Push-ups are a versatile exercise. You can vary the stimulus you place on your muscles when you push up by changing your hand position, the position of your feet, and the angle at which you do them. For example, if your hands are higher than your feet, pushing your body weight up will be easier. Likewise, when your feet are higher than your hands, your upper body must work harder when it pushes.
But there’s a push-up variation you might not be doing. It’s called the triangle push-up, also known as a diamond or triangle push-up and it’s a different way to work your upper body. Let’s look at some of the benefits of doing triangle push-ups.
If you need a refresher on how to do one. Here’s a refresher:
- Place your hands on the floor about shoulder-width apart and your feet together. Your thumbs should be pointing toward each other, and your elbows bent at about 90 degrees.
- Bring your hands together so that your thumbs touch one another, and your hands form a triangle shape with your thumbs forming the base and your fingers the sides of the triangle.
- In this position, lower your body down toward the ground while keeping your body in a straight line and your core tight. Don’t let your hips sag as you raise and lower your body.
- Push yourself back up until your arms are straight again, but don’t lock out at the top position.
Triangle push-ups are harder than standard push-ups because of the positioning of your hands and the fact that your chest travels a longer distance to reach the floor. Plus, triangle pushups are harder because they require more stabilization.
Now, let’s look at the benefits of doing triangle push-ups and why you should include them in your strength-training routine.
Triangle Push-Ups Are the Most Effective Push-up Variation for Strengthening the Triceps
Triangle pushups are a great exercise for developing your triceps. They place more emphasis on your triceps than regular pushups, which target your chest and shoulders. The main muscles you work when you do a triceps push-up are your triceps. According to research by the American Council on Exercise, the triceps push-up is the gold standard for triceps exercises since it places the most emphasis on the triceps.
They compared muscle activation with eight triceps exercises including the triangle push-up, kickbacks, dips, overhead triceps extensions, rope pushdowns, bar pushdowns, lying barbell triceps extensions, and closed grip bench press.
The triangle pushup was a clear winner, followed by dips, a distant second. Triangle push-ups shouldn’t be the only exercise you do for your triceps but if you’re trying to build triceps strength or size, it’s an obvious choice.
They Make It Harder to Cheat
It’s easy to cheat with push-ups. The way people cheat is by not lowering their body far enough and by using momentum – lowering or pushing their body up and down too quickly. It’s harder to cheat when you do triangle push-ups. Your triceps muscles are forced to do more work and you can theoretically gain more strength when you do this push-up variation.
Triangle Push-ups Are a Core Strengthener
Triangle pushups are harder because they require more core stabilization. In a triangle pushup, you must keep your torso in a neutral position, which means that you can’t let it sag toward the floor, as is common with standard push-ups. This forces your core muscles to contract harder to keep your body aligned, balanced, and stable. Therefore, triangle push-ups are a good exercise for engaging your core. When you do the exercise, hold your core and glutes tight to maximize the core-strengthening benefits.
They Work Your Chest Muscles Better Than a Standard Push-Up
Although triceps push-ups are a triceps-centric exercise, they work your chest muscles better than a standard push-up. One reason is that your chest must travel further toward the floor, which increases triceps and pectoral muscle activation. So, if you want to build stronger pectoral muscles, triangle push-ups have an advantage over other push-up variations.
Triangle Push-Ups Are Good for Balance
Triceps push-ups can improve your balance skills since you’re placing your hands closer together, creating a narrow base. This forces your body to balance more than a standard push-up where your hands are further apart, forming a wider base. Of all the push-up variations, triangle pushups are the most effective for improving balance since they place your body in a more unstable position. Also, elevating your feet when you do triangle push-ups will create an even greater balance challenge.
How to Incorporate Triangle Push-Ups into Your Strength-Training Routine
When you do push-ups, include a variety of push-up variations in your strength-training routine, and include triangle push-ups in your routine. There’s no other variation that works your triceps as effectively. But keep things balanced. Make sure you’re doing pulling exercises that target the triceps too. For example, rows are an effective pulling exercise to balance out triceps exercises where you push.
Be aware that triangle push-ups are a more challenging push-up variation and aren’t the best choice when you’re first starting. Master a standard push-up first before tackling a triangle variation. It’s a more advanced exercise that requires a higher level of strength and fitness. Plus, triangle push-ups force your triceps to work harder and they’re one of the weakest muscles in the upper body for most people. However, triangle push-ups are one of the best ways to strengthen them. Also, be aware that the positioning of your arms and hands with triangle push-ups places added stress on your shoulders. If you have a history of shoulder problems, it’s not the safest push-up variation.
Once you’ve mastered triangle push-ups and they feel easy, elevate your feet, and do the exercise. This will make the exercise more challenging. Remember, you need progressive overload, incremental increases in intensity over time, to keep building strength and muscle size.
The Bottom Line
If you’re not doing triangle push-ups, why not? They activate your triceps more than even the dip. If you’re trying to get stronger triceps or more triceps development, this is a variation you don’t want to skip.
References:
“ACE Study Identifies Best Triceps Exercises – ACE Fitness.” https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/3008/ace-study-identifies-best-triceps-exercises/.
Kinetic Analysis of Several Variations of Push-Ups. Bradley Wurm, Tyler L. VanderZand, Mark Spadavecchia1, John Durocher2, Curtis Bickham3, Erich J. Petushek4, and William P. Ebben1,3.
Related Articles By Cathe:
History of Push-Ups: They’ve Been Around Longer Than You Think!
Is a Push-Up the Ultimate Measure of Physical Fitness?
Which Push-Up Variation is Toughest?
5 Ways to Make Bodyweight Exercises More Effective
Related Cathe Friedrich Workout DVDs:
STS Strength 90 Day Workout Program
All of Cathe’s Strength & Toning Workout DVDs
Total Body Workouts
Upper Body Workouts
