Push-ups/Press-ups on knuckles

[RayDiggle]

Was wondering if it's a good idea to switch from regular open-palm push ups to using my knuckles? What are the benefits?

[TheNegation]

I personally never really noticed a difference between the two. I supposed knuckle push-up would provide a greater ROM and maybe hurt your hands more, but beyond that I don't see any benefit over regular push-ups

[alza1988]

Fingertips for hand strength is probably best .I've built up on them and can do an l-sit now .L-sits are good hand strength for combos
http://www.beastskills.com/L%20Seat.htm
Check this .Have to move your head to the side .1arm elbow in

http://www.beastskills.com/OneArmPushup.htm

[RayDiggle]

I personally never really noticed a difference between the two. I supposed knuckle push-up would provide a greater ROM and maybe hurt your hands more, but beyond that I don't see any benefit over regular push-ups

Ye it hurt my hands today and kinda numbed my fingers, but it was alright. What does ROM mean btw?

[TheNegation]

Ye it hurt my hands today and kinda numbed my fingers, but it was alright. What does ROM mean btw?

ROM= Range of Motion

[Trrmo]

[QUOTE=alza1988;7252178]Fingertips for hand strength is probably best .I've built up on them and can do an l-sit now .L-sits are good hand strength for combos /QUOTE]

I dont think fingertip pushups are a good idea. there are no muscles in fingers themselves, and placing stress on the fingers can damage the joints,especially if the fingers are bent back - the fingers are not like other joints such as the elbow where the muscles surrounding the joint work as shock absorbers. If you want to build hand and grip strength you could do chin-ups, squeeze a tennis ball, squeeze you hand into a fist and open it again, use hand grips, or do forearm curls, deadlifts or rolling a piece of cord around a stick attached with weights.

[TheNegation]

I dont think fingertip pushups are a good idea. there are no muscles in fingers themselves, and placing stress on the fingers can damage the joints,especially if the fingers are bent back - the fingers are not like other joints such as the elbow where the muscles surrounding the joint work as shock absorbers. If you want to build hand and grip strength you could do chin-ups, squeeze a tennis ball, squeeze you hand into a fist and open it again, use hand grips, or do forearm curls, deadlifts or rolling a piece of cord around a stick attached with weights.

.....or you could do Rice Grabs

[EzzardFan]

Been doing pushups for 28 years now... Think the best thing is to vary them as much as possible. Personally I train calisthenics Mon, Wed, and Fri for around 40 mins each time. Work my way through pullups, pushups, hanging knee raises, dips, and some static holds. I do 4 sets of pushups each session and each set to failure, each set I do a different form of pushup, never repeating the same set in any given week. Knuckle pushups can be worked both flat and decline (feet on chair). They give extended range and help develop the knuckles for bare knuckle strikes like you might use in the street... but only in conjunction with other hand strengthening and knuckle development work. I have not experienced any nasty side effects from knuckle development other than my knuckles becoming more prominent and my hands and wrists getting tougher and stronger, enabling me to strike at the lower head without gloves or taped hand and less danger of injury. Gloves and tape renders this exercise less necessary/advantageous but there are probably still worthwhile gains to be made. Certainly no harm in adding them to your workout.

Finger pushups I find help prevent my fingers and thumbs getting staved in the absence of gloves, and also helps them recover faster when they do get staved. Again this has not resulted in any problems for me, and there are some worthwhile benefits for barehanded striking, but virtually nothing to be gained with gloves on.

The body is very adaptive. If you skin your knuckles on a rough surface one every couple of weeks, you don't wear them through to the bone, instead the skin grows thicker. The same seems to apply with finger pushups in that if anything they strengthen those joints. This is totally self demonstrable so no need to take my word for it LOL.

[SplitSecond]

knuckle pushups give you stronges wrists, which will help you punch harder, avoid hard surfaces