Exercise Tutorial: Diamond Push Up
Revised by Stephanie Zaban (Registered Kinesiologist & Masters of Kinesiology)Table of Contents
What Is a Diamond Push Up
A diamond push-up is a progressive variation of a regular push up. What makes a diamond push up different from the traditional push-up is the arm and hand position. The index fingers touch the opposite index figures, as the thumbs make contact with the opposing thumb. As a result, they are creating a diamond shape figure.
How to Do Diamond Push Up
The Diamond Push up can be performed on the ground or any flat surface with no equipment. To perform the Diamond Push up, follow these steps:
Begin in a regular push-up position, on all fours with your legs extended straight out behind you. Your hands should come together to form a diamond shape on the ground. This means that the tips of the index fingers and thumbs will be touching.
The diamond should be directly below the chest, and your back should be straight.
Inhale, and slowly descend into a push-up, keeping the elbows tight to the body.
Just before your chest touches the floor, exhale and push yourself back up to the starting position.
Diamond Push Up Form
As with any exercise, having the correct form when doing the Diamond Push up will allow you to reach your fitness goals faster. When you begin to get into the push-up position, make sure that the elbows are fully extended, and your shoulders are set down and back away from the ears.
This will help to avoid the shoulders rolling forward into a vulnerable position when performing the Diamond Push up. As well, keep your elbows close to your body rather than out to the side, as this can place too much emphasis on the front of the shoulder.
Diamond Push Up Common Mistakes
Common mistakes in the Diamond Push up are often the result of bad form. Be sure to follow all of the cues and steps listed above so you can perform the exercise correctly and prevent bad habits.
For example, overextension of the lower back is often seen in the Diamond Push up. To avoid this, keep the core engaged and squeeze the glutes as you perform the movement. To help maintain a neutral spine, keep the chin tucked and your eyes towards the ground below you.
Diamond Push Up Muscles
The Diamond Push up primarily targets the chest, shoulder, and triceps muscles. It is a great upper body exercise that requires strength and stability from other muscle groups including the core and back muscles.
Diamond Push Up Benefits
Diamond and close grip push ups are great dynamic exercises with benefits that include:
Increased upper body strength
Increased arm size and strength
Increased shoulder size and strength
Increased core strength and stability
Increased athletic performance
No equipment needed
Why Is the Diamond Push Up Useful
The Diamond Push up is a great dynamic (multi-joint) exercise to increase upper body strength, size, and functionality. It is a variation of the regular push up that can be used to emphasize the use of the triceps.
The Diamond Push up requires no equipment and can be performed anywhere with just your bodyweight. This is a difficult exercise, so you can make it easier by mastering the regular push up and close grip push-ups first, or drop down to your knees.
You can progress this exercise further by adding additional load on your back with weights, a household item, or combining it with other bodyweight movements (i.e. knee tuck) to increase the movement complexity.
Close Grip Push Up Vs Diamond
The Diamond Push up is essentially a close grip push up with your hands all the way together. These two names can be used interchangeably, however, Diamond Push ups refers specifically to making a diamond shape on the ground with your hands.
Diamond Push ups work the triceps more because they allow the elbow to go through a greater range of motion. Both exercises are excellent for activating the chest, triceps, and anterior deltoid shoulder muscles.