Push-Up
The most portable strength exercise on earth — a moving plank that builds a pressing base.
Setup
- Hands slightly wider than shoulders, directly under-ish your chest.
- Body in one straight line from head to heels — squeeze glutes and core.
How To Do It
- Lower your whole body as one plank until chest is a fist-height from the floor.
- Elbows at roughly 45° from your torso, not flared to 90°.
- Press the floor away to full lockout.
Breathing
Inhale down, exhale up.
Common Mistakes
- Sagging hips — that's a core failure; squeeze and shorten the set.
- Half reps — full range or regress to incline push-ups (hands elevated).
- Head pecking forward — lead with the chest.
Programming It
Sets of 8-20 depending on where you are. Once 20 is easy, do not chase 40 — elevate the feet or slow the descent instead.
Why This Exercise Works
The push-up is a moving plank. Because the hands are fixed and the body travels, the shoulder blades are free to move the way they were designed to — something a bench press physically prevents, since your back is pinned to a pad. That is why it stays useful long after you can bench twice your bodyweight, and why it is often the last pressing movement a cranky shoulder tolerates.
Where You Should Feel It
Chest and triceps, with the front of the shoulders taking a share near the bottom. What you should also feel — and most people do not until it is pointed out — is the whole trunk working to stop the hips sagging. If your lower back is what aches afterwards, the abs quit before the chest did.
Where It Fits in a Program
The most portable strength exercise on earth — a moving plank that builds a pressing base. Treat it as the session's centrepiece rather than something you bolt on.
Progressing and Regressing It
To progress the push-up: add a three-second lower, elevate the feet, or move to one arm on a rail. To regress it: put the hands on a bench or a wall until the hips stay locked to the ribs.
Who It's For
Everyone, at every level. It scales from a wall to one arm without ever needing equipment, which makes it the one pressing movement worth keeping in a programme permanently. Skip it only if a wrist cannot tolerate the extended position — and even then, handles or fists usually solve it rather than dropping the exercise.
Equipment and Substitutions
No equipment needed. When bodyweight stops being a challenge, change the leverage rather than reaching for a dumbbell.
Related Exercises
- Tempo Push-Up — Chest, Triceps, Core
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press — Chest, Core, Shoulders
- Dumbbell Bench Press — Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Band Chest Press — Chest, Triceps, Shoulders
- Barbell Bench Press — Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Deficit Push-Up — Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Dips — Chest, Triceps, Shoulders
- Machine Chest Press — Chest, Triceps
Common Questions
What muscles does the push-up work?
The push-up primarily trains the chest, shoulders, triceps, core.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Sets of 8-20 depending on where you are. Once 20 is easy, do not chase 40 — elevate the feet or slow the descent instead.
What are the most common push-up mistakes?
Most often: sagging hips; half reps.
Can I do this without any equipment?
Yes — this version needs no equipment at all. It trains the chest, shoulders, triceps, core using bodyweight alone, which is why it travels well and works as a warm-up, a substitute, or a full session on its own.
Is this safe if I have an existing injury?
The push-up puts the shoulder and elbow under load through a range many people have lost, so a cranky shoulder usually objects here before anything else does. Pain that pinches at a specific point is worth assessing; ordinary training discomfort is not. Not medical advice.