How To Do The Single-Arm Pushup | Men's Health

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Blame Rocky Balboa for making the single-arm pushup the benchmark that separates chumps from champs in the gym.

“It’s a high-skill, high-strength pinnacle exercise,” says Mike Fitch, C.S.C.S., of Global Bodyweight Training. “The move ensures that both of your arms are equally strong, and activates your core more than a standard pushup does, forcing it to work harder to stabilize your body.”

Related: THE 21-DAY METASHRED—an At-Home Body-Shredding Program That Strips Away Fat and Reveals Rock-Hard Muscle

How to Do a Single-Arm Pushup

Build up to it. Twice a week, do the exercises in the single-arm pushup progression below as a circuit, moving from one to the next with 60 seconds of rest after each move. Do 3 circuits. 

elevated single arm pushup
Beth Bischoff

1. Elevated Single-Arm Spread your feet. Put one hand on a bar or tall box. Do 1 to 5 reps, switch arms, repeat.

Each week, do the elevated single-arm pushup slightly lower (so you might progress from a high box to a bench to an aerobic step) until you can do 5 reps on the floor with perfect form.

skydive single arm pushup variation
Beth Bischoff

2. Skydive  Lift your left leg. Put your left palm, right fingers, and right knee on the floor. Do 5 reps, switch sides, repeat.

archer single arm pushup progression
Beth Bischoff

3. Archer  Move one hand farther out to the side than the other. Do 10 reps, switch arms, repeat.

Headshot of Ben CourtBen CourtBen Court is the Deputy Editor of Men's Health. He has a decade of experience writing and editing stories about peak performance, as it relates to health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss, and sex and relationships. He enjoys yoga, cycling, running, swimming, lifting, grilling, and napping.

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