Percentage of body weight lifted in a pushup

[u4ia]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew the percent of your body weight you lift when you do a pushup. I know this is a very general question and it might be different according to each individual's body, but I'm just trying to get a general statistic.

Any help is appreciated, thanks

 

[Urban]

why don't you put your hands on a scale when you're in pushups position and find out?

 

[u4ia]

I don't have a working scale at my house, but I'll try it out on the scale where I train. Thanks.

 

[hughes]

(This isn't much use) but if I was to guess I'd say it's as little as 40%.

 

[Ian Coe]

When I was 12st I tried with only 1 foot on the ground

It came up as me weighing 8 st, so 2/3's are what you lift

 

[chia]

Does your scale really give you your weight in stone?

 

[Ian Coe]

stone and pounds yes


Read my location mate

 

[farmboy]

Plus, it would probably depend on the type of push-up you were doing. Inclined, declined...

 

[Goat Meal]

I always heard it was about 70%.

 

[muerteverde]

I asked myself this question before so I put my hands on a scale and it came out to about 60% of my BW with my legs fully extneded and in the upright position. I had always assumed that the weight distribution would change as you went up or down int he motion though, but thinking about it now I am not sure. Anyone know? Is there more weight distributed to your hands at the top fo the motion than at the bottom?

 

[Grady]

Depends on the pushup and you bodytype.

And the higher your legs off the ground, the more bodyweight.

Some people have much more upper body weight, so they naturally will press a higher percentage.

You can hit 100% if you do real handstand pushups. But that exercise is more like a overhead pressup.

 

[Rjkd12]

Muert, I think that there is a less percentage of your bodyweight when you have your arms extended. Think about what grady said, the higher your legs are compared to your hands the more weight on your hands. The extremes are standing on your feet (none on hands) and a handstand (all on hands). Therefore, in a pushup position your feet are below your hands, and in the down position your feet are level with your hands. Therefore in the down position there is more weight.

U4ia, when you are at your gym, do both positions and let us know if we are right.

 

[wearredbleedblu]

Just did it on my scale and its roughly 70% of my weight when fully extended in the normal starting position for a pushup.

 

[n00b]

i measured,close hands-60%,legs raised on head level-70%
if you spread your legs you lift less weight

 

[Revok]

Depends on the pushup and you bodytype.
You can hit 100% if you do real handstand pushups. But that exercise is more like a overhead pressup.

You can also do handstand pushups with your back arched, making them more like an incline bench.

 

[chia]

stone and pounds yes


Read my location mate

Haha, I thought you used kg's. My bad. :redface:

 

[graedy]

No. Thats us, the continent-europeans.

 

[wenispinkle]

You can hit 100% if you do real handstand pushups. But that exercise is more like a overhead pressup.

you can do planche pushups for 100% while keeping it a horizontal push

 

[Grady]

you can do planche pushups for 100% while keeping it a horizontal push

You're right. I thought about that a while after I posted.

I wish I could do those. I recall an article over on the Dragondoor site showing some kid going through the gymnatic progressions to those.

 

[Kaban]

Actually it is 70-75%. ON regular pushups.