Knuckle push-ups?

**Hannibal** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 9:24pm

Originally Posted by Equipoise

No.. There's no need to grind the joints like that. Listen I use to do shockups on concrete, and using a rolling pin on my shins etc, when I was believing the WC was the greatest thing on the planet. Then I started actually learning about physical training and actual fighting and learned what I was doing was just stupid.

Strengthen your hands and your forearms, that'll make you hit harder.

Doing knuckle pushups won't really have any long term negative effects like breaking boards or concrete blocks and things like that. There is no impact factor.

**Poop Loops** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 9:26pm

Originally Posted by Hannibal

Doing knuckle pushups won't really have any long term negative effects like breaking boards or concrete blocks and things like that. There is no impact factor.

Except that you're grinding your wrists. You're trying to put like 60% of how much you weigh on two small frail joints. To make it worse, you push on them even more to get up. And less to get down. Hence close enough to impact.

**Hannibal** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 9:29pm

Originally Posted by Poop Loops

Except that you're grinding your wrists. You're trying to put like 60% of how much you weigh on two small frail joints. To make it worse, you push on them even more to get up. And less to get down. Hence close enough to impact.

Your grinding/pounding your wrists everytime you stike a heavy bag, your grinding your wrists everytime you grip someone's gi and attempt a throw.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 9:34pm

Originally Posted by Hannibal

Doing knuckle pushups won't really have any long term negative effects like breaking boards or concrete blocks and things like that. There is no impact factor.

Hmmm, no.

Yes, there can be negative impact if you overdo them or if you are prone to carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis and tendonitis. I've found knuckle push ups on the first two knuckles (the index and middle ones) to be a lot safer than on the remaining three. I used to to both type ad nauseum long ago. Then until recently (perhaps june of last year) I started doing them again.

After a while, I noticed a tremendous amount of pain in my hands, basically from doing them on the last three knuckles. I stopped doing that ****, and I only do them on the first two, on my fingers and on my index and thumb once or twice a week and no more than that (I guess just for vanity and variety in my workouts.)

There are much better ways to strenghten the wrists and grip. See this article at grapplearts.com, which I've been following religiously for almost a year now. That has worked for me a million times better than any mumbo jumbo I used to believe before. Hell, my wrists are a lot healtier now than before!!!

Knuckle and finger push ups IMO just add variety to an existing wrist/grip streghtening plan. They should not be the backbone of it, at least if you want to avoid arthritis when you hit your 40's and 50's.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 9:44pm

Originally Posted by Hannibal

Your grinding/pounding your wrists everytime you stike a heavy bag, your grinding your wrists everytime you grip someone's gi and attempt a throw.

Exactly, you are pounding your wrists, which you do not do as much with knuckle push ups. As PL said, with such push ups, you are grinding your knuckles, not your wrist. The knuckles get tired waaaaaaay before your wrists do.

Also, when you hit a bag (if done correctly), pressure is applied on the wrist bones in a direction parallel to the tibia and ulna. When grappling or throwing, pressure is applied on the wrist laterally (in the range of motion allowed by the wrist).

The former is based on proper alignment. The later is based on the ability of the wrist to function under tension within its natural range of flexion as well as the of the lower three fingers (or thumb if doing no-gi) to remain contracted (again within the natural range of motion of the wrist.)

Those are two different conditions, two different animals that require different (albeit complementary) strenght training programs.

Again, see that article I mentioned.

**Poop Loops** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 9:55pm

Actually, I meant your wrists.

A punch is quick and you damn well better be wearing some gloves. You probably aren't putting as much weight behind each punch, anyway. Same with a throw (even less...)

With push ups, if you're doing any decent amount, you'll be in that position for a while continuously pressing down on them with each push.

**VikingPower** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 11:25pm

In moderation, should be no problem. I do them a lot.

**Judah Maccabee** · Posted On: 9/02/2006 11:40pm

Depends how you do them... there's doing them on the flats of your knuckles (as in, between your first and second knuckles) or on the knuckles themselves (right on the points of the first knuckles).

Assuming you mean the latter, you're going to be working your wrists/forearms hardcore, and they'll fatigue far sooner than your typical pushup muscles; similar to how if you do bicep curls before your bench.