Diamond Pushups Guide- Benefits, Tips, Variations
Pushups are probably the most well known upper body exercise. There are tons of variations, each with tons of benefits. You’ve probably heard of diamond or triangle push ups before, but what can this push up variation do for you?
What are Diamond Pushups?
The diamond or triangle push up gets its name from the shape formed by your thumbs and index fingers when the exercise is performed correctly. It is generally considered a harder push up variation because this hand position places most of the stress of the exercise on the triceps muscles.
What Muscles do Diamond Push ups work?
Like regular push ups, the diamond push up is a full body exercise. This is because most of the muscles in the body are recruited in order to, either directly, push or indirectly stabilize the joints throughout the body. The major muscles used are:
- Triceps- The triceps muscle is the major muscle involved in the movement, functioning to extend the arm at the elbow.
- Chest muscles- Pectoralis major and minor function to move the upper arm from the side of the body to the front. Serratus anterior assists in stretching the arm forward.
- Shoulder muscles- The deltoid muscles assist in movements at the shoulder joint.
- Core muscles- The abdominal and gluteal muscles function to elevate the hips and keep the body in a straight position.
The other muscles in the body from the back and biceps muscles to the leg muscles all play a minor role as stabilizers in the exercise. Learn how to use pushups to build muscle here.
How to do Diamond Push ups?
- Get down on all fours.
- Place your hands together, under shoulder level.
- Form a diamond or triangle shape with your thumbs and index fingers.
- Bend your arms at the elbows in order to lower your chest to just above the floor.
- Pause at the bottom.
- Extend your arms at the elbows in order to lift yourself back into the starting position.
Tips for Proper Diamond Push up Form
1. Don’t Flare your Elbows
Flaring your elbows out to the side can be dangerous for your shoulder health so keep your elbows tucked close to your body. This also places your arms in a position to more efficiently stimulate the triceps muscles.
2. The Diamond or Triangle isn’t Necessary
Sure the name of the pushup comes from the shape you make with your hands, but it isn’t necessary for the exercise to be effective. The shape can be awkward and can even cause wrist pain in some people.
Know your body in order to determine if you can safely make the diamond shape. However, all that matters to get the true benefits of diamond pushups is that your hands are close together. Anything less than shoulder width apart should be good.
3. Keep your Body Straight
If you allow your hips to sag then the movement will become very inefficient, because a lot of the stress will move away from your chest and triceps and be placed on your lower back.
This is unsafe so make sure to tighten your abs and glutes in order to raise your hips and keep your body straight.
Don’t forget that your head is included as part of your body, so it is important to keep your spine straight by keeping your neck in a neutral position.
4. Pull your Shoulders Back
Allowing your shoulders to roll forwards is unsafe and puts too much strain on the weaker shoulder muscles instead of the stronger chest muscles. Therefore, ensure that your are actively retracting your shoulders and scapulae.
Benefits of Diamond Pushups
1. Great for Triceps Development
The closer hand position of diamond push ups excels at stimulating the triceps muscles. This is because it increases the range of motion of the triceps by having more flexion and extension occurring at the elbow joint.
In addition, the position removes most of the adduction occurring at the shoulders, shifting the majority of the load from the chest to the triceps. Check out these other pushup variations for bigger arms.
2. Stimulates Inner Chest
Diamond push ups are effective for stimulating the lower and middle chest. This is due to the positioning of the upper arm as it is generally tucked close to the body during this exercise which allows for a tighter squeeze of the inner chest muscles.
Learn how to workout chest at home here.
3. Stimulates Shoulders
Movement at the shoulder is primarily flexion and extension, moving in an up-down direction in front of you, as compared to a regular push up which is mainly adduction. Therefore diamond push ups engage the anterior deltoids more which leads to more shoulder growth.
Check out these other pushup variations for massive shoulders.
4. No Equipment Necessary
All you need to perform a diamond push up is your bare hands so it makes a valuable addition to your home workouts.
5. You can do Diamond Pushups Anywhere
Because the exercise requires no equipment and it is so simple to perform you can perform it virtually anywhere, making it a very convenient and portable exercise to perform.
6. Builds Lean Muscle
Diamond push ups are a valuable asset to any resistance training program because it is effective at building upper body strength and muscle mass. Because it is a full body exercise it will also develop the stabilizer muscles throughout the body.
Diamond Pushup Variations
Apply these modifications to your diamond pushups in order to add some variety to your workouts.
1. Incline Diamond Pushups
This is an easier variation that beginners can use to train their triceps. Simply perform the exercise as usual with your hands in an elevated position. This also makes a great mechanical drop set after a set of normal diamond push ups. Learn more about incline pushups here.
2. Decline Diamond Pushups
This is a harder variation for more advanced trainees. It forces you to lift more of your bodyweight and allows you to stimulate more of the long head of the triceps. Simply perform diamond push ups as usual with your feet in an elevated position. Learn more about decline pushups here.
3. Sphinx Pushups
This is also another harder variation that places even more emphasis on the triceps muscles. Move your hands forwards so that when your elbows bend your forearms lie flat on the ground and your elbows are directly underneath your shoulders.
How to Include Diamond Pushups in your Workouts?
Diamond pushups fit perfectly in any upper body workout or any upper body push workout. Perform them first in your workout if your priority is triceps development.
However, because it is a compound exercise it would be smart not to perform it after you have already fatigued your chest muscles. So it is best to perform them early in your workouts.
References:
Ebben, W., Wurm, B., VanderZanden, T., Spadavecchia, M., Durocher, J., Bickham, C. and Petushek, E., 2011. Kinetic Analysis of Several Variations of Push-Ups. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(10), pp.2891-2894.
Cogley, Robert M ; Archambault, Teasha A ; Fibeger, Jon F ; Koverman, Mandy M ; et al . Comparison of Muscle Activation using Various Hand Positions during the Pushup Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ; Champaign Volume 19, No. 3, (Aug 2005): 628-33. DOI: 10.1519 / 00124278-200508000-00024
