I Did A Reverse Iron Cross Push-Up – The Results Are Remarkable

When it comes to my gym training, I love learning new things. Whether it’s a unique core exercise or killer upper-body movement, I enjoy the challenge it gives me. 

The reverse iron cross push-up is next up on my challenge list. Without even knowing the movement, it already sounds hard with a name like that. While I know what it is, I’ve never really performed it with a decent amount of volume.

For this challenge, my main goal is to perform 100 reverse iron cross push-ups in one day. I can split the sets up as needed to increase my chances. I’ll focus on learning the movement in week one before progressing. 

With this, here is my experience and the benefits I noticed. I’ve broken down each week and detailed my reverse iron cross push-up benefits after a month. Have a go and see what you think! 

Doing A Reverse Iron Cross Push-Up Every Day For 30 Days — What I Did

During each week of the challenge, I documented my thoughts, feelings, and general experience. 

The reverse iron cross push-up isn’t a common push-up variation so much less is known about what it does. Hopefully, this helps you get a general idea of what’s in store before you try it yourself. 

Week 1

I must admit that before the start of week one. I was nervous about trying to complete the challenge. I was excited about trying a new variation but knew it would be tough.

I tried a few warm-up sets to get the form down. It definitely challenged me already, even at the lower repetitions. 

I’ve decided that I’ll try to do them every day with the goal of reaching 100 repetitions. For this challenge, I’ll split week one into five sets of ten repetitions that I’ll perform when I can throughout the day. I think this is a good starting point for a new and challenging push-up variation.

At the end of the week, I’ve already grown to love this variation. It’s hitting muscle groups that I didn’t even realize could be isolated like this. My trapezius and rear deltoid muscles are on fire!

Even with ten repetitions, it’s not been totally easy. The main thing to learn is to engage your core before and maintain the correct position. The reverse iron cross push-up variation really forces you to focus on this.

Week 2 

So at the start of week two, I’m going to try to do five sets of 15 repetitions. This means I’ll be at 75 repetitions or three-quarters of the way towards my challenge goal. 

Now that I’m used to the form and harder technique elements, I think I’ll be able to do it. However, it will take a certain amount of discipline 

So far, I’m really enjoying how challenging the variation is. I didn’t expect that push-ups would give me such a challenge. Because of this, the intensity should improve the strength of my primary movers. 

During this week, I struggled a little bit at maintaining core engagement as the repetitions went up. However, it was generally good. I had a couple of brief pauses but managed to hit the volume

For week three, I think I’ll continue with the same volume with a main focus on my form. When I’ve perfected this, I’ll increase the volume in week four.

Week 3 

Now that I’m halfway through the challenge, it’s time to really perfect the form. One thing that I’ve noticed is that it’s teaching me to work on my mind-muscle connection. 

I really have to focus on activating my traps and posterior deltoids to keep the correct form. I think this makes it great to teach strict form and learn proper muscle activation of these key postural muscles.

While focusing on that throughout the week, I’ve definitely noticed that my posture has felt better. This makes sense as the primary movers are both key contributors. I guess the increased strength has improved their function and therefore my postural awareness. 

Week 4

Now that it’s the last week of the challenge, it’s time to increase my training volume to hit my target. I’m going to try five sets of 20 repetitions but I can use more if needed to complete the 100. Let’s see how I go!

It’s the middle of the week, and so far, so good. However, I’m definitely feeling the higher volume. The last few repetitions on each set have been hard, to say the least.

One thing I do appreciate is how accessible this variation is. I don’t need anything which means I can drop down at any point and do a set when I need to. I think this is one of the key things to look at when trying a challenge like this.

Here we are at the end of the challenge. Guess what, I did it! However, I did end up doing a mix of repetitions for more sets.

To be honest this really doesn’t matter if my volume is equal to my target. Remember, volume is an important determinant of muscle growth.

So, I’ve upped my volume, learned another variation, and enjoyed the challenge. This is definitely a win all around for me and this push-up variation!

Results And Key Changes 

I’ve already documented the benefits of doing push-ups every day for a week in a previous challenge. These are some of the unique ones I experienced from doing the reverse iron cross variation. 

My Upper Body Strength Increased 

My upper body is naturally quite strong. While it’s not a huge imbalance, it’s definitely stronger than my lower body. 

When training, I try to focus on the front and back of my upper body equally. However, I’ve always had a stronger front half. I guess I’m quite a chest and shoulder–dominant. 

The primary muscles involved in the reverse iron cross push-up are the posterior deltoids or rear deltoids. These make up the back parts of the shoulder muscles.

After four weeks of performing the reverse iron cross variation, my upper body felt more balanced and therefore stronger. I felt more stable for my pulling exercises when retracting my shoulders and extending my arms back. This improved exercises that I regularly perform such as pull-ups.

Because of this, I think they’re great for someone like me who performs home exercises using bodyweight movements. It’s often hard to find a good posterior deltoid exercise. So, I really think I’ve found one with this variation.

I Liked How Challenging The Variation Was

As you’ll probably know from my other challenges, the harder the challenge the better for me. I’ve been working out for a while so I would say that I’m fairly experienced. Because of this, I’m comfortable performing the traditional push-up and many of its variations. 

Questions like how many push-ups should I be able to do always come to mind when performing new variations. I guess this depends on the variation and its difficulty level.

Using harder variations to increase the intensity or increasing training volume are the main ways I progressively overload my training. Because of this, I enjoyed how hard the iron cross variation was. 

I found it much more difficult than the normal push-up movement and a lot of its variations. I know I’m less used to the movement but it was still challenging for me.

I think that the reverse iron cross push-up is a great variation to provide the intensity for increasing muscular strength. Also, it’s a good way to provide the hard training needed to challenge me.

My Posture Really Improved

The posterior deltoids are one of the key muscle groups that help ensure efficient posture during exercise and daily tasks. They work alongside the trapezius which is another key postural muscle. When sitting down to eat or work, these help to draw our shoulder blades back and keep our chest up.

My job as a writer means that I’m sat down quite a lot. I try to use standing desks when possible but they’re not always available when traveling. Because of this, keeping a good posture is a key consideration for me.

The reverse iron cross push-up isolates the posterior deltoids. It also works the trapezius muscles as secondary movers. With this, it’s a great way to improve their strength and function. 

I noticed that performing them helped to improve my posture and reduce the stress on my lower back. I became more aware of my shoulder and chest position and more efficient at naturally changing it if needed.

Therefore, isolating these key posture muscles is a great way to improve my posture and general mobility. This should help manage my lower back pain as well which is great news.

It Taught Me To Focus On My Mind-Muscle Connection

As a personal trainer, I’m well aware of the key determinants of resistance training. I know that focusing on volume, intensity, and rest should be the key consideration for progress. These refer to the amount of work performed, exercise difficulty, and amount of recovery.

Your mind-muscle connection is a lesser-known determinant that’s also very important for muscle growth. This refers to how you think about the muscle you’re working.

The reverse iron cross push-up position requires you to focus on engaging your posterior deltoids and trapezius muscles. If you don’t, you won’t be able to perform the correct movement. Because of this, I really focused on using my mind-muscle connection throughout.

This is a great added benefit that I can transfer to the rest of my training!

I Enjoyed How Accessible It Felt

As we navigate life, many barriers to training tend to present themselves. Things like time, cost, equipment, and fear are just some of the common ones. 

Overcoming these is just part of the battle to ensure regular gym participation and therefore progress. Surrounding this is finding stimulating exercise that you enjoy doing. 

For me, the iron cross push-up ticks all the boxes. It uses no equipment, costs no money, and takes up little time. Alongside this, it’s challenging which makes it fun and stimulating to perform. 

This excellent accessibility makes me want to keep performing it even though the challenge is over. For these reasons, I think it’s a great variation for more people regardless of their goals and motivations.

How To Do A Reverse Iron Cross Push-Up

These are the technique cues I used to perform the reverse iron cross push-up throughout the month. Make sure to follow them for targeted muscle engagement and reduced injury risk.

How To Do

1. Set up next to a padded area or gym mat. You can also use the floor if needed. 
2. Lay flat on your back with your knees pointing upwards. They should be at 90-degree angles with your feet flat on the floor. 
3. Extend both arms directly out to your sides. They should form a T-shape.
4. Your shoulders, elbows, and hands should be in line. Your palms should be pointing towards the floor with your fists in a closed position. 
5. Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and lift your upper back from the floor while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Your arms should stay straight as your elbows lift from the floor. 
6. Pause briefly at the top position. 
7. Come down under control until your head touches the floor.
8. Repeat for the stated sets and repetitions. 

Tips

• Maintain Your Knee Angle — Keep your knees at 90-degree angles with your feet flat. Avoid moving your knees or feet when coming to the top position. 
• Keep A Straight Arm Position — Your elbows should be straight to form the cross position. Don’t let them bend as you bring your back off the floor. 
• Warm Up Correctly — Your warm-up should consist of aerobic exercise and dynamic stretches specific to the main exercise. In this case, the exercises should warm up your trapezius and posterior deltoid muscles. Examples include arm swings and overhead reaches.
• Maintain A Neutral Head Position — Allow your head and neck to move with your upper body. Avoid letting your head tuck or bend excessively. 
• Perform Controlled Movements — Both phases should be done under control. Don’t bounce at the bottom position before coming back up. 
• Engage Your Core — Maintain core engagement throughout to keep the target muscle focused. Avoid lifting your hips or lower back off the floor at any point. 

Final Thoughts

Besides its awesome name, the reverse iron cross push-up is a great exercise. It’s challenging, isolates key back muscles that are often neglected, and requires no equipment. 

While I just about got to the 100 push-up mark, I really enjoyed the unique benefits it offered. Because of this, I think it’s a great variation to add to your program. Add it to your training plan and see the benefits for yourself!

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