Push-ups come in many forms — some are progressions to make a push-up harder while others are regressions to make the upper-body exercise more accessible. One push-up variation that holds muscles under tension for longer is the walking plank push-up, so I tried it every day for one week.
70 reps might seem like a fair amount of volume. But really, seven sets of 10 reps didn’t feel out of reach as I add push-ups to my routine regularly, so that’s what I shot for.
That said, overworking your muscles continuously doesn’t give them a chance to rest and recover. If you want to build muscle or strengthen your muscles, you need to add rest days to your routine, so I don’t recommend programming the same thing repeatedly without adequate recovery long-term.
Although push-ups are a bodyweight exercise, I added one of the best resistance bands for upper-body strength work during some working sets. Here’s what happened throughout the week.
What are walking plank push-ups?
Push-ups build upper-body strength and primarily target the anterior deltoids (the fronts of your shoulders) and the pectoralis major (large muscles in your chest) with help from your core muscles and the triceps. Your core muscles help with stabilization and your triceps assist as you push upward and extend the elbows.
Explosive push-up variations like clapping push-ups can also help develop power.
Lately, walking plank push-ups have taken up my focus as a progression worth trying. This variation requires you to hold the straight-arm plank position, then take a sideways step with one hand and foot, followed by the other.
From here, you’ll perform a push-up, then step sideways back to your original position. The idea is to move in both directions to work the body left and right.
How to do walking plank push-ups
To perform a walking plank push-up, you’ll just need a little bit of space on either side of you to move sideways.
You could make the move even harder by elevating your hands on push-up bars; this allows you to perform a deficit push-up, dropping your chest deeper toward the floor and increasing your overall range of motion.
- Set up in a push-up position with your hands stacked beneath your shoulders, stomach braced
- Squeeze your glutes and quads
- Step your left foot and hand to the left, followed by your right, maintaining a strong plank hold without dropping or lifting your hips
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest to the ground, keeping your elbows close to your body
- Pause, then push upward and extend both arms
- Repeat in the other direction, leading with your right foot and hand.
Here’s what happened when I added them to my daily routine.
It took a while
The added plank walk made the whole experience take longer than usual, but this also worked my muscles harder and for longer. Planks are known as a core exercise, but they notoriously engage the entire body, including the hips, lower back, glutes, quads, chest, shoulders and arms.
Rather than just working my upper body and core, I experienced this move all over.
I played with tempo
As I mentioned before, the added plank walk engaged my muscles for slightly longer, which is a resistance training technique called Time Under Tension (TUT). It’s useful for bodyweight exercises that don’t involve weights to overload the body.
During the eccentric phase (lowering my chest), I counted five seconds, then pushed away for the count of one. The controlled descent and powerful ascent worked my upper body and triceps harder and made those seven sets of 10 feel more engaging and tougher to complete.
I also added a resistance band for a few sets, which ramped things up even more. If you choose to do this, keep a close eye on your back and ensure your hips don't sink. Wrap the band across your mid-back, along the shoulder blades, then hook your thumbs through each end to secure the band.
My hips tried to move a lot
Walking planks require square hips, meaning your hips stay parallel to the floor beneath you. As you move one hand and foot at a time, you’ll naturally test coordination and balance, allowing the body to turn outward if you’re not careful.
I focused on keeping my chest and hips square to the mat and stepping so that my feet and hands were always hip or shoulder-width apart. But that’s not all. As you move, your hips also want to drive upward or sink toward the floor, so I performed my reps in the mirror to keep an eye on them throughout — and it helped.
I recommend focusing on core engagement and bracing your quads and glutes to help prevent your hips or lower back from taking over.
My arms felt it most
The triceps are the first to give out during push-ups, and mine were trembling toward the end of the 70 reps each day. My chest also felt achier than usual by the end of the week, like I’d been lifting heavy in the gym.
While I kept up with the gymnastics part of my exercise routine during the week, I also minimized too much overhead weightlifting and added some back exercises to get a good mix of push and pull while I tested this challenge.
By the end of the week, except for feeling a bit sore, nothing much had changed. Did I look different? Nope, but that's because strength and muscle come from a consistent workout program, gradual overload and a combination of exercises within an upper-body program.
That said, bodyweight upper-body exercises are functional and can still pack a punch, as I learned when recently completing the Chelsea CrossFit WOD (150 pull-ups, 300 push-ups and 450 squats).
I’m an advocate for efficient pushing and pulling bodyweight work, so taking some time to work on a new type of push-up exercise complimented my weightlifting routine.
More from Tom's Guide
- Forget running — doing this one thing boosted the calorie burn on my daily walks
- Forget sit-ups — this standing ab exercise targets your obliques and boosts your balance
- I’m a personal trainer — forget regular squats, and try Spanish squats to reduce knee pain instead
