Push-up
Also known as: Press-up
A scalable bodyweight press for the chest, shoulders and triceps.
What it is
A bodyweight exercise where you lower and press your body up from a plank position on your hands. It trains the same pushing muscles as the bench press while also demanding core stability.
Muscles worked
Primary: Chest (pectorals). Secondary: Front deltoids, Triceps, Core.
How to perform it
- Set your hands a little wider than shoulder-width, body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Brace your core and glutes so your hips don't sag or pike.
- Lower under control until your chest is just above the floor, elbows around 45° from the torso.
- Press back up to full arm extension, keeping the body rigid throughout.
Common form faults
- Hips sagging or piking up instead of a straight body line. Brace the core and squeeze the glutes so the body stays rigid like a plank.
- Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides. Tuck the elbows to around 45° to protect the shoulders and press more efficiently.
Programming
Endlessly scalable: elevate the hands to make it easier, elevate the feet or add load to make it harder. Great for volume and can be trained frequently in the 8–20+ rep range.
Plan your training
Variations & substitutions
Frequently asked questions
- Are push-ups enough to build a chest?
- For beginners and for endurance, yes for a while. As you get stronger you'll need to make them harder — feet elevated, weighted, or slower — to keep progressing, or add loaded pressing like the bench press.
- How do I make push-ups harder without equipment?
- Elevate your feet, slow the lowering phase, pause at the bottom, or move toward single-arm progressions. Adding reps only takes you so far; increasing difficulty keeps the stimulus growing.
Written and reviewed by Mathew Beale — MSc Biotechnology, University of Reading.
Last reviewed: