A few days ago a reader asked how to do a Hindu Pushup. I decided to write a post on it as the Hindu Pushup is one of the best exercises for building full body strength and power. It is perfect for athletes, bodybuilders and martial artists.

Where did the Hindu Pushup originate?

The Hindu Pushup, as the name might indicate, came from India. It is a variation on the Yoga Asana called “Salute to the Sun”. This is my absolute favorite yoga movement which is intended for the early mornings when you wake up. It gets the blood flowing and strentches the spine, hamstrings, abs and chest.

The Hindu Pushup is done a little faster and the motivation is strength training. The idea is to vary the regular pushup so that you can target more muscles and make the exercise a little harder.

What muscles does the Hindu Pushup work?

The next thing we need to look at is what muscles the Hindu Pushup targets.

As you are well aware, the main muscles any pushup targets are the pectorals and the triceps. The Hindu Pushup is no different. However, it also targets so additional muscles such as the glutes, deltoids, rhomboids, forearms, abs and calfs. It is basically a full body exercise that works in a very large range of motion. This makes it a perfect exercise for martial artists, athletes and sportspeople.

How do you do a Hindu Pushup?

It is quite important to do the Hindu Pushup with perfect technique. It can be quite bad for the spine and neck if it is done incorrectly. For this reason I advise you to go to a qualified yoga instructor and ask them to teach you according to the traditional methods.

This is the best video on Youtube to learn how to do the Hindu Pushup. He has excellent technique and goes through the motion slowly.

Here are some essential pointers:

• In the starting pose your head should be in line with your shoulders and your shoulders should be turned out. Your butt should be high in the air as if a crane was lifting it up. Your heels should be shoulder width apart and feet flat on the ground with straight legs. This is hard.
• Breathe into your stomach
• In the moving stage you should run your chin along the ground and breathe out
• At the final position stretch your abs and neck up. Keep your shoulders down away from your head. Tense your glutes to protect your lower back

Here is the video. Take this exercise very slow and learn how to do it before going too hard.

I was recently having a coffee with one of the big guys at my gym and we got on to a very interesting topic. I wanted to share some of the key issues with you guys as I feel it is a very important issue.

Why heavy weight does not always equal huge muscles

The guy who I had the coffee with is a hobby bodybuilder but he has one of the best physiques I have ever seen. His shoulders are huge and round and his back and legs are thick, wide and very strong. He is somewhat of an authority at my gym and we met last year when I dropped a deadlift weight on my toe and he had a good old laugh. We have been friends ever since.

But there is something strange about this big guy: he only uses light weights.

Last week the two of us went out for a coffee to talk about working out and life in general and we got on to the topic of his famous light weights workouts. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: “Why do you only workout with light weights?”

Him: “That’s why.”

This is an important lesson to learn but most of us ignore it. The most important thing if you are trying to become a successful bodybuilder is technique. Without proper technique nothing you do in the gym will be as effective as it could be.
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I am really excited to introduce a new segment to Real Muscle Online - Bodybuilding Q and A with Ryan Rapenport.

Ryan Rapenport is a competitive bodybuilder and personal trainer who hold a BS in Nutrition from Ohio State University. He trains under one of bodybuilding’s leading trainers; Mike Davies, and is here to answer all of your bodybuilding questions.

Ask Ryan Rapenport

Ryan is going to be stopping by Real Muscle Online once in a while to answer all of your questions regarding the sport of bodybuilding. Like everyone at RMO, he is passionate about REAL training and nutrition and will only provide practical information based on his own experience and knowledge.

Some topics Ryan can cover include:

• Diet and nutrition
• Weight lifting exercises, routines or problems
• Supplements
• Cardio related issues
• Questions about professional bodybuilding or competing
• Etc.

How to ask Ryan

I am predicting there will be A LOT of questions so I am closing comments for this post and you can ask Ryan by emailing him here with the subject line “Ask Ryan”.

I will then pick a few of the best questions and forward them on to Ryan. The answers will then be posted here on the site.

If your question doesn’t get picked don’t worry because there will be plenty of other chances to “Ask Ryan”.

Subscribe so you don’t miss out!

Make sure you subscribe to our feed or email subscription so you don’t miss the answers to all the questions. It should be a fun new part of the RMO Community.