Weighted Pushup Secrets 

Weighted calisthenics = Gorilla muscles

I truly adore how passionate and well informed this man is in these sports

SIPPING ON MY COOL GLASS OF LEMONADE

This is how Alex never gets injured, after hitting the 405 PR he's delved into weighted dips and pushups, minimizing overuse, while still maximising gains and not using a minimalist view.

Did weighted pushups at home for 6 months (went from body weight 12 reps to 40 pound weighted for 8) insane gains!

So glad you bring this up, Deficit Weighted Push Ups are my all time favourite, even more so than Bench Press.. Said it once, saying it again: This got my bench from 110kg for 2 to 140kg for 2-3 reps. The only thing I did was, ditch all bench for a whole year and only did this. Recommending this 20/10

AND you're getting better core activation with them than with the bench press.

Dude I love your passion. It's inspiring and infectious. Also you rant about this stuff way more eloquently than me screaming at my friends about how "PUSH AND PULL UPS ARE TRUTH!!!". Fantastic work.

Natural strength training at its best. Great job Alex!

Personally I couldn't agree more with the content of this video. I've completely switched from the bench to weighted pushups (using a weight vest), my shoulders feel great, the variation in the hand positions is easy and overcomes overuse issues, I'm seeing the difference aesthetically and strength wise, incredible exercise that I wish I did sooner!

Love doing dead-stop weighted pushups starting from the floor. It's another way how to make the exercise even harder (better SFR) and teach yourself how to get properly tight before the push.

This is fantastic video love seeing this kind of content. Calisthenics (even weighted) seems to me to be for the long run, being able to push/pull up when i turn 50 seems absolutely achievable

During lockdown I substituted benching with heavy banded push ups and by the time gyms were open again I actually gained strength on bench press.

Another excellent video! I feel some of my best upper body development came from weighted push and pull!

As a beginner, I recently started doing weighted pushups as a way to progress to archer PUs and so far I have noticed my chest growing a lot faster than doing normal PUs (20kg on bag is my 1rm atm) and I can't wait to start overloading on this exercise

So I followed Alex before for traps when I predominantly used a barbell. Now that I'm focused in calisthenics, God damn Alex is there again. Love the content Alex!

I last benched in 2018. I hit 365 for 12 paused with the blue reactive slingshot which provides the least amount of lift. 425 for 3 paused raw. 455 x 3 with standard slingshot and 495 paused for 3 with mad dog (heaviest sling shot) all at 205 lbs. realistically my flat raw pause was 445-450. This caused my reconstructed left shoulder (all full thickness tears in the Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, there’s minor and subscalpularis) to ache so terribly that I stopped training for a year when my left shoulder caused over compensation with my right shoulder. Couldn’t perform a push up because the closed chain movement caused this horrific pain in the bottom 3rd of the movement and at lockout. During Covid lockdown I resumed training. although I have professional grade equipment including a Texas power bar, an elitefts double rack with band attachments, one inch whole spacing, v shaped dipped bars, multiple pairs of bands including Mimi, monster mini, extra heavy monster mini, light, average and heavy bands. I abandoned Bench and all barbell presses. I did weighted push-ups Using a weight vest and bands. I also abandoned bb rows and did weighted pull ups and db rows, and hand stand push ups and blast strap push ups and dips. Currently I regularly set prs on push up variations and pull-up variations. My chest, lats. Delts and triceps and neck are bigger than ever. I only do good mornings and belt squats for legs. I do kettle bell swings heavy but at 49 heavy Bench, floor DLs and heavy back squats are out. I have lost 10 pounds mostly from legs and waist but I am noticeably more developed from the front and rear

Absolutely outstanding video! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙌

I love how you give value to to these exercises that most of us don’t pay enough attention to. Before watching your video, I knew the weighted push-up was good. Coming away from your vid, I now have a standard to shoot for (3x15-20 reps of 100 pounds)😎 thanks for the perspective 🙏

Thank you so much for this! Weighted Pushups + Weighted Inverted Rows = Perfection

Alex, I do weighted push ups with my Dip belt and feet and hands elevated between three benches. The weights are wrapped around my waist, as apposition to on my back. Thank you the truthfulness videos, bro!

Great video as always. Never thought of weighted push ups as a replacement for specialty barbells, but that makes a lot of sense. Infinite variation!

Decline parallette pushups are amazing! The stretch is crazy at the bottom and unlike bench press, you can do it with neutral grip which is easier on the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Also hits more upper chest than flat bench. I've started doing only one set of bench with sets of these after and I like training this way much more than multiple bench work sets. The plank hold you have to maintain also works core stability.

I've been doing kneeling push ups for a while now. Knees elevated on my sofa. Upper chest gains have been incredible. Way better than Incline Bench. There really is something about being able to retract the scapula fully as opposed to being pinned down on the bench.

All amazing points, I loved the aspect of pushing it to RPE 11 way safer than on a bench. Hidden intensity not many experience

Great work like always alex🙏

Great video! Very relevant to me, because I had to ditch my beloved dips due to shoulder issues. So now I am also experimenting with pushups, just using resistance bands for overload instead of free weights. In my experience, it makes the execution more explosive, otherwise, with stronger bands, you can get stuck in the upper portion of the movement. Also, with a well-selected set of bands, you can ensure very gradual progress with the load, just like with free weights. (AND, if you travel, you can pack your push workout gym in your suitcase, no problem. :))

Hell yeah always wanted to see what I could work up to in theses! Maybe it’s time

Amazing video Alex.

Great tip! Great video! 👍

I am training today and considered doing weighted pushups. Just getting back into it after a 6 month hiatus so gotta try it #Letsgetit 💪🏻

I had seen a video yesterday that explained doing push-ups with a shoulder width stance and tips of fingers pointed towards each other would give more push power. I will try it with the weighted push-up workouts

Looking amazing as always legend

Your absolutely right, in quartine didn't have a bench, did deficit weighted plate pushups, got a bench, broke my 205 barrier and hit 225x2

I love weighted pushups, it definitely gave me most of my upper body gains this summer.

Hey Alex, you should look into the Kensui EZ Vest. Tried it myself, feels amazing for weighted pushups compared to the backpack that shifts around a lot.

Thanks to Alex and his high volume push ups-promoting videos,I have started a 1 million push ups challenge!! 👏 The gainzz are already coming!! 🏆

excellent content!!!

Great video man

Been investing in a home gym, your videos have been a huge help for me

I just bought a decent backpack in a thrift store for five bucks because one zipper, not the main one, was bad with this kind of thing in mind! I really like this content! With those studies showing higher reps like 20-30 can work it's more relevant than ever!

Awesome video bro!

love this channel

You're the god of logical advice, may I request you make a full bodyweight routine for beginners? Something that hits all the essential muscles?

*Weighted Pushups get you CRAZY strength & mass gains, it's insane. And when you increase the weight and do pause reps? BRUH*

One tip guys: With feet up, if your weight plates move around on your back, stuff towels in. Because if you angle up too much, the plates could slide down and hit your neck or head.

I only do floor press variations, Landmine press, and a bunch of weighted push ups. Low cost home gym plus injury free muscle development. I’ve been pleased.

Fave RU-vidr by far

If you perform it on a double elevated surface you can hang the weight with a weight belt like in dips. Hang the belt just below the scapula. The setup is a bit more comfortable since the weight won't shift around and it doesn't dig into the lower back which can sometimes happen. Also add some rings into the mix and squeeze like a fly at the top and you got something pretty juicy.

Hey Alex! Been a fan for years and would greatly appreciate a response. Been following your amazing novice program for about a year, and I’ve achieved a 405 2×5 deadlift, 200 3×5 floor press, and 285 3×5 box squat. Don’t get me wrong; I’m more than content with these gains. That said, I feel that my box squatting has just plateaued at 285 for months, and my floor press gains are extremely minimal. Also, since moving to a new gym around 3 months ago and only having a lower box to squat on (~15 inches compared to 17-19 inches back home), I’ve had persistent right quad tightness/minor pain tightening the knee. I have long legs relative to torso. Would you recommend, given more or less plateaus, that I move on to your intermediate conjugate program? Or, despite linear gains being so slow, but still present, that I continue on the novice program? Would it be reasonable I switch back to a higher box to see if this alleviates the above quad/knee tightness and persistent minor pain? Much love, a sincere fan

Oh Alex ! i had a question. You always mention that dip/ push up strength will always exceed your pull up/inverted row strength, in your experience - at what point would this imbalance become a predisposition for injury ? i try to maintain balance as best as possible

Appreciate the vid man

great video, man, thanks a lot! is that a regular backpack or some special kind? what do you put inside to increase weight? regular plates?

Great advice, I found dips hurt my shoulder.

Yeah this has been my main press for ages. Dips don't feel right for me so I go with this (applying concurrent: Incline, normal, ring pushups and either light weight dips or paused pushups). I can currently do three plates and if I get to four plates for a 1RM I'm sure if I ever go to a gym and try bench press, I'll be at 100kg or more. Can't wait to try that lol. HIGHLY encourage anyone reading this to seriously try this exercise, you just need a chair (or box or whatever), parallettes and a dip belt and the loading potential is pretty high since you'll be suspended in the air. Thanks for spreading the info Alex, cheers!

Another good thing for these are the “perfect push up” devices. Good range of motion and you also allows your wrists to get into a comfortable position.

Weighted Ring Dips are awesome too I’m currently doing 40lbs additional weight on a weight belt for reps

Defecit ring push-ups with a loaded dip belt on the mid back are amazing

I’m pushing these hard lately myself

I thought they weren't going to work for me since I could only do like 30 reps w/ bodyweight, but a few weeks later I'm doing sets with 45 lbs and my chest has never gotten this kind of pump from bench

Hey Alex, how would you program weighted pushups into your workouts? Should I just replace regular bench with it for a while or keep doing that and just replace an accessory lift with these?

great vid!

Great stuff

for me they work great. trained at home for two months with 50kg weight vest (two over eachother). at the beginning it was HARD, towards the end i managed to do 10-15 reps. and what do you know, the first time back in gym, my former benchpress 1rep max, 100kg, felt significally lighter from the get go and i did 3 clean reps plus several not full ROM. not newbie, trained for years. and yes, i'm not particularly strong... i'm using handles that can turn for the weighted push-ups, great for easily hitting at different angles or really squeeze at the end of the movement.

Hey Alex. I’m currently running your novice program and I absolutely love it. But i have a question. The program suggest that i train every other day. My question is wether i can train more days. If so what do you do in those days?

I added gpp work with some pushups to my upper lower split. Since I bench twice a week, I didn't feel any chest DOMS, but man my stomach was aching the day after pushups :D

What do you think of 20 rep weighted pistol squats? Do you think it has the same effects on the legs as doing it with barbell squats? I'm still in lockdown so have only been able to do pistol squats with weights that I can maximally handle at home for legs. Weights are not an issue though so I can use weights that push my current strength levels for pistol squats

Still waiting on your calisthenics program!

I did these during the time i couldn't go to gym. I didn't have enough weight on my dumbells to train chest so I put the weights on my backpack and did it to failure every set. My main goal was maintaining my muscle and not lose any strength. Not only weighted push ups succeeded my goals and also my chest got stronger than before in the time period of 8 months. I've got %100 points on military's push up test. Definitely reccomend.

I was bummed out when I was told to not do dips by my doctor but this video has given me hope.

Hey Alex, I am a novice.I have followed your novice program for 5 months. I really want to switch to your naturally enhanced program. Can it be run by a beginner or is it meant for intermediates?

You FEEL lighter! Carrying around your bodyweight with so much ease and no stiffness from constant benching (my personal result anyway)

Now with the Kensui vest, pretty cool

Weighted push ups and weighted dips are so underrated.

Hey Alex! Do you believe that weighted push ups with progressive overload, multifrequency and very high volume can cause a very great hypertrophy? Any type oh this experience??

Brooo 🥺😭😭😭 thanks for the video man, seems like it was made for me, due shoulder impingement I had to rely on these at home, I started weighted during lockdown, my bench is pathetic but I can Do 4-6 with 45lbs weighted pushups. Feels great, after a RU-vidr said "it wasn't very progressive" I felt sad but they are the one which seems to hit my chest better than anything else. Thanks for the video now I can do them happy as fuuk 😌😌😌

Hello AlphaDestiny. I’m 17 5 10 and 100KG, I’ve decided to stop going gym as they are poorly equipped in my area and hard to access. I’ve been working out mostly callisthenics for a year now, and currently I’ve got a bag with 25KG of weight in it. If I’ll be able to do 20 clean reps with it, do you think my bench would be decently strong?

I adore these ! I substituted the hammer chest machine with these for 3x12-15 regular and declined. So far at 205lb I can do 60lb for 3x12 every week adding 5

This helped a lot

This was a really encouraging vid man. Recently became a father and no time for gym between duties, currently doing weighted pull ups at home. Weighted decline and diamond push ups having these transferables is v reassuring. Currently have a back pack that can hold up to 35kg. So should be good for a little while.

You da man Alex

This upload was a godsend. Currently bored out of my mind in class and you upload thx Alex. Also, when will you be uploading another Q and A? I’ve got some questions.

Hi Alex, what backpack do you use and what amount of do you normally use?

Dude this is scary man, I just looked up some of your weighted calisthenics videos to look for some tips because I plan on specializing in the weighted push up as a bench substitute

Thanks, I needed this. I was debating on wether or not I should keep doing dumbbell bench since I find it hard to bring weights up from my knees when I lay on the bench and it looks like I will be doing push ups from now on.

Excellent motivation- wrist push ups are good too, painful at first, but you end up with bulletproof wrists and forearms

have never been to the weight room but i do pushups a lot and when i first benched was able to crank out 60kg for 25times but my squats were 60kg 5times cause i never did air squats and i have some problem with my lower body i dont know what

I don't got anywhere to do dips so fuck Imma put these in my program and see what gains I can make

2 years ago When I first tried Home Workout I only did pushups and Crunches and had a normal physique. 2021,Feb I made a homemade Dip bar, First I did negetive dips while I faced some shoulder pain but I thought it's okay. Then I injured my shoulder. After 4 months I came back again and injured my shoulder again I broke my whole dip station and made a pullup bar with it. Dips can be great but 55lbs backpack on back and doing dip pushups is always great!

Best accessories if you do a pseudo planche push-up with weight oh my God the front delta burn

weighted push ups on rings! freedom of movements allows the pecs to move as they're intended to, plus with supination on top, the bicep and shoulders will burnn

Weighted push ups on rings are KING

Got any tips for loading the backpack? I'd love to do weighted pushups but idk how much weight I can fit in a backpack, and weight vests are stupid expensive.

Do you have to buy a workout program? Or is it ok to make your own instead of buying program after program?

Can you comment on the muscle activation on push-ups vs overhead press?

So I have those wooden parallettes but I don't quite understand how to use the technique mentioned in the video to train the upper chest ( my weakest part so far ) so can anyone help me out ? Thanks for the info btw !

finally something that i can do to make my books worthy, 🎒

Use push up bars and put feet on a chair I do them that way. This built me a way bigger chest than any bench press or machine and its safe on shoulders unlike bench press.

One of the hardest things I've done is use a sandbag whilst wearing a weighted bag. I've done sandbag snatches and combined them with negative pushups and diamond pushups, no rest. The sweat you'll get from this...

The degree of inclination and style of push up will result in higher kg being pushed. Combine it with weighted push up routine and you have an exercise more effective than bench press.