Push-up
Muscles worked : Chest, triceps · Shoulders, core
How to do it
- Support yourself on your hands and toes, hands slightly wider than the shoulders and under the shoulder line.
- Squeeze the glutes and brace the abdominals to align the body from heels to head.
- Lower with the elbows around 45° from the torso, until the chest brushes the floor.
- Push back up to full arm extension without letting the back sag.
Common mistakes
- Hips sagging: the core gives out before the arms, and the lower back takes it.
- Elbows flaring to 90° out to the sides, which puts the shoulder in a poor position.
- Cutting the range short for lack of strength, when an easier variation through the full range progresses better.
Where you should feel it
The work is felt in the chest, the back of the arms and the core, which holds the body line from start to finish. Tension in the lower back means the hips have dropped.
Range of motion
Lower until the chest brushes the floor, then push back to straight arms without snapping the elbows locked. The full range is what separates a push-up from a partial movement.
Tempo and breathing
Two seconds down, one up. Inhale on the way down, exhale pushing.
What works, precisely
The pectoralis major and the triceps brachii are the movers, with the front deltoid assisting. The serratus anterior keeps the shoulder blade flat against the rib cage; abdominals and glutes stop the hips sagging, which makes the push-up as much a bracing exercise as a pressing one.
Movement mechanics
Elbow flexion and extension combined with horizontal shoulder adduction, in a closed chain, the body moving around a fixed support. It is the top rung of the ladder that wall, incline and knee push-ups prepare: the lever lengthens at each step, so relative load rises without the movement changing.
Benefits
- The reference pressing movement, with no equipment and no support: it is the target every assisted variation leads to.
- Strengthens pressing and bracing at once, which no press machine does.
- Adjusts finely by changing the height of the support, with no load to add.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Go back to knee or incline push-ups: the body line stays the same, only the lever shortens.
- Harder : Elevate the feet, slow the descent to four seconds, or pause at the bottom.
- Move on when : When three sets of twelve go by with the body aligned throughout, elevate the feet.
Precautions
A sore wrist is often relieved by pressing on closed fists or on handles, which keeps the wrist in line with the forearm.