Push up substitute exercises ??

ferrier2010
ferrier2010 Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
I am planning on beginning 30 day shred again on Monday and I am determined to complete it this time.

I have attempted it twice before but have always had to give up around day 4/5 due to injury.

I have been diagnosed with brittle bone disease and also arthritis, which affect most of my joints but in particular my wrists.

Every other time I have tried the dvd it hurts my wrists so much that they swell up and I need to rest them for over a week, which obviously isnt great.

Are there any exercises that I can do instead of pushups as these seem to cause the most damage.

NB: I am trying to strenghen my wrists up at the moment so I can hopefully do pushups in the future but for now its just not possible.

Thanks

Replies

  • gmmendenhall
    gmmendenhall Posts: 24 Member
    Why not try modifying the push-ups for less stress on your body? Do push ups against the wall or at an angle using the coffee table? It should slowly strengthen your wrist and build up your ability.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    Wow, coming up with chest exercises that don't use your wrist is about as hard as trying to find calf exercises that don't stress your ankle (which is what I've been trying to do the last six months).

    Flies, maybe? Or use a pec deck but I'm guessing you're exercising at home and probably don't have one of those in your living room. Pullovers, if you've got a bench or chair or something you can lay on. http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBPullover.html
  • jdub224
    jdub224 Posts: 120
    Why not try modifying the push-ups for less stress on your body? Do push ups against the wall or at an angle using the coffee table? It should slowly strengthen your wrist and build up your ability.

    This.
  • kmcr14
    kmcr14 Posts: 2 Member
    I see a personal trainer, and when I started, I could not do a single push up. He had me start with negative push ups, where you start as though you're about to do one, and then just slowly lower yourself to the floor over a count of five. no pushing back up, just training your arms and wrists to get stronger, etc.

    I'm recovering from a wrist sprain right now, actually (unrelated), so I've been doing these again. Anyway, I hope this helps!
  • kumitekg
    kumitekg Posts: 61
    I also have problem with my wrists and in fact broke my right wrist at karate a couple of years ago and it never truly healed, so I understand your difficulty with push ups (and we do a lot of pushs up in class!). I like some of the suggestions here. If you can manage it though, I have found that doing push ups on my knuckles rather than my hands puts less strain on my wrists. Good luck !
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    Have you tried push-up bars? My right wrist can get a little wonky sometimes. It's fine now, but when I first started doing pushups the push-up bars were a lot easier on my wrists than having my hands on the floor.
  • bobwest185
    bobwest185 Posts: 56 Member
    Lay on your back with light weight dumbells (appropriate weight for your wrists not to hurt) and do bench press (straight up and back down) and then Fly lifts with your elbows out to the side at 90 degrees, lift and bring the dumbells together over your chest. You can keep your elbows bent on the Fly to avoid too much pressure on your wrist. I like the wall push-up recommendation above.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Why not try modifying the push-ups for less stress on your body? Do push ups against the wall or at an angle using the coffee table? It should slowly strengthen your wrist and build up your ability.

    This.

    Yeppers.
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    You may have better luck with push ups on dumbells. Like holding them on the ground so the wrists are aligned not bent. another option may be to work on bench press or flyes. Try to maintain straight wrist rather than putting any weight on them while bent. These things helped me a lot and they are a bit stronger now.

Categories