Get Fit With Hindu Pushups – The Best Bodyweight Shoulder Exercise

They’re known by a lot of names, including Dands, Divebombers, and Tiger Pushups, but no matter how you say it, Hindu pushups make some of the best bodyweight exercises for your shoulders. The history of this exercise states that Indian wrestlers, such as the Great Gama, would do hundreds of Hindu pushups every single day, along with over 1,000 Hindu squats. If that seems like a lot, well, it is. But you can get incredible results with just 50 per day.

A Bodyweight Shoulder Workout and More

The best bodyweight workouts target complex muscle groups, giving you a workout for more than just one isolated region. The Hindu pushup is no different. In addition to workout out your shoulders, this exercise hits your chest, legs, back, and arms as well.

Hindu pushups are fantastic for building explosive strength, arms like steel cables, and long-lasting stamina, but they’re also beneficial for posture and flexibility. Zuzana Light, which most people know as the Bodyrock Girl from YouTube, does an exercise similar to Hindu pushups which she calls Divebombers. The only difference between the two is that with Hindu push ups, you reverse the motion on the way back.

It’s easier to understand once you know how to do Hindu pushups. Let’s take a look.

How to Perform a Hindu Pushup

1- Start by getting into the regular pushup position, arms straight and legs straight. Lengthen your stance so that your feet are about double shoulder width apart, and, keeping your legs straight, walk your hands back and push your butt up into the air. You should look like an upside down “V.”

2- Now bend your elbows and bring your body down and forward at the same time. You should feel it working in your shoulders and biceps.

3- At the bottom of the “swoop,” begin straightening your arms again, keeping your hips near (but not on) the floor.

4- Arch your spine and keep pushing up until your elbows are locked again and your spine curves away from the floor. Your head should be tilted up looking at the ceiling.

5- Now reverse the motion, swooping back up to the starting position.

Tips for Doing Hindu Push Ups

Try to keep your movement smooth and graceful through each rep. You should breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling fully with every rep you do. At first it’s going to be difficult to get more than 10 Hindu pushups in a row, simply because your body will probably not be used to this specific range of motion. Over time, though, you’ll be able to increase your reps to 15 and 20 at a time.

Aim for 50 reps a day and keep doing this bodyweight shoulder exercise for at least two weeks. You’ll be seeing results in no time.

Get Fit With Hindu Pushups – The Best Bodyweight Shoulder Exercise by Thomas Harden