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TikTok’s Left-Right Push-Up Challenge Has User Cores Burning

Fitness can be a motivational challenge. Morning are mornings and evenings are, well, evenings. Just getting out of bed or just easing down from work, many people find it challenging to drive to a gym or suit up to play sports. Need a push? How about a challenge? Specifically, how about a TikTok challenge that already has 900 million views?

What is this ultra-popular pop-up? Why the Left-Right Push-Up Challenge, named after the song that inspired it. How do you do it? Does it work? Read on to find out. 

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Traditional push-ups are beneficial for building upper body strength. They work the triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders. When completed with proper form, push-ups also strengthen the lower back and core muscles by engaging (pulling in) the abs. The problem with typical push-ups, however, is twofold. One, practitioners tend to plateau, thus reducing the efficacy of the exercise. And two, the traditional up-down of a push-up lacks diversity and thus fails to engage critical micro-muscles.

An alternative to normal push-ups, the push-up challenge allows you to work additional muscles in order to achieve a full-body workout. Paired with the song, Grab Da Wall & Rock Da Boat — created by 504 Boyz and Weebie — the challenge also engages participants by asking them to break a sweat to the music’s beat, thus providing a perfect distraction from exercise to focus on actually completing the challenge. 

To begin, simply set yourself up into a push-up position. Then, once the lyrics say “left, right,” release one arm and touch your other shoulder, and repeat that on each side two times. Next, as the rhythm speeds up, do a set of mountain climbers (running from left-to-right foot in a push-up position — a killer workout for your entire core, abs and obliques included. Finally, once the chorus drops, do push-up jacks — push-ups with arms and upper body combined with a jumping-jack motion with the feet. Got you sweating just thinking about it, right?

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The Left-Right Push-Up Challenge offers an excellent full-body workout that works a diversity of muscles that can level-up (or down) and differentiate as people want. Check out the now thousands of TikTokkers flipping the push-up challenge on its head. 

Whether it’s doing them while inverted against a wall, hopping between boxes, or simply with beer cans, there’s something in the Left-Right Push-Up Challenge for everyone. Putting your push-up challenge results out for the social media/TikTok world to see is, of course, up to you. Check out the video below if you’re looking for some inspiration and/or direction. 

Read More: Walmart Is Practically Giving Away These Adjustable Dumbbells

Matthew Denis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Matt Denis is an on-the-go remote multimedia reporter, exploring arts, culture, and the existential in the Pacific Northwest…
How many pushups should I do in a day for optimal results?
The correct number of pushups depends on the person and their fitness goals
man working with remote personal trainer doing virtual exercise class at home working out yoga plank push up.

The classic pushup is a tried-and-true bodyweight exercise that strengthens your upper body and enhances your stability. The saying “get down and give me 20” is well-known for a reason because the pushup is a superior benchmark of physical fitness. We’ve all seen pushups in plenty of military drills and high-intensity workout circuits.

There are different variations of pushups, and if you’re like me, you might wonder how many pushups should I do in a day? How many daily pushups will optimize my fitness? Interestingly,a survey conducted by fitness coaching blog Gymless reveals that 53.8% of adults in the United States can’t perform more than 10 consecutive pushups, with 17.4% reporting being able to perform between six and 10 in a row. 

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