T-pushups are a great compound exercise that will do wonders for your chest and triceps. It works to strengthen your abs, first supporting the upward pressing motion and then rotating your body.
Better yet, if you hold the T position for a few seconds at the top of the movement, your abdominal area will work even harder. Your shoulders will also be much more involved thanks to the rotation, and your arms will be challenged throughout the movement.
T-pumps are therefore incredibly effective for building muscle, but also for improving flexibility and preventing injuries.
In this article, we explain everything you need to know to incorporate T-pumps into your sports routine!
What are the benefits of T-pumps?
T-pumps are a great way totone multiple muscle groups at once, and they don't require any additional weight lifting equipment. Once you've mastered the classic push-ups, you may want to try some variations to intensify your workouts.
Learning to do a push-up increases strength, balance and flexibility to reveal more toned muscles. In one smooth motion, you'll work your biceps, triceps, chest, shoulders, and core. This builds your strength, and improves your efficiency on other exercises such as pull-ups.
With this variant, your obliques will also work more, thanks to the part in lateral sheathing. The great thing about this move is that you can always make it more or less difficult, depending on your fitness level.
Holding dumbbells in each hand or wearing a weighted vest will make the task more difficult, while kneeling will reduce the level of muscle strength needed.
It is therefore a perfectly flexible exercise, which can be performed by beginners as well as experienced athletes!
Also discover: The 5 benefits of sheathing and our tips for taking advantage of them
How to do T push-ups?
Without dumbbells
When you do your pushups, make sure to lower your elbows completely to 90 degrees and don't let those elbows stick out to the side: keep them well at your side. Focusing on better execution form maximizes the muscle work of T-pushups.
After you complete a push-up, raise your right hand skyward into aside plank position, making sure to keep your spine and neck in a straight line. Your body should look like a Capital T, hence the name of this variation of the classic push-up.
Do not twist your torso too much when performing the rotation so as not to cause lower back discomfort from hyperextension. One rotation to each side counts as a total of one rep.
Do this exercise on both sides to get a toned stomach and strong arms.Here is a summary of the execution of the push-up movement :
- Start in a plank position with hands under shoulders, legs extended and abs tight so your body is in a straight line
- Bend your elbows lowering your chest to the floor, keeping your gaze in front of your fingertips.
- Push your chest into starting position using your arms.
- Open your right hand and hip toward the ceiling to find yourself in a side plank position. The feet remain staggered and the legs stretched.
- Rotate the right hand back to the starting position and repeat the exercise, this time opening the left hand into the side plank. This is a repeat.
- Continue for desired number of repetitions.
With dumbbells
Take two dumbbells of medium weight, about 5 or 6 kg each. Use hex dumbbells if possible, as they will provide a more stable platform (this will keep your wrist more fixed).
To perform T-pushups with that extra resistance, place the dumbbells under your shoulders and hold them with arms fully extended and wrists stiff.
Form a straight line from your head to your heels, so that the only other point of contact with the ground is your toes. Unlike a traditional push-up, your feet should be shoulder-width apart to support your rotation. Increase exercise intensity with a weighted vest.
Lower your chest to the floor and push up. Once you're back in the top position, remove a dumbbell from the floor and lift it up, rotating your torso, stopping when your arm is pointing up.
Pause, then reverse the movement under control. Alternate sides after each rep. Be careful to go slowlyin your stroke so you don't hurt yourself with the dumbbells.
Also discover: wide grip push-ups, the right technique and the advantages
How to get better muscle gains with T-pumps?
The bodyweight T-pushups still too easy? We have the solution for you !
The Super-Human Fitness™ 50KG™ Military Weighted Vest is a weight training accessory specially designed to intensify exercises initially by body weight, such as push-ups, squats or pull-ups.
From your home, you can increase your physical performance quickly and make all your movements more difficult for an additional muscular challenge! And find out how many push-ups you should do per day to optimize your results in this article.
This weight vest is comfortable and sturdy thanks to its Oxford fabric and Velcro system. This way, you are 100% focused on your sports session, and not on constantly putting your weight vest back on.
It adapts to all sizes and all body types, with adjustable loads of up to 50 kg (spread over 12 pockets). No matter your level and the speed of your progress, the weighted vest adapts to you.
It's a fitness accessory that will follow you over the years, that is easy to transport and that will allow you to do intense workouts without leaving your home
Discover in this article all the exercises to develop your pecs.
You can strengthen your entire body and your muscles, whether your goal isweight loss or muscle gain!
What to do if you can't do T-bar pushups?
Traditional pushups are a staple of strength training, and there are dozens of variations, including T-pushups. But while it's one of the most classic moves, it's also one of the hardest for some to pull off.
Pushups require quite a bit of upper body strengthand it can be difficult to do multiple reps in a row, or even finish just one!
Rest assured: you are not the only one having problems and wishing that the exercise was easier. Here are some tips to help you:
- Use an Elevated Surface: The first way to make T-pushups easier is to do them on an elevated surface.
Inclined push-ups, where your hands are elevated above your feet, put less weight on your arms.
Once you can do three or four sets of 10-15 reps on a high surface (kitchen counter height or table height), try to find something lower (bench height). Little by little, you will gain strength and you will be able to perform push-ups on a flat surface.
- Focus on the downward stroke: Instead of trying to do all of the upward thrust at once, start by focusing on the downward stroke very slowly.
Eccentric contractions are a great way to gain strength quickly. All you have to do is slowly lower yourself to the bottom of the T-pump, then recover by putting your weight on your knees and coming back up to a plank position.
You will have an easier time performing the movement, but you will still continue to progress.
Find out more ways to use your weighted vest in this article.
Summary: T-pumps
T-push-ups are therefore an excellent exercise for strengthening the upper body: chest, triceps, shoulders and abs, you name it! It is a compound and dynamic movement that combines the benefits of push-ups with those of lateral planking.
You will also sweat more, and therefore burn more calories while optimizing muscle building. You can do bodyweight T-pushups, with dumbbells, or even with the Military Charge 50KG™ Weighted Vest for an extra challenge.
There are different ways to adjust the intensity of this exercise, from the easiest to the most difficult. The key is to get started and make T-pushups part of your strength training program!
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