10 Tips for Mastering the Perfect One-Arm Push-Up
The Perfect One-Arm Push-Up – many claim to be able to perform it, still there’s almost no video proof to back up those claims. Why so? Firstly, everybody has ego. And claiming that you can do such complex skill like the Perfect One-Arm Push-Up [POAPU] boosts that ego like nothing else. There’s no harm in bragging, unless you cannot back up your words. Secondly, it’s surprisingly easy to get trapped in improper technique with this skill. You can see lots of videos of One-Arm Push-Up but 99% of them are half-assed-twisted-body-feet-wide-pseudo-push-ups. That’s not what we’re discussing here. That exercise has almost nothing in common with real One-Arm Push-Up and is walk in the park comparing to our beast. Many people push this shitty technique as POAPU, but don’t be fooled. They just don’t have the patience to gain strength required for this move. Thus, they can forget about achieving anything great. Also lots of people don’t believe POAPU can be done the proper way, but that’s not true. It definitely can be achieved, but the process will require lots of time, hard work and patience. So let’s get closer look to what the hell that Perfect One-Arm Push-Up is?
What Is Perfect One-Arm Push-Up?
This question is highly debatable. Everybody has its own criteria for “perfection” of the One-Arm Push-Up. Anyway, I will give you my personal requirements for proper technique. Let’s make a list:
Shoulders should be parallel to the ground
Feet should be not wider than shoulder-width
Twist of the body should be minimal
Body should be straight (looking from the side)
You should lower down until there is no more than 10 cm between the ground and your chest
If you don’t meet even just one requirement, then you should reconsider your technique, stop fooling around and start training the real One-Arm Push-Up.
How Have I Learnt about It?
I’ve learnt about the possibility of the One-Arm Push-Up long time ago. I was just starting training at that time. I remember exactly that moment when after a set of push-ups my dad came up and asked me: “Can you do it with one arm?” And I was like: “Why not?” Of course, I failed miserably. However, after couple of attempts I figured out that if I spread my legs really wide, twist to the side and lower only half the way, I can do it. With feeling of accomplishment (in reality accomplishing nothing), I happily forgot about the skill for some time. Many years later I was lucky enough to read one book that changed it all. That was Convict Conditioning. In one of its sections Paul Wade (author) was writing about the Perfect One-Arm Push-Up. I considered myself pretty strong at that time. “Bench pressing 120 kg for sets of 4, man, I should be able to crush that bodyweight thing” – I believed. Again, I got another reality check and deep understanding and appreciation for heavy calisthenics. From that moment my fight with POAPU began.
Can I Do It Now?
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