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    Home » Fitness Tips For Moms

    How To Do An Eccentric Push Up & Why You Should

    Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.  See full disclaimer
    Pin image with text: woman in blue shirt and purple pants outside performing a push up
    Pin image with text: woman in dark pants and light sports bra performing a push up on a purple yoga mat

    Improve your push ups and boost your strength by learning how to do an eccentric push up! Eccentric is a way of training in which you control the lowering part of an exercise to increase your strength. Basically, you work against gravity or resistance.

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    Learning and mastering the eccentric component of an exercise will make you stronger at the exercise itself. As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, if you want to dominate push ups, mastering the eccentric push up is a good place to start!

    Two images of a woman doing push ups with text between the images.

    What Is An Eccentric Push Up

    An eccentric push up is when you control the part of the movement in which you lower your chest to the ground.

    So, instead of lowering to the ground quickly and pushing yourself back up, you’d resist the temptation to lower quickly and instead lower for a count of 3-5.

    Muscle group: chest (pectorals)

    Equipment: body weight

    Experience level: beginner

    Secondary muscles: triceps, abdominals, shoulders

    This is a great step in learning how to do a regular push up as a beginner and developing upper body strength.

    Eccentric push ups can be done on an elevated surface, on the floor, or even progressed to suspended push ups once you’ve moved past regular push ups.

    Know that the same form for push ups still applies. The only thing you’re changing is the tempo in which you lower.

    Benefits of Eccentric Training

    • Increased strength
    • Improved form
    • More control
    • More muscle engagement

    How To Perform An Eccentric Push Up

    1. Begin in the starting push up position (a full plank) with your feet together and hands just slightly outside of your shoulders. Maintain a netrual neck.
    2. Keep the core engaged and a straight line as you bend the elbows backward and begin to lower toward the floor.
    3. Resist the urge to move quickly and instead control the exercise against gravity as you spend 4 seconds lowering to the ground.
    4. Flop to the floor and return to the starting position.

    Beginner and Advanced Ways To Perform Eccentric Push Ups

    As a beginner:

    If you’re a beginner, you’ll want to flop onto the floor and then get back up into the starting position.

    If you're advanced:

    If you’re an advanced exerciser who wants to bust through plateaus, you’ll do an “eccentric-focused” push up. In this case, you’ll lower slowly toward the floor but instead of flopping, you’ll push back up into the starting position.

    Tips To Perform It With Good Form

    Make sure that your upper body (arms and spine) resembles an “A” at the bottom of the movement and not a “w”. Basically, don’t cock out the elbows.

    Keep a neutral position on your neck throughout the movement, there’s no need to tuck your chin.

    Squeeze the glutes and engage the abs to keep a rigid spine.

    Two images of a woman in blue shirt and black pants performing a push up with text about what to do and what not to do

    What is the difference between eccentric and concentric push-ups?

    Every exercise contains an eccentric and a concentric portion. For push ups, the concentric part is when you use the main muscle groups to push back up from the ground.

    The eccentric part is when you use the muscles that are being lengthened from the first phase in a controlled manner. For push ups, this is when you control the lower toward the ground.

    Sets & Reps

    You can add eccentric push ups into your training program either elevated off a bench or on the floor. Because eccentrics have a tendency to create wicked DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), do not begin with high volume.

    • Start with 2 sets of 4 repetitions.
    • Move up the 3 sets of 5 repetitions.
    • If you’re elevated (hands on a bench or chair), scale down toward the floor.
    • Slowly add in more repetitions until you’re ready to perform a full push up.

    You can also swap in eccentric push ups in something like a bodyweight push workout as you're learning.

    Other Resources To Help You Get A Strong Upper Body

    • How to do a wall push up
    • At home shoulder workout no equipment
    • The best exercises for the triceps
    • The best back exercises
    • 7 Exercises to improve your push ups
    • 15 minute upper body workout
    • Shoulder mobility and why you need it
    • Fitness tips
    • At home, follow along workouts

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    Frequently Asked Questions About Eccentric Push Ups

    What part of the push up is eccentric?

    As you lower your body toward the ground you are performing the eccentric part of a push up. On the opposite side, as you push your body back up toward a full plank you are performing the concentric push up.

    What are eccentric exercises?

    An eccentric exercise is when you control the lengthening part of an exercise instead of rushing through it. Any exercise can be eccentrically focused.

     What is eccentric training?

    Eccentric training is when you place emphasis or increase the tempo on the lengthening part of an exercise and perform slow, long, contractions.

    Pin image with text: woman in dark pants and sports bra performing a push up on a unicorn yoga mat

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gina

      November 20, 2023 at 8:25 am

      This is a great way to build up strength and works so well! I do this with pull-ups too and have gotten so much stronger from the eccentric training!

      Reply
      • fitasamamabear

        November 25, 2023 at 7:02 am

        Amazing! It's such a game changer.

        Reply
    2. John

      December 11, 2023 at 1:43 pm

      My upper body feels more engaged, and I'm loving the results so far.

      Reply
      • fitasamamabear

        December 14, 2023 at 2:34 pm

        Love it!

        Reply
    3. Rebecca

      February 27, 2024 at 11:03 am

      I had never heard of eccentric push-ups (or eccentric training of any kind) so I learned something from this article! I learned several things, actually. I've been doing these in yoga workouts without knowing what they are, but my form is off - I think my arms are in the W shape not the A shape. So, going to correct that. Thank you so much for the information!

      Reply
      • fitasamamabear

        February 28, 2024 at 2:25 pm

        SO happy yo give you a base to work on, don't hesitate to ask questions if you have them!

        Reply
    4. Bethany

      March 26, 2024 at 8:54 am

      I just started to do home workouts and you made me realize that I've been doing push-ups wrong this entire time. I'm glad that you mentioned the proper form. Thank you!

      Reply
      • fitasamamabear

        March 27, 2024 at 7:44 am

        Ahh so happy to help!!

        Reply

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    DISCLAIMERS As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.The content on Fit as a Mama Bear is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with a qualified health care professional before acting on any information presented here. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. No products mentioned are intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

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