Sphinx Pushup

Sphinx push-ups are not widely practiced but can be really effective and beneficial. The sphinx pushup is named after the mythical Egyptian creature, known for riddles. Though there are no enigmas about the exercise. It is an effective exercise that enhances your triceps without the usage of weights. This exercise is mainly for the experience and expert level people, who require high-intensity fitness routine.

Sphinx Pushup is a combination of the plank with the forearm push-ups, which effectively works on the chest and triceps muscles. In addition to this, it also works on other muscle groups that a regular pushup would work. Incorporate sphinx pushup into your fitness routine to avoid the monotonous nature of regular push-ups.

Table of Contents

It is a calisthenics fitness exercise that is believed to have originated in ancient Egypt. Sphinx pushups mainly improve the triceps muscles. To a certain degree, it also enhances the chest, abs, and shoulder muscles—a variation of regular push-ups that require nothing more than a mat, proper technique, and positive energy.

In this segment, we will discuss the technique involved and the different muscle groups it works on. We will also go through the benefits of the exercise and the dos and don’ts involved in it. Learning sphinx push-ups isn’t difficult at all, but it can be challenging at times. If you don’t have the required strength and experience, it is recommended to work on it.

Technique – Mythical exercise which isn’t that Difficult

Sphinx exercise can be quite beneficial for the upper body workout. It helps to enhance the core strength really quickly. It is advantageous to incorporate exercise into your daily fitness routine. The following are the steps to perform a perfect sphinx push up.

Place your hands on the floor mat directly beneath your shoulder. Lie on the mat with your stomach touching the mat.
Contract your abdominal muscle to provide support to the lower back. Pull yourself up a little on the forearms and your toes. Your knees, spine, hips, and shoulders must be completely aligned. It is essential to have a powerful core to stabilize the entire body.
Push yourself until your arms are in a straight position. Avoid your back getting up in the air. Try to maintain a straight line. Hold this position for a second or two.
Now start bending the elbows and get back in slowly into the initial position. Repeat the movements from step 2 as many times as possible. And gradually keep increasing them.

Ensure you follow a proper breathing pattern while performing Sphinx Pushup. Breathe out as you push yourself up and breathe in as you complete the pushdown movement. Remember, breathing is as important as knowing the right technique. Though this exercise is named after a mysterious creature, there is no conundrum about the steps involved in performing the right sphinx exercise movements.

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What muscle group do sphinx pushups work on?

This exercise works primarily on the shoulders, chest, and abs. It improves the strength of your abdominal muscles while enhancing the load-bearing capacity of the shoulders. It increases resistance power in your shoulder that can be really effective for performing other challenging variations of the standard push-ups.

Other muscles that it works on – are the triceps. Performing this exercise be a little tricky as it requires control, strength, and mental abilities. Also, if you previously had any kind of shoulder or back injury, it is advisable not to attempt this exercise. It can worsen your injuries even more. So get in touch with your fitness guru and consult before attempting the sphinx push-ups.

Dos and Don’ts of Sphinx Pushup

Maintain a proper breathing pattern and ensure you hold the correct form throughout the exercise. Doing six repetitions in incorrect form is more beneficial than attempting 20 repetitions in the wrong form.
Engage your core in the exercise to distribute some of the load from the triceps. If at first, you’re not able to carry the bodyweight, ease it up by getting on your knees from your toes.
Don’t attempt the sphinx push-ups, if you carry any external shoulder injury. Always consult an expert before doing it.
Don’t rush. Keep the movements slow during the exercise. Gradually build the strength and increase the repetitions as and when you get more comfortable with it.

Can you do pike pushups every day?

Initially start aiming for 1 – 2 sets of 5 – 10 repetitions daily. As you keep on building more triceps strength and powerful core, gradually start increasing the numbers. You can even try the easier version, by getting on your knees as discussed above.
When you have started to get a better feel for the exercise, increase the number of sets and repetitions. Perform the exercise on your toes for 2 – 3 sets of 8 – 12 repetitions.
At the advanced level, attempt 12 – 15 repetitions per set. You can even try out the difficult variations of sphinx push-ups at this stage. The variations of this exercise will be discussed in the section below.

Sphinx Pushup Variations

The exercise routine can get monotonous quite quickly. And when things get monotonous, it creates a negative impact on the fitness regime. Imagine your fitness routine without any energy. It will certainly turn out to be a sad story.

To avoid such things from happening, it is always suitable to add variations in your exercise and increase the intensity levels. Sphinx push-ups can be performed with many different variations. These variations are as follows.

Attempt the sphinx push-ups by putting your hands on the chair.
Add a weight belt across the waist, to increase stress on your triceps.
Attempt the decline version. Put your legs on the chair or something similar.

Tips – Perfecting the art of Sphinx pushup.

While in the bottom position, your arms must be straight like an arrow. They should not flare out.
Keep your spine as stiff as possible. It will help to keep the body stable during the full range of motion. Thus resulting in better results of the overall exercise.
Don’t look forward. Always keep your chin facing the floor or simply towards the floor mat.
Perform the exercise with a full range of motion. Take the body as high and as low as possible. Don’t cut down your repetitions. Stop being lazy. You might as well leave doing it – if you’re just attempting the exercise for namesake.
Your chest and nose must touch the floor at the same time. If it does not, it means that your body isn’t aligned and you’re doing it completely wrong.

Sphinx push-ups compared to Regular push-ups

Regular push-ups and sphinx push-ups more or less work on the same group of muscles. However, a slight difference between this two exercises can be reckoned on the triceps muscle. Sphinx push-ups are true triceps exercise that provides muscular triceps without performing any weight exercise. Regular push-ups are good, and they also help you build a strong core and other upper body muscles. But incorporating variations in your fitness routine is an effective way to keep your entire body active and enthusiastic.

For someone, who wants to attempt difficult versions of regular push-ups, sphinx push-ups are definitely something worth trying. Sphinx push-ups also serve as an alternative to close grip push-ups. Close grip push-ups require you to keep your hands close, thus exerting more stress on your triceps muscles. It might also be due to lack of mobility in your shoulder muscles.

If you are uncomfortable doing the close grip push-ups, do the sphinx push-ups. It will get you those stronger triceps. Like regular push-ups, you can even try and incorporate the sphinx push-ups in your daily fitness routine. And in a matter of week times, you will be able to feel more stability and control in your body.

Wrapping up

This variation isn’t favored much by fitness fanatics, but it is more beneficial than what people might reckon. Yes, it can be challenging to attempt because of the control and balance it requires; but it isn’t that difficult as compared to other variations of regular push-ups. Integrate this exercise with other weight exercise and start working on those triceps.

During the initial phase when control and balance are hard to maintain, you can try this variation by attempting it on your knees. This exercise is useful because it puts more emphasis on the triceps as compared to the chest. Regular push-ups will help you with a stronger chest. This push-ups will help you get stronger and broader triceps. So don’t worry, follow the steps and ace the sphinx push-ups. They are a joy to perfect and ultimately to accomplish.