Those who do wall pushups for warming up their body before a pushup workout and those who do wall pushups, because they can’t do regular pushups or can do less number of traditional pushups, might want to know the effectiveness of wall pushups.
Every pushup variations have its pros and cons and when done the right way they can help you train your upper body.
But are wall pushups effective?
While doing wall push-up it engages the same muscle groups when you do regular pushups. Thus if you do wall pushups with the right form and do a high number of wall push ups then wall pushups can become effective for building strength, muscle endurance and improving the number of traditional pushups you can do.
In this article, I’ll cover in detail about are pushups effective. How to make wall pushups more effective and some tips for having a better wall pushup workout session.
Traditional Pushups vs Wall Push-ups
Before I tell you more about – are wall pushups effective and do wall pushups work – you need to read this section to have a clear idea about the differences between traditional pushups and wall pushups.
When doing a traditional pushup it requires you to press up and lift your body upwards with your arms extended at a 90-degree angle from your body but in the starting position, you keep your body a little bit higher than the ground. In traditional pushups you are using more of your body weight thus it is harder to do for beginners.
On the other hand, a wall pushup is a much simpler one where you start in the same position but press toward the wall at a roughly 45-degree angle instead of lifting your body from the floor.
When you do wall pushups with the right form then it can help you build strength in your arms and chest. But for building your body with wall pushups you might need to do more wall pushups in comparison to doing regular pushups. You might want to check out this article where I found out how many wall pushups equal 1 regular pushup.
Are wall push-ups effective?
In this section, I will explain in detail about are pushups against the wall effective for getting similar results if you were to do regular pushups.
From the start, I’ll tell you that when it comes to building your body and for most areas regular pushups will outperform wall pushups and if you want to get similar results then you need to do three times more wall pushups than regular pushups.
So, how effective are wall push-ups?
Wall pushups are effective if you do them with the right form and they can help you build body strength and endurance faster so that you can able to do other harder pushup variations.
After doing wall pushups for some weeks you can easily do more than 30 wall pushups in one go. So, when you are at the point where you can do more than 30 wall pushups you need to start doing traditional pushups along with wall pushups.
For beginners and for those who are doing wall pushups for strength training it’s better to do 2 sets of wall pushups until failure then in the third set you try to do as many traditional pushups as you can with proper form.
To make your wall pushups much more effective and make it harder you can place your feet further away from the wall and your back and body should form a straight line.
If you still want to make wall push-ups even more effective? Slow it down! Ensure you don’t rush through each rep; focus on your form and count 4 seconds for each phase (eccentric, concentric, and pause at bottom). This will help get better results in terms of muscle building from doing wall pushups.
But still, if you are limiting yourself to doing only wall pushups then someone who does regular pushups along with wall pushups will get better results. It would be best if you only did wall pushups more when you can do less than 5-10 repetitions of regular push-ups or are unable to do regular pushups.
Related: Wall pushup workout routine from beginners to advanced level.
How to make wall pushups more effective
For those who just started doing wall pushups and want to get the best results, you can adjust wall pushups so that it gives somewhat similar results to standard push-up.
Here’s what you need to do:
Create the right angle
Your arms should form a 90-degree angle at the elbow joint when you perform wall pushups. This will help you strengthen those muscle groups which are engaged while performing a wall pushup.
Change things up
You shouldn’t just do one type of wall pushup for the rest of your life. Try new variations by adding single arms or changing the angle or width of your arms. This will help you target different muscle groups and you can achieve maximum gains from your pushup workouts.
Use proper form
You should always follow good form when doing any exercise, but you should be especially careful when doing wall pushups. Maintaining a straight back and engaging your core while exercising will help you get the most from each rep.
If you follow these tips then it will make sure that wall pushups become an effective part of your workout routine for building your upper body.
Related: Pushups Before Bed: Benefits, Workout Plan & More [Guide]
4 tips for a better wall push-up workout session
Wall pushups might not be as intense when compared to regular pushups but there are several ways you can make wall pushup work for you. Here are 4 tips to get the most out of your wall pushup workout session:
- You should choose the right wall to do wall pushups. It needs to be smooth or it will leave marks on your palm.
- Keeping your hands shoulder-width apart, start slowly–take about 10 seconds for each rep, breathing in and out.
- While doing wall pushups you should engage your core muscles– doing this will help you stay steady and get more out of each rep.
- Finally, never forget to stretch and warm up before your workout and cool down after a workout session. This will help you when it comes to injury prevention and faster muscle recovery.
Conclusion
Are wall pushups effective? Yes, they are if done the right way. The only thing is you might need to do three times more wall pushups to get similar results to regular pushups.
Wall pushups are an easier variation of pushup exercises which is beginner friendly and also good for females.
Finally, no matter what pushup variations you do all of them use your bodyweight and doing any of them will help you improve your body strength and help you build your muscle strength gradually so that you can do other difficult pushup variations later.
If you read this far then you might want to check this article where I covered how many wall pushups you should do a day according to your fitness level.
Read next: