Push-Up

How to Perform the Push-Up

1. Start in a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and fingers spread.
2. Engage your core by bracing your abs and squeezing your glutes. Do not let your hips sag or pike upward.
3. Lower your body toward the floor by bending your elbows, keeping them at roughly 45 degrees from your torso.
4. Descend until your chest is an inch from the floor or gently touches it.
5. Press through your palms to push yourself back up to the starting position, fully extending your elbows at the top.
6. Maintain the rigid plank position throughout — your hips, shoulders, and ankles should move as one unit.
7. Breathe in on the way down and exhale forcefully as you press back up. Repeat for the prescribed reps.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Muscles Worked

Benefits

• ✓Requires zero equipment and can be performed anywhere
• ✓Builds functional pressing strength alongside core stability and shoulder health
• ✓Endless variations allow progression from beginner to advanced levels
• ✓Develops muscular endurance and work capacity in the chest, shoulders, and triceps

Pro Tips

• ●If you cannot perform a full push-up, start with incline push-ups (hands on a bench) and progressively lower the surface.
• ●To increase difficulty, elevate your feet, add a weight vest, or use push-up handles for extra range of motion.
• ●Push-ups can be done daily as a warm-up, finisher, or standalone training method.

Variations

Recommended Sets & Reps

Training Guides

Articles featuring the push-up in workout programs and training advice.