They’re known by many names, including Dands, Divebombers, and Tiger Pushups, but no matter how you say it, Hindu pushups are some of the best bodyweight exercises for your shoulders. The history of this exercise says that Indian wrestlers, such as the Great Gama, did hundreds of Hindu push-ups every day, along with over 1,000 Hindu squats. If that sounds like a lot, well, it is. But you can get incredible results with just 50 per day.

A bodyweight shoulder workout and more

The best bodyweight workouts target complex muscle groups, giving you a workout for more than one isolated region. Hindu pushup is no different. In addition to working your shoulders, this exercise also works your chest, legs, back, and arms.

Hindu pushups are great for building explosive strength, steel cable arms, and long-lasting endurance, but they’re also beneficial for posture and flexibility. Zuzana Light, who most people know as YouTube’s Bodyrock Girl, does an exercise similar to Hindu push-ups that she calls Divebombers. The only difference between the two is that with Hindu pushups, you reverse the movement on the way back.

It’s easier to understand once you know how to do Hindu push ups. We’ll see.

How to perform a hindu pushup

1- Begin by getting into the usual push-up position, with arms and legs straight. Lengthen your stance so that your feet are about twice shoulder-width apart and, keeping your legs straight, hand-walk behind you and lift your butt into the air. You should look like an inverted “V.”

2- Now bend your elbows and lower and forward your body at the same time. You should feel it working on your shoulders and biceps.

3- At the bottom of the “dip,” begin to straighten your arms again, keeping your hips close to (but not above) the floor.

4- Arch your spine and continue to push up until your elbows lock again and your spine curves away from the floor. Your head should be tilted up looking at the ceiling.

5- Now reverse the movement, swooping down to the starting position.

Tips for Doing Hindu Push Ups

Try to keep your movement smooth and graceful through each rep. You should take a deep breath, fully inhaling and exhaling with each repetition you do. It will be difficult at first to do more than 10 Hindu push-ups in a row, simply because your body probably isn’t used to this specific range of motion. However, over time, you will be able to increase your reps to 15-20 at a time.

Aim for 50 repetitions a day, and keep doing this bodyweight shoulder exercise for at least two weeks. You will see results in a short time.