Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

Scorpion Pushup

Scorpion Pushup – Is The Sting Worth The Pain?

Remember the time where you performed a few perfectly executed set of regular pushup and felt as if you did a full body workout? You don’t remember it, right?

The reason you don’t remember it because it never happened to you. A traditional pushup is an effective exercise, but it doesn’t involve the entire body during the movements involved in it.

Regular pushup mainly serves as the founding stones for all other interesting variations of the pushup, which are more effective and works on larger muscle group of the body.

scorpion pushup
  • Save

Doing more and more variation of pushup helps you to train your body from different angles, and works on the various muscle group. All these types of pushup have all the benefits that regular pushup has to offer, but they also do much more than it.

One of the many amazing bodyweight pushup variations is known as scorpion pushup. This is for intermediate level and experienced athletes. But of course, it is difficult than regular pushup, but it indeed is effective for your shoulders and core, if done correctly.

Scorpion Pushup

Scorpion pushup is a great way to enhance the mobility on the anterior side of the body. It is a standalone workout that works on the entire body and has a lot of benefits to offer.

The best part of this exercise is that you can challenge the entire body without the need for any equipment or gym membership.

The unusual movement involved in the exercise will also add a fun element to your routine. It can be performed at the start of your workout routine and or at the end, to complete the session with a full body workout.

In this post, we will discuss the technique involved in scorpion push up and how to master it, the breathing pattern involved in scorpion push-up, the muscle group this exercise works on, the benefits of scorpion pushup, who should do it and how much should it be done, and its comparison with a regular pushup.

The Technique to Master The Art of Scorpion Push up

Most of the fitness fanatics fail to understand the importance of body positioning and technique. It is because of this reason they fail to gain benefits and see any improvement in their physicality.

For any exercise to be effective, it must be performed with the right body form and technique.

Proper Body Posture

Following is a step by step procedure to get your body in the right form.

1. Get your body into the regular pushup position, which is also known as the high plank position.

2. Place your hands directly underneath the shoulder and must be kept at shoulder width apart. Stretch the arms and legs out completely behind the body.

3. The distance in between your feet must also be shoulder-width apart. The body must be able to maintain a straight line from head to heels.

The position described above should be your starting position. Try to get the body from correctly before moving ahead to try the pushup.

Proper Execution Technique

Once you have the form, follow the instructions below to perform a successful set of scorpion pushup.

1. While in the starting position, engage your core and slowly start bending the arms. Bring the entire body on the hands.

2. Slowly guide one leg in the up bent position, while keeping the other leg behind the body and down on the floor.

3. Rotate the upper body and the hip with the movement. Though ensure that you do not change the position of the shoulders.

4. Maintain the position and try not to lose the balance. Slowly bring the leg in the air back to the down position.

5. Stretch out the arms completely and get back to the starting position. Now perform the second rep with the other side.

6. Perform as many repetitions as possible without losing the form. Start slowly to get used to the movements, and gradually increase the reps as you get more comfortable with it.

Breathing Pattern Involved in Scorpion Push up

Breathe in as you lower yourself down towards the floor. Ensure that you do not touch your chest on the floor. Hold in high above the floor for a second or two before pushing back to the starting position.

Breathe out as you push yourself back to the starting position. Breathing out during the upward movement helps to contract to the ab muscle, which makes it easier to push the body up.

Muscle Group Scorpion Pushup Works on

Performing a scorpion pushup requires an incredible amount of strength and endurance level. You must have great core muscles, in order to be able to maintain body weight and control on the body, during the range of motion.

The primary muscle that this exercise works on, are the pectoralis major, obliques, and hip flexors. The secondary muscle that this exercise works on, are the triceps, anterior, latissimus dorsi, deltoids, abdominals and lower back.

Benefits of Scorpion Pushup
  • Save

Because of the leg position, which is placed high in the air, above your lower back, the movement puts extra pressure on your shoulder, as opposed to on your chest, which is the case with a regular pushup.

Fascinating how small changes in body position can train different muscle group in the body. This is the magic which angles can create.

Benefits of Scorpion Pushup

Scorpion pushup works on the shoulder more as opposed to that on the chest. It enhances the capabilities of your rotator cuffs, preventing you from minor shoulder injuries. It increases the range of shoulder movement, which can be great and effective for your old age.

Scorpion pushup builds immense strength and endurance in your core muscle, which is a great sign for you as this allows you to perform a more difficult version of a pushup with relative ease.

This exercise also helps you to lose weight quickly and get your body toned rather quickly. It improves the cardiovascular system of the body, by providing oxygen-rich blood to different muscle tissues in the body.

Who should do it and how much should be done?

This exercise is difficult and requires a lot of strength already. Thus if you are a beginner, do not attempt this exercise, or else you might hurt your shoulder and other muscles around it.

Build yourself by getting your body accustomed to regular pushup and by building necessary strength and power in the body.

For intermediate level, try 2 – 3 set of 4 – 6 reps on each side of the leg. Do it slowly and if you feel any discomfort in the body, stop immediately. Consult the expert before moving ahead and doing it.

For advanced level athletes, try 3 – 4 sets of 8 – 10 reps on each side of the leg. You can also impede the exercise by adding a weight belt against the waist. This will increase the pressure, even more, making the exercise more intense.

Scorpion pushup vs. Regular Pushup

The body movement involved in both of this exercise is more or less the same. The only difference is the position of one leg, above the lower back. It is due to this positioning of the body, the extra amount of pressure is exerted on the shoulder, enhancing its overall ability.

The scorpion pushup is more difficult than the regular pushup. Thus if you are not good with regular pushup form and technique, do not attempt this exercise, before making yourself better at regular pushup.

Once you get good at regular pushup, start with this ultimate pushup variation and gradually increase the number of reps. Give more attention to the way you do it than focusing on the numbers.

Wrapping Up

In order to keep your fitness regime effective and fun, try out a number of different and strength-intensive exercise. This way, you will keep the routine more interesting and avoid any mundaneness.

With so many numbers of pushups available at your disposal and the galore of information available online, there is no reason for you to not try this variation and train your body in different ways.

Keep perfecting each pushup variation and keep trying a new variation, every time you perfect the previous one.

So if you are someone who wants to perfect his/her hip mobility, this exercise is a great way for you to achieve it. Read our guide to the scorpion exercise and gain a mastery of it. And in case if you have any question or queries, feel free to drop a message in the section below.

We would love to hear from you. So what are you waiting for? Keep spreading the word and keep performing scorpion pushup.