As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, push-ups are my go-to exercise when traveling. They’re easy to do, fun to progress and require little to no equipment. 

After the success of my other challenges, I decided to try a push-up variation with a twist (literally). 

The grasshopper push-up uses the normal push-up movement with an added leg drive up and across the body. This provides an additional core and cardio challenge alongside the normal push-up benefits. Think of how a grasshopper’s legs look before it hops — hence where it gets its name from. 

My challenge was simple enough. Perform 100 grasshopper push-ups each day instead of my normal push-ups. I split my workout into five sets of 20 repetitions and performed them throughout the day.

Anyway, enough talking. Let’s see what grasshopper push-up benefits I experienced! 

5 Surprising Grasshopper Push-Up Benefits

Okay, let’s get into it! These are five of the benefits I experienced that I feel were the most obvious and beneficial to me. 

I Really Liked The Extra Core Workout 

Before I talk about this one, let’s have a quick anatomy lesson. Your core is defined as a group of trunk and hip muscles that surround the spine, abdominals, and hips. The main muscle groups are your rectus abdominis, obliques, and erector spinae. 

Your core is important for maintaining an efficient, balanced position in exercise, activity, and sports performance. For example, it helps keep your chest and shoulders up when you pick something up from the floor. 

Adding the knee drive and bringing it under as I performed the grasshopper push-ups really challenged me. I could feel my core working and engaging more to maintain the correct position.

Because of this, I think it’s a great way to improve my core stability over a longer period. Luckily for me, I’m adding them into my routine! 

I Felt More Confident In My General Mobility 

Mobility is a hugely important factor for daily living and exercise, especially as we age. Poor mobility affects 35% of adults at the age of 70. Because of this, it’s something that I try to focus on.

We can define mobility as the ability of the joints and muscles to move freely. 

I’m an active person. I’m regularly carrying my travel bag around to different countries and doing pretty intense hikes. Because of this, I like to think I have good general mobility. 

However, the arm and leg combination while keeping a stable body position definitely made me more confident in my mobility. I liked that I had to drive my leg all the way up and under. This is a movement that can probably help me with hiking. 

With more time, I’m confident that it would benefit my mobility. This increased functionality would help in my everyday tasks and when playing sports. This is something that’s hugely important to me when I’m on the go and socializing with friends.

My Upper Body Felt Like It Was Getting A Good Workout 

When performing most push-up variations, the upper-body muscles are the primary movers. The grasshopper variation uses the pectoralis major muscles (chest) as the primary movers. The triceps brachii, anterior deltoids, and core perform secondary roles.

Now, I’ve performed push-ups using many variations. It’s my main training movement because I’m always on the go. Even with this, I really did like the brief pause at the bottom position as each knee came to the opposite arm.

Because of this, it felt like my chest and shoulders were getting a really good workout. To me, it’s a great bodyweight movement that progresses the difficulty of the normal version. 

With the right training volume, it can definitely improve my upper body. This is because it works several of my upper-body muscle groups.

Remember, training volume refers to the amount of work you perform. It’s identified as a key determinant of muscle growth. 

I Felt Like My Whole Body Coordination Improved 

Whole-body coordination is important for everything we do. It ensures that the limbs move together as intended and helps to keep a stable body position. Good whole-body coordination can help sport and exercise performance and reduce injury risk.

Doing the grasshopper push-up challenge really made me focus on coordinating my upper and lower body together with my core. I had to think about my opposite knee coming to my opposite arm while coming down to the ground under control. I also had to focus on not over-rotating my torso.

At the end of the week, I really felt like I had my whole body coordination down. Anything I did felt more controlled and natural. I didn’t have to think as much about what to do. 

I Really Did Enjoy Performing Them 

Last but definitely not least is the fact that I actually did enjoy performing them. Most of us know about the many push-up benefits. However, we don’t really think about if we like the exercise we are doing.

Of course, sticking to the fundamental principles of resistance training is important. However, enjoying the exercises you perform when implementing this helps keep you engaged in what you’re doing. 

Now that I’ve finished the week, I can proudly say that the grasshopper push-up is one of my favorite variations. It’s challenging enough without over-complicating things. It adds a fun, dynamic element that I enjoyed doing. 

So for me, this weekly challenge really was enjoyable. I guess that’s why I’ll be putting them into my workout!  

How To Properly Do Grasshopper Push-Up

Each of the benefits I’ve mentioned above is amazing in its own right. However, they won’t happen without the correct exercise technique. Here’s the form and tips I used to make sure I performed each repetition efficiently. 

How To Do

1. Find a suitable padded area or exercise mat to exercise on. You can also use the floor if this isn’t possible. 
2. Assume a tabletop position with your hands and knees on the floor. Come into a high plank by bringing both legs back. Your shoulders should be stacked over your hands while on the balls of your feet. 
3. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart with your hands pointing slightly out. 
4. Make sure there is a straight line from your head to your heels. Keep a neutral back position with your head looking towards the floor.
5. Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and come down to the floor by flexing your elbows. 
6. At the same time, bring your right knee up and across your chest to the other side. Use your core to maintain a stable body position. 
7. Pause briefly at the bottom position. 
8. Inhale and extend your elbows to come back to the starting position. At the same time, bring your right knee back under your body to the starting position. 
9. Switch legs, relating the same steps described above. 

Tips

• The knee that moves should come to the opposite arm using one fluid motion. Avoid using separate ones to maintain exercise focus.
• Stay on the balls of your feet during the exercise movement. This helps to keep a balanced body position as you move. 
• Avoid rotating your torso too much when bringing your leg across. Use your core to maintain stability. 
• Perform a suitable warm-up to reduce possible injury risk. This should consist of aerobic exercise and dynamic stretches. 

Final Thoughts

At the end of the week, it’s safe to say that I’ll be adding grasshopper push-ups into my routine. As an intermediate lifter, I really like the extra core challenge they provided. I felt more dynamic and enjoyed the extra aerobic element.

With so many push-up variations to choose from, I think this is one of my favorites. It’s simple but effective and suitable for intermediate athletes who have mastered the normal version. 

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