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Exercises

The Dive-Bomber Push-Up

Friday, 04 November 2005

The Dive-Bomber push-up is a great exercise for strengthening the entire chest and shoulder complex, combining a multi-planar movement with an aspect of core control for a great all-around affect.

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1.) Begin facing the ground, your hands regular push-up width, feet wide apart. You should be bent that hips, butt towards the ceiling, in an upside-down “V”.

2.) Activate your abdominals by drawing your bellybutton to your spine. Flare your elbows out, lowering your head towards the ground, and flatten out as if you were trying to slide your head under a low bar.

3.) Keeping your chest slightly above the floor, continue the arc, driving your head upwards towards the ceiling, ending with your arms completely extended, your back arched, your hips slightly above the ground, and your weight supported between your hands and your toes.

4.) Reverse the motion, going back under the imaginary bar. This counts as one rep.

--Dive-Bomber Video -- (requires DivX )

Users' Comments

Display 28 of 28 comments

1. 11-16-2006 11:49

mrbla

2. 11-30-2006 16:07

I had to do these in Basic Training, they DO work!

laxness12

3. 01-05-2007 11:55

That looks an awful lot like Yoga.

It does work, though.

Mizu

4. 02-21-2007 02:09

how many reps am i supposed to do? These are great :grin

cruisey

5. 04-25-2007 10:34

This is a fantastic exercise. Here are some tips for your form:

1) The heel should not rotate in or out when you do the movement, it should stay above the toes (you'll notice he does this well in the video). Some people have a tendency to flop the foot.

2) At the starting position (upside down V), try to push your butt up as far as you can, so that you can roll your hips forward in this position. You don't want your back to be rounded in this position. And you try to push your your shoulders through towards your feet (stretches your thoracic spine too).

3) At the mid-way point (where you have your back arched and are in a cobra type of position), you want to try to squeeze your shoulder blades together and down your back (not towards your ears).

domino

6. 05-23-2007 10:29

I did these in ROTC they hurt ALOT!

ninja669

7. 06-06-2007 11:15

hell yeah they hurt :eek

SenorMisfit

8. 07-01-2007 09:41

these are hard :upset

JamesO

9. 07-05-2007 14:29

o000o0o snap... how many times r we suppose to do this??

Parkour1212

10. 09-03-2007 08:19

These ARE hard and when I do them, I just know that they work a heck of a lot. But work for what, exactly? Can anyone tell me?

Joe M

11. 11-08-2007 14:25

these are hard but well worth it

DontRun

12. 12-03-2007 02:14

Supposedly, if you do the Hindu push-up version (contracting abs to push the butt back up instead of reversing the nose-dive), that'll work your core better. There's an article about the difference on www.bodyweightculture.com. You'll have to do a free user registration, but I think it's worth it. YMMV.

Also, the Hindu push-up version is definitely a yoga thing -- Downward Facing Dog into Cobra, and back (I think).

dakaodo

13. 12-03-2007 02:48

If you want to bring this more in line with Hindu push-ups or yoga postures, then stretch the arms out more, so that they form a straight line with the back. Your head should be between your arms, not above them. I should've read previous comments more closely -- Domino's got some good points.

dakaodo

14. 12-05-2007 04:59

I love these, but in wrestling we call them ski slides, and in tae kwon doe they call them Korean Pushups :D

Uriah Heap

15. 12-05-2007 04:59

I love these, but in wrestling we call them ski slides, and in tae kwon doe they call them Korean Pushups :D

Uriah Heap

16. 12-05-2007 13:27

I'll definitely give these a shot
They look like fun :-)

logan0942

17. 01-08-2008 15:44

Kinda Feels like if you dont make it youll die, so you end up just going through with it

MrPunchKick

18. 02-02-2008 15:27

these are called "japanese pushups" where I'm from.

PS dive bomber is a better name

Infernal

19. 02-03-2008 11:38

i knew these as cat-under-wire push-ups

Wallkrawler

20. 03-11-2008 05:46

looks fun.

JohnnyRain

21. 11-18-2008 12:19

Milk

22. 01-19-2009 13:11

wat? thease are Hindu push ups from wat i read lol all the sam ethey work very very well.

Toren_court

23. 02-18-2009 21:07

i have trouble doing 25 pushups in a row. should it feel like im about to die when i try to come back to the starting position? just curious as to if im doing it right

eisenberg

24. 05-17-2009 12:37

sorry, it doesnt help your chest.

pkGhost

25. 05-26-2009 13:22

I like these, they really are a workout, were I go to train all the guys call these diving monkeys though.

FlowRider

26. 05-28-2009 07:48