Fit Women's Weekly logo
Kindal at the top of the plyo pushup and clapping to force herself as high as possible.
exercise db exercises
Author image for the page

Kindal Boyle

Plyo Pushups - Exercise Database

You know how I feel about jumping right?

As a trainer... I'm not a huge fan of it for most women.

As a woman who loves to workout and get strong... I love jumping.

But no matter what jumping is dangerous.

It's especially dangerous because most women don't know how to jump properly.

Go ready my post about why I don't recommend jumping .

But jumping or plyometric training can have some great strength and body benefits.

And one of the most fun and effective "plyo" exercises is plyo-pushups.

Let's get into how to do these!

Plyo Pushups Breakdown

Kindal at the bottom of knee pushups with a straight body and high enough hips.
Kindal pushing hard to create as much speed as she can.
Kindal about to leave the ground and bracing her core hard to create speed.
Kindal leaving the ground and keeping her body tight and in control.
Kindal landing and going immediately into the next rep so she does not hit the ground hard.
Kindal going all the way down and already bracing up to build momentum for the next explosion.

Step 1

Start in a normal pushup position.

If you're brand new to plyo-pushups, start from your knees. Read my knee pushup post which will walk you through the details.

Doing this from your knees is a great way to practice and take some of the pressure off your wrists.

Step 2

Lower down to the bottom of a pushup like normal.

Make sure you twist your hands into the ground a little harder. This will engage your arms a little more so you can explode with more force.

Step 3

You're not just going to press into the ground to come back up.

You're going to explode with a press that generates momentum. This is one part of the move that's a little dangerous. Explosive reps can be rough if you don't have the joint strength and stability.

As you come up from the bottom of the pushups...

Fall back to your toes a little more. This creates just enough of a weight transfer to make exploding up a little easier.

Lift your hands off the ground. I like to clap while I'm in the air.

Step 4

As you come back down... and this is super important...

Fall immediately into the next pushup.

DO NOT land hard in the top of a pushup position.

Landing hard will put a lot of impact stress on your wrists... elbows... and even your shoulders.

When you land immediately into the next rep... you accept and dissipate the force... actually keeping some of it for the next rep.

Kindal at the bottom of the pushup locking her legs and getting ready to explode up as hard as she can.
Kindal bracing hard with locked out legs trying to explode as much as possible.
Kindal is fully braced up and getting airborne with fully extended arms.
Kindal popping her hands up to get more airborne and make the pushup look cool.
Kindal immediately landing into the next rep so she lands softly while keeping her body really tight.
Kindal falls all the way to the bottom of the pushup and you can see her legs are fully locked out.

Plyo pushups are smooth and seamless from one rep to the next.

And this is what fatigues your muscles like crazy... so as you get tired don't push through too hard.

Respect your body and don't put yourself in position to get a stupid injury because you wanted to get two to three more reps.

Plyometric (and maximal strength) exercises are the only two styles where the 2 to 3 rep rule does not apply.

Kindal at the bottom of the pushup braced up building momentum so she can explode up.
Kindal exploding up hard fully locked out, pressing into the ground as hard as she can.
Kindal leaning slightly back so she can get her explosion up off the ground.
Kindal getting off the ground with tight legs and a really tight core.
Kindal fully exploded into the air and getting her clap completed.
Kindal landing and immediately falling into the next rep so she can land softly.
Kindal falls directly down to the bottom of the pushup and already building momentum for the next explosion up.

Why Plyometric Training?

Plyometric training is about...

How fast can you engage your muscles and how much force can you produce?

This style of training is mostly used in athletics because during any sport...

The ability to:

  • Bullet point

    Accelerate

  • Bullet point

    Change direction

  • Bullet point

    Stop

  • Bullet point

    Jump

  • Bullet point

    Kick

These are all vital. The individual who can accelerate faster will typically win.

BUT...

It's a dangerous form of training because it puts a lot of stress on your muscles and joints.

Most of the plyo exercises we do in FWW LIVE and Habit are:

  • Bullet point

    Jumping out of a burpee or half burpee

  • Bullet point

    Jumping out of a candlestick

  • Bullet point

    Squat hops (not jumps)

  • Bullet point

    Lunges with a hop

What Is A FAST Rep?

I will try to mimic a plyo move by doing what I call FAST reps.

An example of a FAST rep would be coming out of the bottom of a squat with as fast as you can... but you never actually hop or jump.

I tend to do fast reps with a heavier than normal weight. The weight helps to keep your body from producing too much momentum.

Another example is floor presses where you press up as fast as you can... but you never lose control at the top of the press.

Ready To Learn More And Get Fit Faster?

Are you ready to learn more advanced exercises like plyometric pushups and start using them in full workouts?

Then you need to come train with me.

The only question is... what level of personal attention do you want?

If you want high touch coaching... motivation... and accountability...

You'll love FWW LIVE.

This is my small, personalized strength training group . It's pretty much like having an online personal trainer and here's why:

  • Bullet point

    I design 2 custom workouts every day

  • Bullet point

    I stream each workout LIVE so you can workout with me LIVE

  • Bullet point

    I record each workout so you can do them when you want

  • Bullet point

    I design 1 daily coaching session so we can learn and constantly improve

  • Bullet point

    I stream this session LIVE so you can get personalized training custom to you

  • Bullet point

    I record this session so you can learn on your own schedule

And of course I make myself available anytime to my members when they need help. Like I said... this is high touch training.

Click here and sign up for a FREE 14 day trial so you can see and feel what it's like to workout with me.

Habit on the other hand is more for the DIY type of woman.

I've recorded 30 day training plans and every plan focuses one type of or style of training.

Go checkout my back catalog of programs and try one out.

But right now... go practice and play around with plyo-pushups. Let me know how they go and if you have any questions... leave them in the [comments of the YouTube video](/youtube-video).

And make sure you follow me on my social accounts. I always try to help my followers learn as much as I can give on my social accounts.

Kindal in s deep side kettlebell side lunge working her way through an intense metabolic strength workout.

feeling flabby? not getting results? & you're... stuck in a workout rut?

And lose 1 to 2 inches and 5 pounds... or you don't pay!

Help Me Break Free!