‘Dive bomber’ push-ups sculpt—and stretch—your whole body from head to toe

What if I told you that you could combine push-ups and yoga sun salutations to create a hybrid move that strengthens and stretches your body in one go? Introducing, dive bomber push-ups: the lovechild of the two movement patterns that acts as a compound movement all on its own.

If you’ve never spotted the move at the gym, it involves starting in downward dog and snaking your body down, forward, then arching your body into and upward facing dog. Then, you reverse the whole thing (making it even more challenging).

“I think [dive bomber push-ups] are way harder than a traditional push-ups,” says Maillard Howell, owner of Dean CrossFit and founder of The Beta Way. “It involves more pushing with the shoulder versus pushing with the chest like in a traditional push-up. You’re also going to get a lot more hamstring and lower back stretch activation when you do dive bomber push-ups. So it’s a whole, full-body movement versus the regular push-up really just involves core, arms, chest, and back.”

How to do dive bomber push-ups properly

Step 1: Start in downward dog with your knees slight bent.

Step 2: Bend your elbows so they hug the sides of your ribs and lower your chest so it’s hovering just above the ground.

Step 3: Push through your hands into upward facing dog pose: chest open, thighs off the ground, core engaged to protect your lower back.

Now reverse it!

Step 4: Bend your elbows and press your hips backward.

Step 5: Return to downward-facing dog.

The right way to do a regular old push-up: 

Want more fun moves to add to your gym repertoire? How about bear planks and dragon walks.