Bodyweight Elevated Push Up
What you'll gain
Builds pressing strength at a scalable, beginner-friendly load.
Develops chest, triceps, and front-shoulder size with no equipment.
Teaches clean push-up mechanics before progressing to floor push-ups.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Place your hands on a sturdy bench or box slightly wider than shoulder width.
- 2
Walk your feet back until your body forms a straight line from head to heels at an incline.
- 3
Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and pull your shoulder blades back and down.
- 4
Lower your chest toward the bench under control with elbows tracked at about 45 degrees from your torso.
- 5
Pause briefly when your chest is just above the bench, keeping full-body tension throughout.
- 6
Press back up explosively through the palms until your arms lock out, then reset for the next rep.
Common Mistakes
Letting the hips sag down or piking up, which breaks the straight body line and loads the back.
Flaring the elbows out wide, which strains the front shoulders and reduces chest engagement.
Cutting the depth short instead of bringing the chest close to the bench, which removes most of the chest work.
Using a surface that is too high — turns the push-up into a near-standing motion with little load.
About This Exercise
The elevated push-up is a push-up regression that lets new lifters build pressing strength without struggling at full bodyweight. With the hands placed on a bench, box, or step, the angle reduces the load on the chest and triceps and lets users lock in clean push-up mechanics from rep one. The same form, less resistance. For app builders, this clip is essential for any beginner-friendly push program. It is the bridge between knee push-ups and full floor push-ups, and it scales smoothly by lowering the surface height over time. Pair it with knee push-ups in your library to give coaches and program designers a complete bodyweight push progression to plug into onboarding flows.
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A push-up with hands raised on a bench or box that scales the difficulty down — the cleanest beginner push-up regression.
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Specifications
Built for
- Beginner push-up progressions in coaching platforms
- Onboarding flows for new users in fitness apps
- Home and travel push-day workouts in calisthenics apps
- Bodyweight strength education for online courses
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
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