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Push Up

The most useful bodyweight exercise there is, and the one people most often do badly.

• Chest
• Bodyweight
• Reps

What it works

Chest, triceps and front shoulders, in the same pattern as a bench press. The trunk works hard throughout to keep your body in one line, which is what turns it from an arm exercise into a whole body one.

Setup

1. Hands on the floor slightly wider than your shoulders, roughly level with your chest rather than your face.
2. Legs straight behind you, feet about hip width.
3. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abdominals so that your head, hips and heels form one straight line.
4. Push the floor away slightly so your shoulder blades are not pinched together. Your upper back should be slightly rounded, not collapsed.

The movement

1. Take a breath and brace.
2. Lower yourself under control, letting your elbows travel back at roughly 45 degrees from your body rather than straight out to the sides.
3. Descend until your chest is an inch or so off the floor.
4. Press back up in one piece, keeping the straight line from head to heels.
5. Lock out fully at the top without letting your hips sag or pike up.

Common mistakes

• Hips sagging: the most common fault. Squeeze your glutes hard. If you cannot hold the line, do the exercise on an elevated surface until you can.
• Head reaching for the floor: your chin dropping first does not count as depth. The chest goes down, the head goes with it.
• Elbows flared to 90 degrees: hard on the shoulders and weaker. Keep them at around 45 degrees.
• Partial reps: chest close to the floor at the bottom, arms locked at the top. Everything in between is not a rep.
• Hands too far forward: they should be under your chest, not under your face.

Variations and alternatives

To make it easier, put your hands on a bench or bar so your body is at an angle. The higher the hands, the easier the rep. To make it harder, elevate your feet, slow the descent, or add weight with a plate or a band across your back. The bench press is the loaded version of the same pattern.

If a movement causes pain rather than ordinary training effort, stop and speak to a qualified professional. Programming context for this lift is in how training programs are built.