Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description
The Original Perfect Pushup works for any fitness level, and the included SEAL-inspired exercise chart demonstrates proper form and includes a customizable 21-day workout planner based on SEAL "two minute drills." The kit includes two patent-pending pushup handles, and instructional DVD, and the instructional poster.
About Perfect Fitness
The training principles and innovations behind the Perfect Pushup originated with Alden Mills, a seven year veteran of the US Navy SEALs. While serving as platoon commander, Alden’s platoon was chosen for a study to determine why SEALs suffered unusually high injury rates. After learning the injuries were linked to age-old training methods, SEAL trainers switched to Functional Training. Alden learned firsthand how to incorporate these lessons into exercise routines that have become the foundation of techniques used at Perfect Fitness.
Product Description
PERFECT PUSHUP, LLC 1270594 The Perfect Pushup (EA)Customer Reviews
-this is a great in-home piece of equipment to primarily exercise the chest (pecs), front shoulder (anterior deltoids), and back of the arms (triceps)
-once you can do 20 reps in a row with this item, you will not get these muscles any stronger using this piece of equipment. The srength training literature is quite clear (ex. Fleck and Kramer) that anything OVER 20 reps of an exercise will build primarily muscle ENDURANCE and NOT strength. Thus, you can strengthen the above named muscles only to a certain extent- since this exercise equipment is unable to provide progressive resistance (unlike a weight machine or dumbbell where you can keep adding a little more weight now and then which challenges the muscle and makes it grow bigger and stronger). Having said that, it is a great tool to use for moderate strengthening and to maintain a certain level of fitness. Just know it won't turn you into Hercules...
-this is an especially good piece of equipment to use if you have wrist problems since it can rotate and let your wrists do what they do naturally with you do this pressing type motion- unlike other exercise equipment where your hand is fixed on a bar.
-using this piece of equipment is vastly superior to regular floor push-ups as it allows the torso to "sink down" to the floor more which increases the range of motion for you to exercise in. Thus, the muscles are exercised more thoroughly thru a greater range.
When all is said and done: Its a good product for someone looking for a moderate upper body workout and wants to "stay in shape". Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff if you have a shoulder problem that interferes with your workout.
First impression - 'hey, it's plastic'! I thought it was going to be metal, based on the pictures. I was disappointed by their lightweight plastic build. Once I started using them, the disappointment turned to appreciation. These transform push ups into serious weight training three ways: 1) Proper wrist angle - means that I can do push ups until muscle fatigue stops me; not sore wrists. 2) Elevated hands means you can go deeper than when your hands are on the floor. This greater range of motion had an unexpectedly large impact. 3) Rotation reduces stresses and brings even more muscles into play. The hand grips rotate freely, forcing you to exert effort to keep your hands oriented. You can feel different muscle groups come into play as you alter your wrist position. The wrist naturally rotates as you move through the push up motion in different ways depending on how far from your body you place your wrists. It takes a moment to learn how to do push ups this way (the included chart is a good starting point) and rewards some experimentation. Once you've gotten used to Perfect Pushup you will not want to do push ups on the floor ever again. Going back to the floor really shows you how conventional push ups strain the wrist by bending back and punish your elbows by forcing them into a single plane of motion when they naturally want to twist.
Throwing a few sets of these "super push ups" into the mix on weekends has greatly enhanced my home workouts and my overall fitness level. Now that I've used Perfect Pushups for over a month I'm not worried about their durability. They seem quite sturdy in use.
Follow-up: There is some confusion between the two non-travel versions of this product: "Perfect Pushup - Original" (the one sold here and many other places for around $40) and "Perfect Pushup - Basic" (the one sold at Walmart and Ebay for around $20). The Perfect Pushup - Basic has a red stripe under the "Perfect Pushup" logo and the text "Basic" within the red stripe. It has a similar design to the Perfect Pushup - Original but lighter weight plastic build and comes with the handles unattached from the base and you snap them on yourself. I haven't used the "Basic" model - but you can readily see the difference between the models in the photographs: "Original" has a metal handle embedded in a larger, single piece, plastic rotating part. The stanchions holding the handle are molded and of a single piece with the rotating part. The "Basic" model has a lower flatter rotating part, and a plastic handle shaped like a letter "C" - so that the handle itself forms the stanchions connecting down into the rotating part - which is flat and not molded. I don't know if the "Basic" model is compromised in any way as to its function - but it is clearly of a lighter build quality. There's also a "Travel" version that looks a lot like the "Basic" version, but has removable handles and the flat rotating part is much thinner (1/2" instead of 1").
Follow up number two: 1 year after purchase: I've continued to use Perfect Pushup 2-3 times a week and it has remained totally reliable and durable in use. The build quality is obviously better than adequate. I continue to prefer Perfect Pushup over doing push ups on the floor - no comparison. Push ups are great exercise, but they need to be viewed in context as part of a larger exercise regimen. You will not lose weight doing push ups alone (weight training is a piece of the puzzle, but aerobic exercise, diet, and mental attitude work are all vital to that effort also). Push ups are not a complete upper body workout. Push ups exercise the front half of your upper body (triceps excepted) making it really important that you do some lifting to build your back half (i.e. do some sets of rows and pulls with dumbbells). If you build one half of any joint and neglect the other half (i.e. make the half that pushes strong but fail to make the half that pulls equally strong) you can set yourself up for injury. What makes push ups great - and Perfect Pushup in particular - is that they are an excellent upper body workout (one that gets the whole front half of the upper body if you do a few variations in hand grip position) that takes up virtually no space in your home. A good minimal home gym could be just a pair of Perfect Pushups, a Swiss ball (also known as a Yoga ball), and pair of dumbbells (preferably variable weight ones). Final conclusion - Perfect Pushup is a great way to get the mirror visible front half of your upper body worked out in limited space and is part of a home fitness solution but shouldn't be seen as constituting a full fitness regimen in and of themselves.
By | Jamasen L. Parham (Ames, IA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) |