Rotation Push Up: How To Do, Benefits and Muscle Worked

Rotation push-ups are a challenging and dynamic variation of the traditional push-up that work not only your chest, triceps, and shoulders, but also your core and obliques.

It can help to improve your overall upper body strength, stability, and coordination.

In this blog post, we’ll take a detailed look at how to perform a rotation push-up properly with rotation and exercise variations.

What Is Rotation Push Up

The rotation push-up is a variation of the traditional push-up. As the name suggests, it involves rotating the body as you lower and push back up from the push-up position.

This added rotation engages more muscle groups, particularly the core and obliques.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced exerciser, rotation push-ups are a great way to add variety and challenge to your upper body workout.

Know More: 20 Different Types Of Push Ups For Mass And Strength

Muscles Worked During Rotation Push-Up

The push-up with rotation is a compound exercise that targets multiple muscle groups, including:

• They primarily work the chest muscles (pectoralis major and minor), triceps, and shoulders (deltoids).
• They also engage the core muscles, such as the serratus anterior, as they help to stabilize the body during exercise.
• Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the legs and glutes are indirectly targeted during rotation push-ups.

Here’s how these muscles are engaged during the rotation push-up:

• Chest and tricep muscles are used when pushing the body up and down.
• Shoulder muscles lift the arm and rotate it out to the side, forming the “T” shape.
• The rotational movement engages the core muscles, to maintain stability.
• The serratus anterior muscles are also active in rotation.

Know More: Push-Ups: How-To, Muscle Worked, Benefit, Variations

How To Do Rotation Push-Ups

1. Start in a traditional push-up position with your hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Your feet should be hip-width apart and your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels.
3. Lower your body towards the ground.
4. Go down until your chest is just above the floor.
5. Push back up to the starting position.
6. As you reach the top of the push-up, shift your weight onto your left hand.
7. As you lower your body towards the ground, rotate one hand towards the opposite side.
8. You should rotate your body to the right side and lift your right arm towards the ceiling. Your body should form a “T” shape.
9. Then repeat the same from the other side.
10. This completes one rep.

Tips And Techniques

1. Take the proper form of push-ups.
2. Your hands should be placed slightly wider than the shoulder.
3. Keep your core engaged during execution.
4. Do the rotation with a controlled and smooth motion.
5. When you go down, breathe in deeply and exhale as you push up and rotate.
6. Start slowly and focus on form rather than speed or number of repetitions.
7. As you get stronger, you can increase the difficulty by doing more reps, adding weight, or trying more advanced variations.

Benefits of Rotation Push Up

1. Rotation push-ups involve pushing your body weight against gravity while rotating, which recruits more muscle fibers and improves upper body strength.
2. With the rotation in the exercise, the core and oblique muscles are placed under greater demand.
3. It helps to improve stability and balance.
4. Rotational movement improves coordination between the upper and lower body.
5. Rotation push-ups can help to improve your posture by strengthening your upper back and shoulders.
6. It also helps to improve cardiovascular health.
7. Rotation push-ups are versatile exercises. It can be modified to fit any fitness level.

Variations And Modification Of Push Up Rotation

Variations are a great way to mix up your rotational push-up routine and keep it fresh.

With a little creativity and variety, you’ll never get bored with mastering this classic move!

Here are some variations and modifications that you can use to make the rotational push-up easier or more challenging or adapt it to your fitness level.

1. Knee Rotation Push-Up

A knee rotation push-up is a variation that involves placing the knees on the ground. This modification makes the exercise less demanding on the upper body and core.

It is a good option for beginners or those struggling with the traditional push-up.

How To Do It

1. Start in a traditional push-up position with your knees on the ground.
2. Lower your body towards the ground.
3. As you reach the bottom of the push-up, lift one arm off the ground and rotate your body so that your arm is pointing straight up toward the ceiling.
4. Hold this position for a moment.
5. Then, return your arm to the starting position and repeat the movement on the other side.
6. Continue to alternate sides, completing one full knee push-up each time.

2. Rotational Push Up With Resistance Band

A rotational push-up with a resistance band increases your upper body’s challenge and engages your core even more.

It is a good way to add variety to your workout routine and increase the intensity of the exercise.

It’s important to choose the right resistance band for your fitness level.

How To Do It

1. Start with a traditional push-up.
2. Place the resistance band around your back and hold the handles with both hands.
3. Lower your body towards the ground.
4. At the end of a push-up, lift one arm off the ground and rotate your body so that your arm is pointing straight up toward the ceiling.
5. Hold this position for a moment and then return your arm to the starting position.
6. Repeat the movement on the other side.

3. Dumbbell Rotation Push Up

Dumbbell rotation push-ups involve lifting one hand with a dumbbell off the ground and reaching it towards the ceiling to form a T shape with the body.

This exercise targets the chest, triceps, shoulders, and core muscles.

How To Do It

1. Grip a dumbbell in each hand.
2. Walk your feet back until your body is straight from head to heels.
3. Keep your elbows close to your body as you lower.
4. Once your chest touches the dumbbells, press back up to the starting position and lift one hand off the dumbbell.
5. Reach the hand towards the ceiling, forming a T shape with your body.
6. Lower the hand back down to the dumbbell and repeat the movement on the other side.

4. Incline Rotation Push-ups

This variation involves placing one hand on an elevated surface, such as a plate or a bench, while performing the exercise.

This increases the demand on the arm and shoulder on the elevated surface.

Takeaways

Rotation push-ups are a challenging and dynamic variation of push-ups that work not only your chest, triceps, and shoulders but also your core and obliques.

It helps you build upper body strength, stability, and coordination.

It has many variations, which can be adjusted to fit any fitness level, from beginner to advanced.

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.