period depends on your One-Rep Max with the Perfect Pushups. I had heard to expect that you wouldnt be able to do as many Perfect Pushups as you could regular pushups, but I was surprised at how few reps I could actually perform on the Perfect Pushup equipment.

Normally I can do between 40-50 standard pushups (with good form and chest nearly to the ground) in a single set. But I was stunned to find myself struggling to get 20 reps done on The Perfect Pushup. So in my case, at least, I had about a 50 percent reduction in total sets achievable versus standard pushups.

Why?

Well, there were a couple things I noticed right away when using the Perfect Pushup that differed from standard pushups:

1. Additional Stabilizer Recruitment

First, there is no doubt that the Perfect Pushup challenges your stabilizer muscles more thoroughly than a standard pushup. Its not just the rotation movement that does this, but also trying to maintain a fixed hand position against an instable surface (in this case, a handle/paddle that rotates.) I was shaking slightly through the triceps and shoulders using the Perfect Pushup, something that I dont even experience during dumbbell chest presses. Its the same type of shakiness that you can experience on a stability ball or a balance board.

2. Change in Grip

Second, grabbing the handles in a new position also seemed to hasten fatigue and limit by total reps. Over a few days, this seemed to improve as I adapted to the change in hand position. This isnt uncommon when starting a new exercise, and I adjusted within a few workouts.

3. Shift In Load

Third, the Perfect Pushup actually seems to put much more of the load on your shoulders, triceps and rear-delts. In fact, I didnt actually even get the sense that my chest was being worked that hard. Normally after a set of standard pushups, Ill feel a pump and fatigue in my pecs, but that never really seemed to happen with the Perfect Pushup.

I did, however, feel fatique in my triceps, rear delts and front-delts in a way that was much more pronounced than with standard pushups.

Perfect Pushup Results: Does It Really Work?

After using the Perfect Pushup for approximately two weeks (following the Get Ripped workout plan) I did see a slight, but noticeable, improvement in overall muscle development in my chest, shoulders and rear-delts.

Its difficult to credit The Perfect Pushup alone for these gains, since I utilized the Perfect Pushup in addition to my regular workout routine which I tried to keep as consistent as possible during the duration of my experimentation with the Perfect Pushup.

I definitely experienced progress over the two weeks in terms of how many reps I could perform, and the early shakiness that I had the first few times I used the Perfect Pushup resolved itself within 2-3 workouts. From there on out, I was able to play around with some more advanced variations on the basic movements, which was kind of fun.

I did notice some soreness early on, especially in my lower lats, which is similar to what I experience when performing conventional pushups with a wide-grip and my hands elevated on platforms or pushup bars. So this tells me that the Perfect Pushup grips are allowing me to move past parallel and get some nice back recruitment.

However, within a few days, the delayed onset muscle soreness more or less stopped happening as my body adapted to the variations in the movement and exercise.

Get Ripped With The Perfect Pushup?

Will you Get Ripped using the Perfect Pushup (as the Perfect Pushup marketing suggests) and look like the male or female fitness models that BodyRev loves to plaster all over their commercials, packaging and website?

Not likely.

Pushups, whether performed with the Perfect Pushup, or performed Old Skool style are not going to build tons of muscle mass. Body-weight exercises just dont provide enough ongoing, progressive overload to trigger this type of development (unless you start adding resistance via a weight vest, for example)  And at some point, your strength gains will plateau as well. Now, there are definitely some things you can do with tempo and rest-periods to continue to challenge and overload your muscles with body-weight exercises like pushups, but at some point, your gains are going to even off.

This doesnt mean you should perform them, since they are excellent conditioning exercises, can add hardness and definition to the chest, shoulders and back, but eventually youll need to figure out ways to challenge yourself with more resistance. So pushups are best used as a supplemental exercise (I know plenty of people who perform then every morning, in addition to their normal workouts), and not as your primary exercise for strengthening the back, chest and shoulders.

Also, you need to understand what getting ripped means and requires. Being ripped means plenty of muscle mass with low body-fat levels. The models (both male and female) on the Perfect Pushup website have that lean, muscular look because they are carrying very low body-fat levels for their size and gender. I would estimate the female models at having around 12-15% body fat, and the male model is easily sub-10%.  And I can also guarantee that they didnt develop that physique by just doing endless sets of Perfect Pushups.

Simply put, you dont get that kind of body just pumping out pushups every day, no matter how perfect the pushups are. Getting ripped takes a holistic approach to exercise and fitness, and it also requires eating clean, including some cardiovascular exercise and training your entire body not just your pecs, delts and lats.

Something like the Perfect Pushup can certainly help, but it wont be the foundation of your workout and exercise routine, and isnt going to get you in ripped shape alone. Just understand that going into things.

Does The Perfect Pushup Work Your Abs?

As I mentioned early, the Perfect Pushup (or any pushup for that matter) will help improve core stability, including stability in the abdominal area.

When you are performing a pushup, you are in essence holding yourself in a plank position, which strengthens both the abs, obliques and lower-back/lumbar. You dont need the Perfect Pushup to perform this type of exercise, but it does maximize your time, since you are basically combining a plank position with a move that also targets other muscle groups.

That said, while a pushup can strengthen your core, it wont give you washboard abs. There isnt enough contraction or range of motion involved to create that kind of muscle growth or definition in your abs.  So while the Perfect Pushup can certainly help you build core strength, its not going to give you anything close to a six pack. Anyone online who tells you otherwise (and Ive seen several reviewers of the Perfect Pushup claim this on other sites) is either smoking something or is a paid shill for a website that is trying to sell you the Perfect Pushup.

Where Can I Get Additional Perfect Pushup Routines?

The Perfect Pushup workout poster that accompanies the Basic Set says that you can visit the Perfect Pushup website to see new and even more challenging workout drills.

However, when I visited the Workouts section Perfectpushup.com, I was disappointed to only find three additional workout moves: The Power Punch, One Arm Assist, and a Shoulder Press. The last time it was updated with a new workout was May of 2008 and the July-Aug 2007 workout was the same as the Sept-Oct 2007 Perfect Pushup workout. So I wouldnt count on finding many freebies on the Perfect Pushup website.

You can sign up for an email newsletter on the site that promises to send you new Perfect Pushup workouts, tips and special offers, so in the interest of science, I signed myself up for it. At the time of writing this review, I hadnt received anything yet. So check back and Ill let you know whether its value-add or add-spam.

If you buy the Perfect Pushup Complete or Quick Start Kit sets, you will get both of the Power 10 workout DVDs and Power 10 Workout Cards. The Perfect Pushup Quick Start Kit also has a set of cards for the knee workouts.

The Perfect Pushup workout DVDs and cards are also for sale individually on the Perfect Pushup website. However, if you are interested in the workout DVDs and cards, the best option is just to pay the extra $10 and buy the Perfect Pushup Quick Start Kit, which includes all of them. Buying them individually would cost you $40 – so if you purchase them as part of the Quick Start Kit, you are saving $30 dollars.

Review Summary: The Perfect Pushup: Hype or Happening?

So is the Perfect Pushup just hype or is it happening?

Overall, I would say this is a solid product that can find a place in anyones home gym or fitness equipment collection.

Is it required? No way. But in a world of fitness gadgets that rarely delivery any value, the Perfect Pushup does stand out as exceptional from this perspective.

Im also a bit skeptical of all of the claims on other review sites around how the Perfect Pushup allowed them to become completely shredded, build big biceps, develop six pack abs, or become huge. Even with some of the advanced movements that I tried, bicep recruitment was minimal. The primary muscle groups worked out with the Perfect Pushup are the pecs (chest), front and rear delts, triceps, and to some degree, the subscapularis.

The Perfect Pushup will probably produce the most dramatic results in people who are not already regularly performing pushups as part of their training, or are just beginning a resistance training routine. A lot of the reviews of the Perfect Pushup that I read as part of researching this review were from people that I would consider to be beginners when it comes to training.

For example, I heard a number of people comment that their biceps and forearms as well as abs were sore after performing the Perfect Pushup. I never experienced anything close to this during my two week training. However, this would be something that I might expect to hear from someone who doesnt have much previous conditioning from standard pushups.

Bottom line is that for most intermediate and advanced trainees, I cant see the Perfect Pushup radically-transforming your chest and upper body training. And eventually, even beginners will plateau. Without adding additional resistance (which is challenging with pushups), sooner or later youll find yourself primarily training for endurance and not hypertrophy.

That said, the Perfect Pushup does add some interesting and novel tweaks to the usual pushup, which will help you with better overall development, coordination, strength and balance.

Keeping your muscles constantly guessing is one of the ways you make progress, so anytime you throw something new in like the Perfect Pushup its generally a good thing. But by no means could you not make similar progress with a good standard pushup workout routine that introduces some variations to hand positioning.

Additional Perfect Pushup Review Notes

  1. Price: $39.99 is a bit expensive in my opinion for this product. I know it can be found for less, so this may not be much of an issue. If all you are looking for is wrist stabilization, opt instead for a pair of pushup bars, which you can pickup for less than $20.
  2. Not making more workouts available online: I realize that one of the ways to productize the Perfect Pushup from a marketing and merchandising perspective is to package it with different accessories, like workout posters, cards and DVDs and charge more.But why not offer all of the exercise video content available online as clips, or provide printable workout sheets or cards for free? Offer it as a free value-add when you buy the product, and then use it to drive traffic and interaction with the Perfect Pushup website. This would provide more opportunities to cross sell products like the Perfect Pullup, as well as help people more effectively use the product.  If people want a version that includes hardcopy of the DVDs and workout cards, then offer that for a little more, since there are material-costs involved.
  3. Confusing Perfect Pushup Workout Plan: The Perfect Pushup workout plan that accompanies the product was actually somewhat confusing. I wasnt sure initially if the 2-Minute Drills Routine was a separate workout plan in addition to 21-Day Get Ripped Workout. I think this could be solved by laying the Perfect Pushup poster and chart out differently. Its a minor point that I dont want to harp on to much, but it did take me about 20 minutes to figure it all out.

Where Can I Buy The Perfect Pushup?

You can buy the Perfect Pushup at most sporting goods stores, Amazon.com, Target stores and directly from the Perfect Pushup website.

Have You Used the Perfect Pushup? What do YOU Think?

If youve used the Perfect Pushup and have an opinion or story (good or bad) share it with us by leaving your review below in the comments area. Im really interested in hearing what other people thing of this product.

Comments (39)

  1.  Dave (5 comments) says:

    Wow, talk about a thorough review.  Thanks!

    Reply
  2.  Matt @ Permanent Fitness (1 comments) says:

    This might overcome the issue of stress on wrists. You might need a soft surface though, cause if youre not used to these, fist push ups might be painful.

    Reply
  3.  Dorothy (3 comments) says:

    My gym has the Perfect Pushup, and I use it about once per week.  I found the twisting motion very, very challenging the first few times..but after a few sessions I was able to work through it and get back to my regular number of reps for a push up.

    I really like them.. they just makes the boring old push-up a little more interesting.  I cant say that Ive noticed any sort of huge improvement, but I always look forward to using them.

    Reply
  4.  Matt (194 comments) says:

    Dorothy, I think youre spot on. I read a lot of reviews of the Perfect Pushup on various review sites and message boards prior to writing my review, and one of the most frequently cited benefits of the Perfect Pushup was that it was “fun.”

    I havent seen the types of “physique transformation” that some of the reviewers (mostly teenaged boys, from what I can tell) experienced, but I also started the Perfect Pushup exercise routine already performing pushups weekly for years. So if you arent doing pushups very often, youll likely see more noticable results not necessarily because of the Perfect Pushup, but because you are doing pushups, period.

    At the end of the day, anything that helps people get more into exercise and enjoy it is a good thing in my book. As far as I can tell, I see nothing detrimental to using the Perfect Pushup, so if it gets you down “giving 50” then its probably worth the investment.

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. Hope youll stop by again.

    Reply
  5.  Rick Burke (1 comments) says:

    I do not agree at all with this review from the stand point of you saying that the claims of the company are unrealistic. That is just not true at all simply because you can get shredded doing push ups in high volume.  You do not need to gain alot of mass to be shredded. As far as I am concerned getting shredded as you say can be obtained by toning and just making yourself into granite.  You can use the grease the groove method with this product and do hundreds and hundreds of push ups in a day if you space them out correctly especially since you wont be putting all that strain on your wrists.  A person can get ripped without adding a ton of muscle mass because most people arent trying to become body builders. Former NFL running Back Herschel Walker used to do  1,000 push ups per day and never used weights and he was totally ripped. It is a misconception that you need to add weight because the average person doesnt. We do not need to train for the olympics. When you say in the review that a person will eventually reach a plateau from doing push ups and wont be able to go any higher. My reply to that is who needs to go any higher? If you are reaching a plateau and maxing out from push ups then you are 1 cut phenomenal specimen and are built of solid steel!!! Being Rock solid is being shredded and that can be obtained from high volume push ups.

    Reply
  6.  Matt (194 comments) says:

    Rick, thanks for stopping by and leaving the very well-thought out comment about pushups and getting “ripped.”

    Im still not convinced, and part of that has to do with “definitions” which we can touch on in a minute.

    First, I want to make one thing clear: I am a huge fan of pushups. I do 50-150 of them 2-3 times a week. Usually a straight set of 50, and then as I fatigue, sets of 25 until I hit my goal. They come fairly easy to me, but I will definately say that doing pushups regularly made a noticable difference in my chest development and triceps. They improved my pressing strength in the weight room and its rare that I dont have sore lats after performing them to boot (I typically perform them on books or bars, and now on the Perfect Pushup.)

    In fact, generally my advice is that you have no business on the bench press until you can do at least 50 excellent form pushups in a single set.  If you cant handle your own body weight yet, you shouldnt be worried about adding additional resistance.

    So I think were both in agreement that pushups are extremely valuable exercises, and that they can improve muscle definition and will typically add some mass.

    From here, though, you and I are going to part thinking a bit. Lets take a look at each of your arguments.

    1.) You can get “shredded by doing a high volume of pushups.”

    Well, maybe.  It sort of depends on your genetics, how much mass you have to begin with, and your bodyfat. This is where the definitions part comes in. By “shredded” Im assuming you mean having very defined muscle without much fat on it. Common enough definition.

    The thing is, people have different aesthetics that they are trying to achieve. Some want to be very lean, with less overall muscle mass (like a male model) but still good muscle definition and separation, while others would prefer to achieve a look with the same properties, but more muscle mass (like a bodybuilder.)

    So depending on what your goal is, youll need to train differently.

    However, in both cases, at some point you will have to train for some mass (unless you already have plenty of muscle to start with), since you cant look “shredded” or “ripped” without it.  Looking “ripped” is mainly a product of having very low body fat levels while still having muscle mass. If you dont have both, youll look either blocky or skinny not “ripped.”

    So, if you take an skinny 18 year old with very little existing muscle mass and hand him the Perfect Pushup and say, “go at it bro”, he will likely add some muscle. Its hard not to. Would he look “shredded?” Well, I guess it depends on how much muscle hes able to put on while staying lean. He still could be skinny, have some additional muscle mass and definition, but wouldnt necessarily look “ripped.”

    What Im getting at is this is a very subjective, individual thing. Some people do respond very well to lighter resistance, higher-rep training like pushups and can build a very impressive, “ripped” upper body (not the italics) physique with that approach. Its still unlikely theyll be able to build lots of additional muscle mass with this approach, but as you point out, that may not be their goal.

    On the other hand, if you do want to add more muscle mass, pushups can be part of that, but unless you are training with increasing levels of resistance (and increased repetitions dont count here), your muscles are not going to be challenged enough to grow larger. This is a well studied, well-documented principle of weight training.

    2. ) You also mention making “toning and making yourself into granite.” Okay, great goal.

    However, I want to challenge you to define exactly what you mean by “toned.” There is no such thing as “toning” in physiology and sports training.  What I think you really mean, is to have that muscular (yes, thats what it is, regardless of how much muscle were talking about) , well-defined physique. Again to have that, you need 1. muscle mass and 2. low body fat.

    “Toning” is not something magical you get by high-rep, low-weight training. This is a complete myth, and its the reason that so many people get frustrated with their workouts.  When you switch them off their high-rep “toning” routines, suddenly they start to see results because they are adding muscle mass, which always looks leaner than body fat.

    3.) I would also challenge your statement that its “a misconception that people need to add weight” to get results. Again, it depends on the results you are looking for, but its a basic tenent of physiology that muscle growth and size is driven by progressive overload.

    Now you can do that with increased reps for a while, but at some point to add muscle size, you are going to have to increase resistance.

    Muscles respond to different kinds of work, well, differently. If doing a thousand pushups a day gets you the results you want, fine. But if after a month or so of doing this you find that youre not where you want to be, try something different like adding resistance. Thats my main point, here. There is not one single exercise no matter how compound it is thats going to necessarily get you full-body results. You need variety to progress.

    4.) Also, I think its important to point out that while your legs do bear some weight during a push up, they are not targeted sufficiently by the Perfect Pushup to achieve full-body development.

    So yes, maybe youll develop a pretty good chest (and possibly upper body) with pushups alone, but unless your goal is to walk around looking like a carrot, youre going to have to do some type of supplemental exercise to train your legs.

    Fitness is about balance, and only doing pushups isnt going to help you achieve that balance.

    Now I know that the Perfect Pushup guys have workouts you can do on the Perfect Pushup that claim to recruit more of your quads, hams and glutes but again, there just isnt enough resistance here to build meaningful muscle or strength.

    The legs are very difficult to build, because they are already challenged each day with high-rep work in the form of walking and supporting your body during standing. To strengthen them, youre going to have to add progressive resistance. Period.

    5. Herschel Walker. Great example. The only problem is most people arent Herschel Walker. Assuming Herschel isnt exaggerating (and I have no reason to believe he is) about his 1,500 pushup a day and 2,500 situp routine, there are very few people alive who a.) could even perform this type of high-rep routine and b.) who would respond to that kind of training in the same way.

    Indeed, if you do respond to this type of training regimen, maybe you should consider walking-on for a position as a running back in the NFL.

    This is the problem with trying to emulate any athletes workout routine (or any canned workout routine, for that matter including my own) is that people are very different, and what works for one person may not have the same outcome for another. You can rely on some tried-and-true training principles, and those work 80 percent of the time, but the other 20% require more specific adjustments.

    Lets also not forget that Herschel Walker had some very unique physical talents and attributes.

    He was one of those people who could put on lean mass very quickly, maintain low-body fat (4 %) even with a high scale weight (230 lbs)  and apparently only ate one meal a day. He seemed to just have loads of natural strength, and was actually excused from weight training during college because he broke the colleges bench press record, despite never regularly lifting weights.

    To say that this is exceptional would be an understatement.

    To suggest that one could achieve the same results as Herschel Walker by following his routine or even something similar to it doesnt take into account that Herschel Walker had some very unusual genetic characteristics that allowed him to train and eat in a way that would result in abject failure for most average people.

    In fact, if most of his peers had trained this way, they probably would have found themselves getting creamed on the gridiron and out of a job very quickly. And many people would consider his peers to have exceptional genetic talents of their own.

    Elite athletes are elite for a reason. Hard work has a lot to do with it, but there are also natural physical properties they have that allow them to perform at levels that most human beings cant. So I think youre really comparing apples to oranges here.

    6. One last point, its really critical not to just look at exercise when you are talking about getting “ripped” or “shredded” or “toned” or whatever term you use to describe your ideal physical condition. Diet plays a huge role in how you look, especially in achieving the low body fat levels you need to have that look.

    Even if the Perfect Pushup alone (or just plain push ups for that matter) were sufficient to build muscle mass and strength without ever setting foot in a weight room, if you are eating Twinkies and pizza all day, or only eating one meal like Herschel Walker, the likelihood of you getting “ripped” is very low.

    We put a lot of emphasis on exercise techniques, but diet is just as important.  If youre not eating enough, you wont build muscle or achieve your goals, no matter how Perfect the Pushup or how much volume you do each day. If you are eating too much, or the wrong kinds of foods, you might add muscle, but will never have the low body fat levels required to look “shredded.”

    The main point of my discussion around “getting ripped” with the Perfect Pushup was simply to remind people to set realistic expectations for what any single exercise or exercise gadget will actually allow you to accomplish.

    I saw plenty of pictures of real people who swear by the Perfect Pushup online, and definitely saw some well-defined chests and shoulders. I also saw quite a few skinny guys calling themselves “ripped” when they were standing on a pair of toothpicks for legs because all they did was push ups all day.

    And Im willing to wager $100 that the fitness models (and thats what they are) who are featured in the  Perfect Pushup ads did not build their physiques on push ups alone.  Yes, push ups are great, and the Perfect Pushup can definitely provide a challenging upper body workout, but you get total body results, from a total body workout  not a gadget “As Seen On TV.”

    Hey, if doing hundreds of push ups gets you the results your want, go at em. But if after six weeks of this approach, youre not seeing progress or if you eventually stall its probably time for you to ditch your one trick pony and try something new.

    Reply
  7.  Josh (2 comments) says:

    First, I want to say thanks to Mr.Burke for stimulating some much needed discussion.  Matt your review was interesting, informative, and awesome. However, it was a little ambiguous as to my most important question: Will it help me?  Your response to Mr.Burkes comment was so thorough and unbiased that it gave me the info to decide for myself.  The percision in which you evaluated every aspect was most helpful.  So often getting ripped is associated with turning a thin frame into more massive frame. In my case, Its just the opposite.  I played high school football in the south where its close to being a religion, so I was deeply rooted in the weight room but more so to get bigger faster and stronger thus having fair amount of muscle mass, however seven years of gorging , zero workouts, and thousands of college keg parties later, I find myself at 300+ lbs and wanting to just be lean, tone, and healthy.  I had seen the infomercials and was skeptical(like I am with ANYTHING sold as an infomercial), but a few of my friends had it so I wanted to do the research basically to understand its affect and application.  I realize that Ill never be Mr. Olympia just doing the perfect push-up, but correct me if Im wrong, Your assessment of the Perfect Pushup is if I follow the workout plan, eat a low fat high fiber diet,and add some sprints and rope jumping I should be in a leaner lighter life-style. I hope so, because of your evaluation I just went and got the Perfect Pushup.  Ill let you know how is goes.  Thanks for your knowledge and comprehensive info, but most of all thanks for the honesty.

    Reply
  8.  Clarence Gaines (1 comments) says:

    I would not recommend this product.  If you have any instability in your shoulder, it can damage the rotator cuff.  My right shoulder has not been the same since I tried this product.  Do you homework on the internet.  Go to you tube and look at WDSU TVs review of the perfect pushup.  Dr. Corey Hebert says a traditional pushup does a better job of distributing weight throughout your body and lessens pressure on wrist and hands.  He recommends that you not use this product if you have a pre-existing joint or rotator -cuff injury.  A lot of people experience shulder pain from using this device.  Its not worth the risk.

    Reply
  9.  Matt (194 comments) says:

    Clarence, thanks for stopping by sharing your thoughts on the perfect pushup.

    I watched the segment from Dr. Corey Hebert and I have to say, Im completely unconvinced that he even looked at the Perfect Pushup.

    First,  Im  perplexed by his comment that a “standard pushup puts less pressure on the hands and wrists.”

    The standard pushup has you bending back your wrist perpendicular to your forearm and then supporting a large portion of your body weight on the wrists. In a neutral position (like with pushup bars or the Perfect Pushup) the wrist is held in a position that is optimal for reducing potential strain to tendons in the wrist.  I would have thought for certain the doctor would have understood this.

    Also, in terms of the standard pushup “better distributing weight”, I really dont understand how Dr. Hebert came to this conclusion, either.

    Yes, the Perfect Pushup creates an slightly instable surface due to the rotation of the paddles, but that has zero to do with distributing weight. Weight distribution is pretty much equal between the Perfect Pushup and Standard Pushups. You are in a plank position with both forms of pushups. The use of the handles does nothing to alter basic weight distribution, which is split between your hands and your feet and is bridged by your core.

    The only advice that he gave that I would consider heeding is avoiding this product if you have a pre-existing shoulder injury. Ive read enough anectdotal cases of people having rotator cuff pain after using the Perfect Pushup to advise avoiding it in those cases. If you are unsure, talk you your doctor.

    I am actually working on a follow-up to this review where I have an exercise physiologists and/or kineseologist take a close look at the Perfect Pushup to give us their expert opinion.  That should help resolve the question around whether this puts unusual sheering forces on the shoulder joints that can aggravate or cause rotator cuff injuries.

    Reply
  10.  Matt (194 comments) says:

    Hey Josh, thanks for stopping by. Really appreciate the well-thought-out comments and observations.

    Heres my take, based on what you have told me about your past fitness and current weight/fitness situation.

    I would focus on getting your diet cleaned up first, there are a bunch of articles on the site to help you get started with this. You can probably lean out fairly quickly at your weight just by making some simple changes in what you eat.

    Second, in your case, skip the Perfect Pushup and get back in the gym (if you have one nearby.) If you had a fair amount of muscle when you were younger, youll be surprised at how it tends to bounce back even later on in life.  Do weight training a couple times a week and add in some cardio, and youll probably start to peel the body fat off fairly quickly.

    Hope this helps get you started. Let me know if you have any other questions.

    Reply
  11.  Rick Shaw (2 comments) says:

    In regards to what Clarence stated about your rotators, that couldnt be further from the truth through my experience. In my opinion it is the complete oppositeif you suffer from shoulder instability, purchase this product. I am evidence. Ive suffered from alot of problems with one of my shoulders,  its been very unstable for years when in certain positions and has popped out of socket on more than one occasion. After using this product for roughly a month, my shoulder feels the strongest it has in probably 10 years. I could feel it strengthening and becoming more stable after only the first workout I kid you not. What sense does it make to say if you have unstable shoulders you should avoid a piece of equipment that works your stabilizers???? Think about it. Im sorry but i have to say whatever injury Clarence suffered was probably a result of poor form and improper execution.

    I agree with the point about feeling it more in my shoulders (rear and front) than my chest. For me, thats a good thingespecially for the rear delts. I feel this hits my muscles 100x better than anything ive experieced from the standard pushups.

    Reply
  12.  Jae (4 comments) says:

    well written review,
    i have own perfect push-up and as a personal trainer for the past 7 years, its not so interesting tool.

    in my opinion, this seems to be just another gadget to perform just another way of doing push-up. it does have its benefits like stablization but the amount of money i paid for this gadget i could have done exactly same thing with a ball.

    to be honest there are more than enough variations of push ups for any goal. for example Tony Horton P90X home workout program has 13 different variations of push ups and i can think of 10 more just off of top of my head.

    biologically, as muscle stimulation, your chest muscles are activated by shoulder adduction movement not wrist rotation. which means other than stability, there is no difference between “perfect push up and standard push up.

    my opinion, you dont need it, but nice to have.
    i prefer the old fashion push up grips with different variations over the perfect push up.

    Reply
  13.  Rick Shaw (2 comments) says:

    “there is no difference between “perfect push up and standard push up.”

    I have to totally disagree.  In the past i  exclusively did standard pushups for a little over a month,  roughly the same amount of time ive used the perfect pushup, and there is an absolute difference! Aside from the shoulder stability i mentioned earlier (which is a huge point), there is undeniable muscle gain in my upper chest , rear delts, as well as back. Things that i didnt get from standard pushups.

    I think the cost is kinda overblown, you can find it for 30 bucks at walmart.i mean, its not the end of the world. People spend more than that on a shirt they wear once.

    Reply
  14.  Dave Peters (1 comments) says:

    I purchased the Mobile Perfect Pushup, and noticed results almost immediately.  While their product is great, their knowledge of how the device should be used is laughable.  There are differences of opinion on the web whether you should inhale or exhale when pushing up.  To get the answer from the “PP experts” I sent them an email asking.  I just got a response telling me to check with my doctor.  My doctor is 75 years old, and probably doesnt even know what a pushup is.  I then called their customer service, and was told they havent a clue.  Incredible!

    Reply
  15.  Don conrad (2 comments) says:

    Why isnt anyone else complaining about this product? it ruined my shoulders and elbows.

    Yes I got a bit ripped but at the cost of my shoulder cuffs and elbows

    Reply
  16.  Don conrad (2 comments) says:

    the weight copacity is bogus. I am a 230 lb body builder and I almost can feel the thing about to break .
    A friend of mine who weighs 250 broke the perfect push-up and injured himself severely and is considering a law suit.
    All I know is my shoulders  kill me any time I try to use it now .  I have not heard any claims made about rotator cuff damage or tennis elbow from use. It easier on the wrist granted but its very very strenuous on the shoulders not matter what position you use.
    I should sue

    Reply
  17.  JJ Dawson (1 comments) says:

    Perfect Pushup (Looking at the Claims)

    1.You engage more muscles. The downward motion you swivel inward, and then move back to a parallel position at the top, you may be engaging more stabilizing muscles do to the swivel effect. The claim does seem to have merit. Engaging more muscle using the product as directed.
    2. Helps reduce joint pain. A regular pushup is performed with palms down; this may put extra stress on the wrist joints. The perfect pushup is designed to use an over hand grip which does appear to relieve joint pain.
    3. Designed for all fitness levels. Most fitness products are designed for the beginner, intermediate and advanced.

    My conversation with a sales person.

    The salesman asked if I thought the product was worth the $39.00 dollars. I told him I didn’t think the product was a rip off, and I don’t believe the claims are deceiving. But I did explain I thought the product was not worth the money and the same results can be accomplished performing regular standard pushups.

    The salesman had one last shot at convincing me it was more beneficial then the traditional push up. He said the perfect push up is designed with handles so when you move down you are increasing your range of motion. I agreed, but explained the extra four inches was not crucial when performing the exercise. He was still not convinced so I decided to show him I could perform the same exercise and get the same results using equipment I already owned or were
    available in the Gym.

    I took two dumb bells placed them on the floor, the height was similar to the perfect push up, I turned the dumb bells at a forty five degree angle out ward. Got down did a push up. I then turned them forty five degrees in ward and did one more push up. He did agree I could get similar results using a little ingenuity.

    I would not purchase the product for $39.00 dollars. On a scale of 1-10 I would rate it a five. I can duplicate 96% of the claims using red ally available equipment.

    Before I left the store I had one more thought for the salesman. I told him the only perfect push up was to have someone else perform it for you.

    Reply
  18.  Charles Lloyd (6 comments) says:

    Man you put out some seriously long but really great articles. My  only problem with the Perfect Pull-up is you have to drill into the door frame which is kinda lame :\

    Reply
  19.  Mikey (2 comments) says:

    I like this product. If you want to try and get shreded you burn of some that body fat. Try and incorporate running into your workouts. Also remeber this, you dont have to be strong to look strong.

    What I am currentely doing is combing the workout charts with the perfect pushup and pullup, and I am doing one perfect pushup workout day and then on they day off it gives me I am doing the pullup. It works really well for me.

    Reply
    •  Goggigerry (1 comments) says:

      Im glad youve found some use from them Jordan. Its great because push ups can be utlizied by any age group.Youre absolutely right though. A lot of the younger kids I work with still struggle to perform the regular push up. It most definitely is a great challenge in itself. But as we keep doing the same thing, our progression tends to level off and variations like these (and many others) are great for getting you to the next level.Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  20.  Mikey (2 comments) says:

    IN MY PREVIOUS COMMENT I MEANT YOU DONT HAVE TO LOOK STRONG TO BE STRONG

    Reply
  21.  Antonio (1 comments) says:

    Well i have purchased and used the perfect pushup and think its an exellent product. In one workout( which was just a test workout) i got soreness in triceps, upper chest, shoulders and back. ive put on 2 on my chest using the perfect pushups. Its  an excellent product.

    Reply
  22.  jay K (1 comments) says:

    Thanks for the well written review.  My roommate moved in with the perfect pushup so I just wanted to check to make sure it wasnt damaging to the body.  Seems good to me but a little expensive at 40$.  I feel extra work in my forearms/core because of the stabilizing you need to do over a normal pushup.

    Reply
  23.  Mike (11 comments) says:

    When I first used the product more shoulders hurt worse.  Finally I realized I was using POOR FORM.  But when I looked at the instructional DVD and really studied it.  Now I use PROPER FORM and my shoulders are getting better.
    There is an advanced DVD you can buy if you want to build more muscle.  For example doing the perfect pushups while your legs are on a chair, etc.  Also I have found some weird perfect pushup experiences to build the biceps.
    I do incorporate ab exercises and I do biking to build rest of the muscles.  I dont want to be buffed like a bodybuilder.  However I want to be well toned.  This thing gets me motivated.  If youre 200 lbs or over this product care barely handle the body weight.  I am 194 lbs and somethings its barely holding me.
    Remember the goal of this product is to max the number of pushup and endurance.  You cant have great endurance and huge muscles.
    If I want to build more muscles I just slow the tempo of my pushups.

    Reply
  24.  Luke (3 comments) says:

    Idk what that one guy is talking about it breaking. I weigh 290, a good 40 pounds more than he does and also work out, and havent even experienced anything remotely close to it being flimsy or breaking. And as for the shoulder pains, its probably because youve been doing the same workout for years, only pushing up a barbell at 90 degree angles. This is more like 45 degrees. Alot different.

    The only way I could see it breaking is if you go nuts on it doing fast repetitions which would greatly increase the stress on the handles considering your lowering your weight on it fast then pushing down hard to get back up. I thought juicers could read.

    The instructions say when you do these you do them in 2 second increments. 1 second to get down, 1 second on your way up. If you want a more intense work out by all means to them even slower.

    Id love to see this guy try and sue because he hurt himself when overexerting himself with their product. Are you gonna sue your carpet dealer to because it happened on it? Lastly if your a bodybuilder why in gods name are you complaining about pushups? Ive only seen one type of heavy bodybuilder workout require pushups and that was only like one repetition of wide pushups using dumbells as a platform.

    Reply
  25.  Bryan (4 comments) says:

    I particularly like the perfect pushup device. When I first started using it, I was amazed at how few reps I could do. I maxed out at 25 lol. I too also had pain in my shoulders, but that went away after a few sessions, never bothering me again. Using it for a couple of weeks straight I was able to get up to 100 pushups and crank them out very quickly. Getting ripped? Not even close. I still pretty much looked the sameBUT my shoulders did get pretty cut. I developed muscles I didnt even know I had! I stopped shortly after that and didnt do them for months. But I just started recently doing them again, but with a weighted vest on. Been doing them every other day for the past few weeks. So honestly and truly you will not get !!!!!RIPPED!!!!! just by doing perfect pushups, but you will become stronger and will get more definition. The only way to get RIPPED is diet AND exercise, only trouble I have is sticking to a diet, I keep cheating lol. But all in all I would recommend the Perfect Pushup to anyone looking to increase their strength at home. Oh and mine only cost me $19.99 at Wal-Mart lol.

    Reply
  26.  Chaz (1 comments) says:

    Wow after reading the posts here I have to say you guys need to slow down. I am 250 #s and bought this product for 15 bux. It is the Perfect Pushup Basic. It does me fine. It does not feel like it is going to break at all. It allows me perfect form with all the enjoyment of the pushup. It does not hurt me. I have not done pushups in long time. When I stated I could do 3 total now I can do 25. They now have a V2 that takes up to 400#s. So you can not complain about wt limits.

    Reply
  27.  michael (3 comments) says:

    At the risk of duplicating what someone else may have said:

    While the rotating handles are somewhat more comfortable to me than hands flat on the floor,  the main difference between doing a conventional pushup vs. using the Perfect Pushup device is the depth of the pushup motion.

    I started doing pushups regularly about 5 or 6 years ago. Over about 3-1/2 years, starting with 25 regular pushups, I built my capacity so I could do at least 180 consecutively in about two minutes; my maximum was 206.  During this time I tracked my reps and stopped counting when I reached 100,000.

    Then my son sent me a birthday gift of a set of PPUs, and I started using them. It appeared from the information sheet that the proper form is to descend until my chest was level with the top of the handles.  To facilitate this, I used an inverted plastic pint-size yoghurt container that was about the proper height, set so that its forward edge was about 1 behind the rear edge of the PPUs.  When my chest touched the top of this target I knew I was at the right height.

    I was surprised to discover that, at first, I could do only about 25 consecutive reps;  I decided that intensity of effort was better than duration,  so the PPUs would build up my upper body more. I kept at it, and gradually (taking a year or so) I built up to where I can regularly do 70-80 reps.

    Recently, looking carefully at the PPU web site, I realized that I probably wasnt going low enough, so I moved the target to a line so that its center point  passed through the pivot points of the PPU handles. I also adjusted the height of the target up about 1/2. PPU now offers a target that counts reps.

    In this new position, I was surprised to find that I could do only about 25 pushups before giving out. Thinking back, it was apparent from these modifications of the setup that small differences in the depth of the pushup make a big difference in the effort required and how many pus I could do.

    Anyway, I have now built up to where I can do about 40 reps. I expect will gradually increase this, but my main objective is to keep my body as sound as possible into the (hopefully) distant future.

    By the way, I am 77.

    Reply
  28.  Serge (1 comments) says:

    What about combining Perfect Push ups drills with Iron Gym (pullups / chinups / dips / push ups)   and bodyweight squats for a challenging home workout ?

    Reply
  29.  mike (11 comments) says:

    If you follow the instructions on how to use proper form and setting you max it really is a great product.
    I havent had any problems with my elbows, i will admit my shoulder cuffs have a little pain in them but when working out the motto is no pain no gain.
    If you start having server pain you are most likely not doing them correctly and often. (stretching beforehand is suggested)
    They do give you great workout for your arms compared to regular push up. I would give them a 4 out of 5 stars.

    Reply
  30.  Ken (1 comments) says:

    I started reading what some of the others have said, and stopped. Look, this works. I am well over 200 lbs. and its not flimsy at all. When in the proper position, the entire torso will be worked. I had to stop due to a wrist break due to a sports related injury. I needed to get back to working out, and could not do traditional pushups. The perfect push up HAS relieved pressure from my wrist and I am still able to do push ups, increase strength, and maintain a pretty decent physique.
    I recommend this to anyone seeking to tone, bulk, or maintain.

    Reply
  31.  Jim (6 comments) says:

    Great review, voicing many of the things I noticed when I started using it. I was doing 350 declined pus per day (10 sets of 35) and was experiencing some right wrist pain. When I started using the Perfect Pushup, the wrist pain went away (along with most of the reps 10 sets of 15). Hopefully when I get back to 35, the wrist pain will still be missing. I did experience some mild rotator cuff soreness in one shoulder, but backing off for awhile has taken care of that. Ive had to be careful with going too low though aggravating an old judo injury to my sternum. Again, thanks for the thorough review!

    Reply
  32.  The Big Frank (1 comments) says:

    The perfect push-up and the perfect pull-up are complete garbage. There is a cheaper and better alternative to those two overprice products.

    Read this article for more information:

    http://rookiejournal.com/perfect-push-up-and-the-perfect-pull-up-are-garbage.html

    Reply
  33.  Robby (1 comments) says:

    The one thing I would like to point out is that it is entirely possible to increase the resistance of bodyweight exercises without adding weight. You just simply have to decrease your leverage. Take a look at Olympic gymnasts, or look up Hannibal For King on YouTube. The vast majority of the training that these people do is without any weight. Push ups are a great exercise, but as noted they are not very difficult. Sure, you can fiddle around with wide and narrow grips, elevating your feet, etc, however there are several pressing exercises that will give you much more of a challenge than a push up. Handstand push ups, for example, are quite challenging when done properly, and if you elevate your hands so that you get a full range of motion, are very tough. Then theres the strict one arm push up. A strict one arm push up requires that you keep your elbow in by your side with your back and shoulders as straight and level as possible. Come down all the way, so that your shoulder is right above your hand. It is also critical that you have your feet as close together as possible. Many people make the mistake of assuming that this would only make the one arm push up more difficult to balancenot so. The closer your feet are, you require far more core stability and pressing strength. Ideally, you would have them slightly wider than shoulder width or closer. Try a strict one arm push up with feet together, and you will see how difficult a one arm push up can really be. Beyond that, you can try planche push ups, which will make the full range handstand push ups look like childs play.

    For pulling, beyond the pull up, try strict, slow muscle ups, back levers, front lever rows, and strict one arm chin ups.

    If you are among the few that are able to execute these maneuvers, then I encourage you to start training advanced skills on the gymnastic rings. Iron cross, maltese, inverted cross, etcof course, if you can do front levers and planches with ease, then you are likely already training advanced ring skills.

    Reply
    •  Matt (194 comments) says:

      Great point, Robby.

      Reply
  34.  Dan (3 comments) says:

    I use perfect pushups every other day, in 5 sets till I fail each time. Ive been adding 50 lb weight to my chest recently(I weigh 230) so Im pressing quite a bit of weight with them, and the results Im getting are great. Easy to use anywhere, no gym membership required, and $40 isnt bad, since these are very well built pieces. And yes, pushups with perfect pushups are much more difficult than standard pushups.
    Recommended.

    Dan

    Reply
  35.  Matt (194 comments) says:

    So pretty much your all saying that the perfect pushup IS worth buying and WILL help you become stronger? cut the bullshit 20 pages worth of info, simply yes or no?

    Reply
    •  Matt (194 comments) says:

      Matt, thanks stopping by. If you read the article, at the very top (before the bullshit 20 pages worth of info as you call it) I provide a synopsis for the attention-impaired with Pros, Cons and a Rating. I think that answers your question. Yes, the Perfect Pushup will help you become stronger, just as a normal push-up will help you become stronger.

      Reply
  36.  darren (1 comments) says:

    Hi Matt.  I do push ups 2 to 3 times a week, in addition to weight work at the gym 5-6 days a week.  I know I over do it, but, I am who I am, and I can not overcome the OCD, and I am ok with that.  I do 100 push ups, 80 dips and about 60 pull-ups/chin-ups 2-3 days a week, using a 35 lb weight vest.  Some times I do these on the same day as chest or back, and sometimes on other days.  I just try to do them at least 2-3 days a week.  I use push up bars due to a lot of pain I have in my wrists.  I would prefer to do regular push ups with different variations, but my wrists just kill me for days afterwards.  Would The Perfect Push-up be a good idea with the weighted vest, in your opinion?  Thanks for your time and best of luck to you.  Oh, btw, I am in my fifties and have played sports most of my life, and that is the reason for the wrist pain.

    Doug

    Reply
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