How To: Push Up
- Begin in a plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
- Create a straight line from your ankles to your ears.
- Engage your core and glutes to maintain a rigid body position.
- Before lowering yourself, shift your weight slightly forward so your shoulders are supporting the load.
- Lower your body toward the floor as one unit.
- Keep your upper arms approximately 30–45 degrees from your sides.
- Maintain the plank position throughout the entire movement.
- Lower until your chest and nose gently reach the floor.
- Push back up to the starting position with as much force as possible.
- Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.
Equipment:
Common FAQs: Push Up
Push ups primarily target the chest, shoulders, and triceps. They also train the core, glutes, and stabilizing muscles that help maintain proper body position.
Lower all the way down until your chest and nose reach the floor. Full range of motion generally provides better strength and muscle-building benefits than partial repetitions.
This arm position typically creates better shoulder mechanics and allows the chest, shoulders, and triceps to work efficiently.
Yes. Push ups are an excellent upper-body strength exercise and can be made easier or harder through various progressions and modifications.
Hands Elevated Push ups are a great option. Elevating the hands reduces the amount of bodyweight being lifted while still building strength.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Placing the hands too far in front of the shoulders – Keep your hands underneath or slightly behind the shoulder line for better leverage and shoulder positioning.
- Flaring the elbows excessively – Maintain approximately a 30–45 degree angle between your upper arms and torso.
- Cutting the range of motion short – Lower all the way to the floor rather than performing partial repetitions.
- Allowing the hips to sag or rise – Maintain a straight line from your ankles to your ears throughout every repetition.
- Chasing more reps at the expense of quality – Full range of motion repetitions typically provide a better training effect than shorter, easier reps.
Long Description
The Push Up is one of the most widely used bodyweight exercises and remains a cornerstone of strength and conditioning programs worldwide. It develops upper-body strength, muscular endurance, and core stability while requiring no equipment, making it one of the most accessible exercises available.
Although often viewed as a chest exercise, the Push Up is truly a full-body movement. The chest, shoulders, and triceps generate the force needed to move the body, while the core, glutes, and stabilizing muscles work continuously to maintain a strong plank position throughout the exercise.
Proper technique is critical for maximizing results. The body should remain rigid from head to heels, with the shoulders supporting the load and the elbows positioned approximately 30–45 degrees from the torso. During each repetition, the body should move as one unit rather than allowing the hips or lower back to collapse.
One of the most common mistakes is sacrificing range of motion to perform more repetitions. While partial repetitions may allow for a higher rep count, full range of motion repetitions generally create greater muscular demand and provide better long-term strength development.
The Push Up is suitable for nearly every fitness level thanks to its many progressions and regressions. Beginners can start with elevated variations, while advanced athletes can increase difficulty through weighted, band-resisted, or explosive variations.
Whether your goal is strength, muscle development, athletic performance, or general fitness, the Push Up remains one of the most effective exercises you can perform.
