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I have been experimenting with the challenge and the “chinkuchi-esque” pushup bars for a while now and I have some thoughts on their use as to benefits. I want to share these now.
Doing normal, regulation, pushups tend to work the upper body shoulder girdle areas overall and the strength is there already while switching it up to either of the pushup bars tends to challenge the normal pushups in a way that feels and is perceived challenged by the need to grip the bars.
The challenge begins with and is dependent upon hand strength, gripping. If you don’t have a stronger grip then no matter how many regulation pushups you can do you won’t be able to do that many of the challenge pushups. So, grip becomes a primary benefit because to hold the challenge/chinkuchi-esque bars requires a continuous strong grip with the challenge bars requiring more to be explained as we continue.
Stabilization of muscles holds a higher proficiency requirement than mere strength so these pushups contribute a great deal to a type of strength that is not about lifting heavy weights but maintaining the integrity of the body structure especially in applying physical skills in karate for self-protection.
I give the challenge bars higher marks because the single leg provides a skill whereby you must stabilize the hands and wrists, etc., so that it remains stable while movement in pushups allows the bar to move in all 360 degrees or directions. Once you try them out on your own you will realize that compared to the chinkuchi-esque dual leg bars that only require you to stabilize it so it does not move in only two directions.
You might be contemplating this and think to yourself that your upper body and shoulder girdle are not really benefiting because the grip and stabilization are mostly in the hands and wrists but that would be misguided because the mere act of gripping and maintaining upright position of both bars also requires you add the forearms, upper arms, shoulder girdle and upper body through dynamic tension of those parts to achieve a stronger grip thus a greater stability overall.
While normal regulation pushups is more focused on the upper body and shoulder girdle with benefits extending into the arms it seems that the use of the challenge and chinkuchi-esque bars reverse that starting with the grip/hands, wrists and so on in reverse of normal benefits of regulation pushups.
In this light it seems that to achieve a strong stable structure you need to strengthen the muscles so that when multi-directional stresses are applied such as in the chaos of self-protection you need to make use of the following for karate:
- Challenge pushup’s in an extended way, i.e., when you reach the upper end of the pushup you flex the shoulders up to stretch out the entire shoulder, arm and hands.
- Chinkuchi-esque pushup’s also in an extended way, i.e., when you reach the upper end of the pushup you flex the shoulders up to stretch out the entire shoulder, arm and hands.
- Regulation pushups also in an extended way, i.e., when you reach the upper end of the pushup you flex the shoulders up to stretch out the entire shoulder, arm and hands.
- Striking a moving heavy bag (it is noted that this goes to the legs as well, etc.)
- Striking a stationary makiwara.
- Striking a moving makiwara.
- Grappling skills practice.
- Kumite using bogu-esque protection so one can apply hand skills, leg skills as well, with as much actual force as safely possible.
- Experience building also through full-contact types of competition; reality based adrenal stressor training; and actual self-protection when that one rears its ugly head that we all work hard to avoid.
In closing, I really like the challenge pushups and the chinkuchi-esque bars because I can feel how much is required of my grip and ability to stabilize to handle the stresses that come from the pushup. I feel the benefits every time not just in the grip, nor the stabilization that occurs as one gains experience thus increasing the repetitions one can do and the additional ‘different’ strengths that are added gained from regulation pushups to build an all round strong and stable upper body strength you cannot get from just building strength through power lifting, etc., like the circuit training one does and the new type of training called, “Cross-training“ where one does both strength with non-aerobic lifting supplemented with aerobic training.
The stabilization effort seems the most critical because one who is found in the middle of a physical effort to defend and protect under the chaos of self-defense will find that their stabilization-strength coupled with endurance will be of greater benefit overall then merely strength. In the last decade I have refocused my efforts in this light personally and found that to be of benefit in other areas such as health, i.e., lower blood pressure, etc.
Another reason to embrace such challenging skills, you benefit not just fitness and health but in the event you have to apply skills to defend and protect.
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