Type: Push · Difficulty: Intermediate
Muscles worked: chest, triceps, front of the shoulders and core.
The basic bodyweight pushing movement. No equipment, just the floor, and it is the starting point for every variation.
The positions
The steps
- Place your hands on the floor, under your shoulders, fingers pointing forward.
- Straighten your legs, feet together, your body in a straight line from heels to head.
- Lower yourself by bending your elbows, at about 45 degrees from your body, until your chest comes close to the floor, without touching it.
- Push through your hands to come back up to straight arms.
- Keep your body straight through the whole movement, without letting your hips drop.
Common mistakes
- Hips dropping or butt lifting up: your body must stay in a straight line.
- The half descent: a rep only counts if your chest comes down close to the floor and your arms fully straighten at the top.
- Elbows flared out at 90 degrees: keep them at about 45 degrees from your body, it is easier on your shoulders.
- Head diving toward the floor: keep your head in line with your back.
Adjust the difficulty
- Easier: incline push-ups, hands on a table or a chair, or knee push-ups.
- Harder: feet-elevated push-ups, diamond push-ups and archer push-ups.
- For the method to move from one level to the next: the article Push-up progression: from easy to hard and the article Types of push-ups: which variation to progress?
