Even before the pandemic shut us all in our homes, I hated going to the gym. Working out is not fun, and wasting time driving to the gym just to bump elbows with other people while forcing myself to work out was a surefire way to demotivate my fitness goals. So I work out at home instead. A decent selection of at-home gear makes this possible, like adjustable dumbbells and a door frame pull-up bar. But if there's one piece of workout gear I can't live without, it's the Perfect Pushup Elite, a set of push-up stands that rotate on the ground.
I know, I know: the best part about push-ups is the fact that you can do them anywhere, with nothing but a flat surface and your bulging pectorals. But that just never worked for me—after a few weeks of standard push-ups, I develop wrist pain that sticks around all day. I thought it was actually RSI from sitting at a computer so long, until I stopped doing my workouts and the pain went away. That was a rough discovery, since push-ups are some of the most effective, body-changing workouts I do.
The Perfect Pushup Elite handles sit on your floor, with a rubber grip on the bottom that keeps it from sliding around. Gripping the handles, then, allows you to keep your wrists straight during push-ups, avoiding the wrist stress that causes pain over time (judging by the reviews, I'm not the only one who's noticed a reduction in wrist problems). They also rotate, which helps encourage good form, with your elbows tucked in instead of flared out. Other cheaper push-up bars allow you to do this as well, and you can even do it with the aforementioned set of dumbbells in a pinch. But I find the rotating models are a bit more comfortable, since I can sort of fine-tune my hand and elbow position while I'm in motion, rather than having to stop and move the bars themselves.
ADVERTISEMENT
They also allow for different push-up variations where you rotate your arms mid-push, if that's your thing, and you can see some ideas at Perfect's website and on YouTube. Perfect claims they have a 400 pound capacity if you want to do weighted pushups with a vest, though I'm not even close to strong enough to test that theory myself.
Scouted selects products independently and prices reflect what was available at the time of publish. Sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations. Don’t forget to check out our coupon site to find activewear deals from Nike, adidas, and more. If you buy something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
