ASOTVI Review of the Push Up Pro

What is it? It’s a set of two rotating handles used in performing a pushup. It retails for $19.95, and is functionally the exact same product as the Perfect Pushup (www.perfectpushup.com) which retails for $39.95 (but also comes with workout DVDs).

Major Claims:

• Works more muscles
• Reduces Strain on joints
• Money Back Guaranteed to “see & feel an amazing difference in your body within 10 days”

The product appeared to be constructed well of solid materials, and its handles rotated smoothly via ball bearing action. In terms of performing a pushup, the product didn’t force your hands or arms to turn/rotate akin to a boxer’s punch, as demonstrated on TV, rather that motion had to be done deliberately (or avoided deliberately to remain stable, depending on how you look at it), and doing so was noticeably more difficult and required a greater application of strength than when the hands are placed flat on the ground as usual. Specifically, the user must apply a spiral horizontal resistance effort (in both directions: clockwise and counterclockwise) to control the rotation of the product in addition to the vertical motion of the pushup itself.

With respect to the major claims made by the Vendor:

It definitely required more exertion to rotate the handles of the product when doing a pushup punching-style than when not using the product, so it can be assumed that more exertion equals more exercise, and therefore more muscle tissue is thereby affected.

In terms of reducing strain on joints, it was not apparent when doing a normal pushup that there was any excessive strain on any joints of the arms or shoulders that was alleviated by the product. No 3rd party medical testing data was available to support this claim, and therefore ASOTVI neither verifies nor disproves this claim.

However, it is of note that the rubber “comfort grips” of the product were not very comfortable. That is, when the body’s weight is applied to the hands holding the grips, that weight is concentrated over a much smaller surface area of the grips than when the hands are placed flat on the ground without the product where the entire palm and fingers are supporting the body’s weight. This is purely a “pounds per square inch” of pressure observation. After several pushups, the pressure of the hands on the grips was noticeably uncomfortable.

ASOTVI makes no claim concerning the long-term health benefits of this product. It is assumed that any exercise performed regularly will be beneficial to one’s health.

Summary: This product absolutely makes performing a pushup more challenging and requires greater exertion to accomplish, thus increases the amount of exercise performed with the same physical motion. While initially uncomfortable to do, as are most resistance-based exercises, especially for people who are not currently in good physical shape, it is expected (although not possible to observe by ASOTVI with this product during its time-limited evaluation) that with continued use, muscles in the hands, wrists, arms and elsewhere would respond to meet this challenge, and do so faster than by performing standard pushups without the product.