Weighted Pushups

[PressesPeople]

Hey Mark, that thread about weighted push ups that was posted a couple weeks ago got me thinking, and I sort of devised a way to do incremental weighted pushups by using a simple harness system and having the weight below the body, rather than resting on top. My question is, how much better are they actually (as opposed to bench)? My mind is currently telling me that weighted push ups are to bench, as presses are to seated presses.

Do you think I should go ahead and build the thing and replace my benches with the weighted PUs?

If so, I'm curious about where the ideal center of weight would be for the hanging plates. Depending on how I built the harness, they could hang anywhere from my upper chest all the way down to my solar plexus. Does this just depend on how wide of a grip I plan on taking?

Thanks in advance; I'm very curious about the implications of a usable weighted PU system.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The limitation would be your ability to hold a plank with, say, 200 pounds hanging from your belly. I'm not optimistic about your back in this situation, but it would work to a point. The critical thing would be: Can you do more weight this way than you can press? If not, the point is lost.

[Justinnnnnn]

Well if it were me I'd design a harness that went around the back of the neck and shoulders, maybe start with a parachute harness and modify it from there? Lower back/trunk function wouldn't be as heavily taxed this way...

OP, will your hands be flat as in a traditional pushup or will you have some sort of bar or gripping surface? I'd be most concerned about my wrists in a weighted pushup, without a form of bar to grip instead

[Troy]

howabout some sort or contraption that is like having a door or a plank resting on your back in the push-up postion, on a hinge or something, while having adjustable safety pins under the plank.
The plank would hold what ever you want, and on failure the pins or blocks or whatever would stop the plank crushing you. Maybe the plank can hang on chains from the ceiling and be adjustable.

Im sure its an accident waiting to happen , but the early adopters to the thing can iron-out the problems for the rest of us.

[ChrisGibbons]

I think you can buy weighted vests for this purpose, but they can be expensive. We have one at our gym which we made from a body armour vest bought from an army surplus store. You can add weights into the cavity for the kevlar.

You can never really make this heavy enough to be a primary movement, but it is good assistance work. I prefer weighted dips though.

[Muad'Dib]

Wouldn't this kind of harness impede the ability to complete the whole Range of Motion?

[DoctorWho]

Google patents might be a good resource for researching things that have been tried. At least one person thought the subject matter of the patent was a good idea. For example:

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=82IkAAAAEBAJ

http://www.google.com/patents?id=NK_...weight&f=false

http://www.google.com/patents?id=sJs...page&q&f=false

[Axatem]

What happens if you fail a rep? I'm assuming that the weight is hanging in some dead space below your chest and hands are on boxes of some sort. With a PU or bench, there are laws of physics about matter passing through solid objects to keep your shoulders in their sockets. Without something to catch on would your hands just fold up behind you and land you and your weights face-first on the floor?

[Matt275]

As someone who has spent much time in the front leaning press position I would think the weight would be best loaded in between the shoulders so to put the stress mostly on the bones of the arms at the start position. It seems to me that the load being lower would put more stress on the lower back.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Do you see now why we prefer to bench press?