Is it another marketing ploy or are the Perfect Pushup handles really as great as they claim?

I will attempt to give you the 411 on this fairly new piece of exercise equipment that you may have seen at your gym or on some type of media advertisement. Like you, I am always leery of a new piece of equipment that supposedly does everything but clean out your car.

The Perfect Pushup is comprised of two round discs that have rotating handles to allow arms to rotate the same way they do when pressing up a dumbbell (the manufacturer is BodyRev).

The product was developed by a U.S. Navy SEAL to engage muscles in the arms, chest, shoulders and back. The manufacturer claims that the Perfect Pushup not only maximizes strength in certain muscles groups, but that they also reduce strain on the wrist joints. Let’s look at some of the latest research on the Perfect Pushup device.

ACE (the American Council on Exercise) enlisted researchers, led by Nathan Boehike and Dr. John Porcari at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, to examine the validity of these claims.

According to the ACE-sponsored research study on the Perfect Pushup, they do appear to elicit more muscle activation in the chest, shoulder and triceps than performing normal or wide position pushups on the floor (there were no differences for these same muscle groups when the narrow position was used).

Boehike and his team theorize that the great electromyography (EMG) analysis elicited by the Perfect Pushup is related to the fact that subjects were going through a greater range of motion (4-5 inches greater) as compared to floor-based pushups.

The take-home from this study and other examinations by ACE exercise physiologists Fabio Comana and Todd Galati is that they can indeed offer challenges to individuals with good shoulder stability and health. However, it could increase the risk of injury for those who have shoulder problems or lack the strength to maintain shoulder stability. So caution should be used, especially if you have limitations.

Not to brag, but I can do pushups, even though I think they are extremely hard and I feel like I am about to die. I purchased a pair of the Perfect Pushups and put them to my personal test. They did indeed seem to take strain off my wrist joints that I sometimes feel with floor pushups. My range of motion was also much better when using this device. I felt like my core was more intensely engaged as well. Overall the pushups were harder for me when using the Perfect Pushups. Oh goodie …

The bottom line is that these Perfect Pushups are a very portable, budget-friendly, space-friendly and effective piece of exercise equipment. I would give them an 8 on my scale of 1-10 for this review, primarily because you are limited in terms of the range of exercises that can be performed with it, unlike the stability ball which has multiple uses.

Of course, they are not for everyone. If you have never done a pushup before, certainly do not start with this device. Start with wall pushups and move to bent-knee push ups before beginning anything harder. As always, consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.

LINDA STOLLINGS is a personal fitness trainer in Bristol, Tenn. This article appears courtesy of Media General News Service. E-mail her at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit http://www.fitprescriptions.com.