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Downward Dog Push-Up is a move that strengthens your chest, arms, shoulders and core while stretching your back and hamstrings. Known for its amazing stretch, the Downward Dog is a yoga move that opens up the backside of your body.
Adding a push-up to this throws the upper body strength bonus in and gives you an overall body exercise you will love. If you want better arms and a more flexible body you should learn how to do a Downward Dog Push-Up.
Make sure you practice a standard Push-Up before you start adding new elements. The Basic Push-Up is the best upper body exercise around. If you can do 8-10 good Push-Up, you are ready to add the Downward Dog Push-Up to your repertoire.
The Downward Dog can also be done on its own any time you want a great stretch. By putting the two moves together you are multi-tasking your strength and your flexibility and you will walk away with your upper body feeling amazing.
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Downward Dog Push Up Exercise Instructions
- Begin with your hands and feet shoulder-width apart, and your hips raised so that your body forms an inverted V.
- Lower your hips to a push-up position. When your hips are parallel with the floor, perform a push-up. When you finish the push-up, raise your hips back up the position where they began so your body once again forms an inverted V.
If you struggle with good alignment during your push-up, no problem! Just pull forward out of the Downward Dog, place your knees down on the floor ad then finish the push-up. A Kneeling Push-Up is always a great move! Be sure to breath as you move between the push-up and the Down Dog and keep your abs tight the entire time!
What Muscles Does A Downward Dog Push Up Work?
Downward Dog Push Up is an awesome upper body move that works your chest, back, shoulders, arms and even your core! Downward Dog Push Up is also a great way to get a stretch for the entire backside of your body.
Benefits of a Downward Dog Push Up
There are many reasons you should incorporate Downward Dog Push Up into your workouts. Here are just a few:
Stronger Upper Body
Downward Dog Push Up is a challenging move for you upper body, working every muscle including chest, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. The blending of a strength move and a yoga pose provides an excellent method of strengthening and sculpting your upper body muscles.
Stronger Core
Downward Dog Push Up is a great challenge for your entire core. Push Ups alone rely on core strength, but adding the downward dog motion and moving between the two is even more of a challenge. Your entire abdominal wall will need to pull in and you’ll feel how your lower back muscles engage as well.
Stretch and Release
Downward Dog Push Up is a great way to get a stretch on the entire backside of your body. From your feet, through your calves, hamstrings and back – all of these backside muscles are released and in a slow, repetitive motion. Each time you press back you will be able to stretch just a little deeper.
How Many Calories Do Downward Dog Push Ups Burn?
People often ask how many calories they are burning in their workouts. Most exercises will generally burn about 100 calories for every 10 minutes you are working at moderate to high intensity. Downward Dog Push-Ups are muscle-based and should be done slowly. This means you may not get the calorie burn you would in a big plyometric move or a cardio exercise, but keep in mind you are building your body to burn calories better!
Other Exercises Similar to Downward Dog Push Up
If you like the Downward Dog Push Up and the results you are getting, here are a few more exercises you might want to try.
