Tiger bend pushups are a unique brand of pushup that place greater emphasis on the triceps than a classic pushup does. They are sometimes also called ‘hinge pushups’ because you have to hinge back and forth when performing them.
In this tutorial, I will break down the mechanics of the tiger bend pushup so that you can follow along and do them too.
The Body Mechanics of a Tiger Bend Pushup
Begin in a high plank (i.e. – top part of the pushup position) but make sure your arms are positioned shoulder-width apart.
Start lowering down but keep your elbows tightly packed against your body. You should aim to have them closer than the ‘arrow shape’ of the standard pushup. Right by your sides is good.
When you get to the bottom of your pushup, instead of pressing back up, allow your elbows to drop down and back, while simultaneously shifting your heels backwards as well.
It should feel somewhat natural to do this because when you initiate the elbow movement, your body will start moving backwards on its own. Do it all the way until your entire forearm has contact with the ground. It should look like a tiger’s front paws when it’s resting – hence the name.
When you are ready, shift your heels forward while pressing your elbows back up using your triceps to do so. Try to keep your elbows from flaring outwards. You want to stay as tightly packed as you can. This is what keeps the triceps loaded and where the unique benefit of the exercise comes in. If you start flaring your elbows, you minimize the work the triceps are doing.
Once your elbows shift to the point where they are stacked on top of your wrist, it’s time to press back up. If your wrists are tight or you have poor wrist mobility you might not be able to stack them 100%, but you want to get as close as possible prior to initiating your upward movement.
Don’t forget to keep the elbows packed!
Closing Thoughts
If you can already do classic pushups and your dip game is decent, then this is a relatively easy pushup variation. If you follow these progressions and you can do a few clean tiger bend pushups, post it on Instagram and tag @kalisthenics_nomad and #CalisthenicsNomad for a possible repost.