There are a few exercises that are a little bit higher on the difficulty scale. Burpees probably come to mind, as do push-ups. While this movement looks fairly straightforward, the execution is entirely different with strength in your upper body, especially your arms, necessary. This is why many people choose to complete their push-ups on their knees versus their toes.
Recently, a TikTok hack has been doing that the rounds that makes completing traditional push-ups a little easier. The hack involves looping your arms through a resistance band, which helps to support your body as you move up and down.
Australian fitness queen Kayla Itsines recently tried the trick for herself and was pleasantly surprised to find that it works. Itsines took to Instagram to share her attempt at the banded push-up, writing “I saw this on TikTok and HAD to try it, because it just seemed way too good to be true”.
According to Itsines, this is great for those wanting to “transition from modified push-ups on your knees, to doing push-ups on your toes,” she wrote on Instagram “It works in a similar way to how resistance bands work when you are trying to practice pull-ups!! You can even use different resistance strengths like you would in a resistance band pull-up.”
Itsines explained how to use the band properly to make sure you’re keeping the correct form during the movement. “All you have to do is put your arms inside the loop of the resistance band, and bring just above elbow height (so it doesn’t affect your range of movement),” she wrote. “Then once you start doing your push-ups, it acts like a support and assists you in performing the movement!”
There you have it — a simple way to do push-ups, with a little assistance from the resistance band. Sometimes, the hacks on TikTok should most definitely be avoided, but other times, you strike gold and find a method that can make things a little easier. Watch Istines use the hack in the video below.
