One of the random benefits of having house guests is getting to play with the toys they accidentally leave behind. My cousin's fiancé is working on his upper body so he can wow us all at their upcoming wedding. One of the tools in his traveling fitness arsenal is the Perfect Pushup [1] ($40). His forgetfulness was my chance to try this "as seen on TV" gizmo, which meant I did many reps of push-ups.

By gripping the handles, the Perfect Pushup definitely protects your wrists. Since you are also slightly elevated off the ground, you work your center in a different way too and this makes the push-up seem more challenging. Since the discs rotate, you can twist your shoulder joints you press back up to the plank, but trying to keep the discs still emphasizes the core engagement of the push-up. I liked using them, but for $40 bucks (plus shipping and handling) I think I will stick all my push-up variations [2] and wrist stretches [3]. What about you?

If you want to see how everyone's favorite trainer Danny Bonaduce [4] uses the Perfect Pushup, well then just .