How To Do Diamond Pushups - A Girls Best Friend

Diamond pushups.

Every girl loves a diamond... right?

Ha!

This diamond is going to make your arms look so good, they steal the show.

Diamond pushups are also called close grip pushups and they are very effective and very tough.

In this short post, you'll learn:

What a diamond pushup is a why it's different
How to do one the right way
Modifications and variations
How to add a diamond pushup into your workouts

Are you ready for a serious bodyweight strength exercise?

Let's go!

What Is A Diamond Pushup?

It's a regular pushup.

The only difference is your hands are close together... directly under your chest.

Kindal showing how to do close grip pushups.

How Is The Diamond Pushup Different?

A diamond pushup is just a pushup with one difference...

Less stability.

Whenever you have less stability, you have to brace harder and you activate more muscles.

Try this little test:

Get into the top of a pushup...

Hand under or slightly behind your shoulders...
Feet together...
Straight body...

Lift one leg so it's parallel to the floor.

What do you notice?

You're whole body braces and engaged because you're not less stabile.

It's the same with the diamond pushup.

You may have read it activates your muscles more... this is why.

It's less stable and it puts more pressure on your arms to stabilize your body and the movement.

Simple right?

How To Do The Diamond Pushup

Let's go through a little progression so you can find the levels that match your strength level.

You do need to know how to do a great "normal" pushup. If you don't know yet... follow this pushup progression .

Step 1 - Normal Pushup Position

Get in a normal pushup position again.

This is always your starting point.

Kindal showing the hand position of the normal pushup.

Kindal showing what a normal hand position looks like for pushups.

Step 2 - Move Your Hands In And Try

Take your hands and move them about two inches in-ward.

Notice already how your body is bracing a little more.

Try and do a pushup. See how it goes.

Kindal moving her hands in during the close grip pushup.

If you can...

Step 3+ - Move Your Hands In And Try

Keep moving your hands in until you can't do a pushup...

Or until your hands are touching each other.

Kindal showing the hands are now touching for close grip pushups.

form tip

A close grip pushup is pretty rough on your wrists the close your hands get.

So rather than keep your fingers pointing straight forward...

Start angling your fingers in and the heels of your hands out.

It's about a 45 degree angle. This will tilt your wrist position enough to make it a lot more manageable.

Checkout the picture.

There's nothing else to the diamond pushup.

You're going to feel this in your arms and chest a lot more... but only because you're bracing harder due to the mechanics (stability) of your position.

Diamond Pushup Modifications

The Box

The box is your best friend.

The box
Couch
Table
Bathroom tub edge

Anything where you can elevate your upper body.

Go through the same progression with your upper body elevated.

Slowly move your hands closer together as you do pushups until your hands are touching.

Also make sure you can knock out 10 or 14 pushups in a row with your hands touching before your lower the level of your body.

Kindal showing how to do pushups off a high box.

Kindal showing the bottom of the high box diamond pushup.

Kindal showing the top of a diamond pushup from a lower box.

Kindal showing the bottom of a diamond pushup from a lower box.

The Close Grip Dumbbell Floor Press

I love this modification because it's a great training exercise for the diamond pushup.

You only need one dumbbell. Try to make it on the heavier side.

Step 1

Lay on your back and get ready for a floor press.

Step 2

The dumbbell will be vertically inline with your spine.

Grab your dumbbell with one hand.

Take your other hand and wrap it around the base of the hand that's on the dumbbell. This is hard to explain... look at the pictures.

Step 3

Start knocking out floor presses.

You are going to feel a very similar burn in your chest muscles.

This is because you're already contracting them in... so they are turned on.

This is a great training exercise.

Kindal showing how to do the vertical dumbbell floor press.

Kindal at the bottom of the vertical floor press.

Other Floor Press Variations

Double Dumbbell Floor Press

You can use two lighter dumbbells and press them together.

I really like this variation, here's why...

You can press the dumbbells together which will engage your chest and arm muscles more.

Try it... it's pretty cool. You will need dumbbells with a flat side though.

Kindal showing the top of the double close dumbbell floor press.

Kindal showing the bottom of the double close dumbbell floor press.

Kettlebell Floor Press

A single kettlebell floor press is a very similar floor press movement.

You know how I love kettlebells... so I'm very fond of this variation.

I have a lot of floor press variations you can use. Check out this post on chest exercises when you don't have a bench .

Kindal at the top of the single kettlebell floor press.

Kindal showing the bottom of the single kettlebell floor press.

Negatives

We've talked a lot about the benefits of negative reps on this blog.

But negatives are a great way to practice form and improve strength FAST... if you're willing to put the time in and use them.

So do negative reps and get your body stronger at the diamond pushup positions.

Remember to hold at the bottom a little for that boost of added intensity.

How To Add Diamond Pushups To Your Workouts?

If you don't practice regularly... you will not get better.

1. Add Them In Before Rest Periods

This is an easy way to add in exercises you want to get better at.

Before you take any rest period...

Knock out 3 to 5 diamond pushups.

2. Add Them In Before Pushup Sets

If you're about to do a set of pushups for a workout... make the first 3 to 5 reps... diamond pushups.

The rest of the set can be normal... just the first 3 to 5 will be diamonds.

3. Warm Up And Practice

Warm up your body first.

Practice about 30 diamond pushup reps in sets of 5 perfect reps.

In between each set of 5...

Do a mobility exercise like dislocates.

This will help you practice and get better at diamond pushups... plus it will further help mobilize your body for your workout.

Only do this for about 3 to 5 minutes.

It's just a focus time to get better.

Go Practice Your Diamond Pushups

Kindal showing a great close grip pushup position.

Now you know what a diamond pushup is and how to get better at them.

I do use these in my FWW LIVE Workouts quit a bit.

Although we tend to use a box more of the time because I like faster reps.

But now you know how to get better.

Take a full month and go get better at them. Track it so you know how you're improving.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Make sure you checkout the other pushup related posts on the blog:

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