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Is it just me, or do summer weeks fly by about twice as fast as winter weeks? I can’t believe I’m sitting here ALREADY putting up the next Friday Fitness Boot Camping Challenge:
Anyhoo…I LOVE LOVE LOVE this week’s challenge. Hindu Pushups are the bomb. You stretch, you strengthen, you endure…and you are SERIOUSLY challenged. But just sitting back in your comfy computer chair watching me do them won’t do Hindu Pushups any justice. Exercises always look WAY easier when watching others. Get down on the floor and try these babies yourself, and you’ll see just how surprisingly difficult they are.
As always, your Boot Camping Challenge is to do these each day either through the weekend OR all week long…you decide how bad@ss you’re willing to be. Next Friday, we’ll wipe the slate clean and start a brand new Boot Camping Challenge. But, if you’re like me, you’ll grow to hate (which equals love in the exercise world) Hindu Pushups so much you’ll find yourself doing them all the time in future workouts! And when you do, hopefully you’ll think of me (more like muttering curses at me I’m sure) because I’ll be cheering you on.
And a quick sidenote. We filmed this poolside at Golden Valley Palms RV Resort near Palm Springs, CA. We’ve never stayed in a swanky RV resort before, never had an interest. But OH MY we loved it so much! Never saw ourselves as RV resort people but turns out we just might be. I had the hardest time leaving when it was time to go…and that never happens. I usually love moving on…exploring and wandering as much as possible. What a pleasant surprise it was! So anyways, if you’re like us and have never glamped resort-style before, you’ve GOT to try it. It’s a totally different experience from backwoods dry camping. It’s okay to love both.
So I’d love to hear what you think of Hindu Pushups! Give them a try and let’s hear your opinions below in the comments. And as always, let me know if you have questions about them.
Rooting for you!
Hi. Love your boot camp. However, the way you do these push-ups, dipping as low as you do puts a lot of stress on the shoulder. If anyone has a shoulder injury or is recovering from a past injury, the dipping will only hurt that individual. Something to keep in mind.
Hi Katie! If you watch the 2nd half of the video, you’ll see an easier version that’s more appropriate if you have a shoulder injury. But remember, strength training always places stress on our joints, it’s unavoidable. Doing biceps curls stresses the elbow. Squats stress the knees/hips. Pushups and planks (including these) stress our shoulders. The key to working with an injury is finding a balance of how far you can stress the joint to maintain strength & mobility without injuring it further. When doing Hindu pushups properly, with the elbows tucked, your shoulders ARE moving in a safe flexion/extension sagital pathway, which is one of the safest to use with a shoulder injury. The dipping you mention is actually coming from how far you bend your elbows (which is why your triceps will be screaming at you the next day, lol!). Now, compare these to traditional pushups which are in the transverse plane, requiring adduction and abduction of the shoulder joint, that’s actually a more stressful movement plane for the shoulder joint. THEN people with injuries need to most definitely take care. Food for thought! Thanks for your comment! I LOVE the excuse to talk biomechanics!
I tried it out on my SUP this evening. You are right, it is harder than it looks. I’m not sure I was doing them correctly, but it was kind of hard to whip out the iPad and check out on the lake.
By the way, you really have to get one. After working up a sweat…splash…Ahhhhh….I highly recommend the Red Paddle 10.8 Active. It is specifically designed for Yoga. And being an inflatable, it rolls up to class B portability. Pumping it up provides the warm-up. I have the 10.8 Ride. Its great and basically the same, but the front area is a bit slippery when wet, so for Yoga the other model is better.
Hindu Pushups on a stand up paddleboard…I’m so jealous! Sounds like a wonderful way to do them. And thanks for the tip on the SUP you use! I actually am in the market for an inflatable! And having a good one for yoga will be an important selling factor. I’ll check out the Red Paddle Active!
These are diabolical! Have been leaning against a counter top or wall to open hip abductors after running and not stretching much but sitting a lot. So, this does that, but also stretch’s the hamstrings and calves, but it abosuletly engages the core and shoulders. Wow! Started with 5 a day, first day of 10. These things will kick your b u double t. If you only do one exercise per day, this has to be it! Showed the wife, she will try them too. Thanks for posting!
THANK YOU for this comment! I TOTALLY agree with you that this is THE ONE if you only did one exercise a day. So, Bill, you sound like a fitnessy type, so you know what I mean when I say make sure you keep your elbows tucked…more like a tricep-focused pushup vs chest-focused, ya know? Elbows out is easier and cheatier. When you coach your wife on these, watch for that. WOOT! I’ve converted yet another Hindu Pushups fan! Happy trainer!
And just so we’re clear, it’s brush your nose close to the ground. Not splat your nose against the ground, then fall flat to your stomach whining OUCH while wife and kids are watching (and laughing). That might have happened. I admit nothing.
LOL! Yeah, probably should avoid doing that. 😉