Chest exercise
Hindu Push-Up (Dand)How to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Chest, Front delts
- Also works
- Triceps, Lower back
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Hindu Push-Up?
- Start in downward dog: hips high, arms straight, feet wide.
- Bend your elbows and swoop your chest low and forward.
- Straighten your arms into upward dog, chest up, hips low.
- Keep arms straight and push your hips back to downward dog.
Cues
- Swoop low, then rise
- Elbows brush your ribs
- Hips hover, never rest
Common mistakes
- Dropping straight down: sweep your chest forward between your hands.
- Hips resting on the floor: keep them just above it.
- Elbows flaring wide: keep them close to your sides.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
The traditional dand of Indian wrestling (pehlwani). Hands flat on the floor about
The movement
Three phases, one continuous wave. 1. Dive: the elbows bend (to about 90–100° flexion) and the chin and chest travel down and forward in a low arc, skimming about 5–10 cm above the floor between the hands. Elbows stay close to the ribs (about 20–30° from the torso) and point back. The hips start to lower as the chest moves forward. 2. Sweep up: the chest passes forward through the hands and rises as the arms straighten; the hips swoop under and down; the spine arches into upward dog. 3. Return: arms stay straight; the hips push straight up and back to downward dog.
End position
(turnaround point): Upward dog: arms straight (elbows about 175°) and close to vertical, shoulders roughly above the wrists (±10°). Hips low, about 10–20 cm above the floor (never resting on it), thighs and knees off the floor, on the toes. Head up, gaze forward, shoulders pressed down away from the ears.
Tempo
Dive and sweep 1.5 s, hold upward dog about 0.5 s, push back 1.5 s, settle in downward dog about 0.5 s. The movement is rhythmic, with no jerks.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand width | 1.1× shoulder width | 1.0–1.2× | |
| Foot width | 1.3× shoulder width | 1.2–1.5× | |
| Down-dog hip included angle | 80° | 70–100° | |
| Knee flexion in down-dog | 5° | 0–15° | |
| Elbow flexion at bottom of dive | 95° | 90–110° | |
| Chest-to-floor gap during dive | 7 cm | 5–10 cm | |
| Elbows from torso during dive | 25° | 20–30° | |
| Up-dog elbow | 175° | 170–180° | |
| Up-dog hip height above floor | 15 cm | 10–20 cm | |
| Dive+sweep / hold / return / settle | 1.5 / 0.5 / 1.5 / 0.5 s | ±30% |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Hindu Push-Up is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
