What you'll gain

• Builds triceps size and strength with only bodyweight.

• Develops a stronger lockout that carries into pressing lifts.

• Trains a tight, elbow-tucked press pattern that protects the shoulders.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Get into a high plank with your hands directly under your chest, thumbs and index fingers touching.

2. 2

   Set your feet about hip-width apart and lock your body into a long line from head to heels.

3. 3

   Brace your core and squeeze the glutes so the hips stay in line throughout the rep.

4. 4

   Lower your chest toward your hands while keeping the elbows tucked close to your ribs.

5. 5

   Pause briefly when the chest is just above your hands, feeling the triceps fully loaded.

6. 6

   Press back up to full arm extension by driving through the triceps, then repeat for reps.

Common Mistakes

• Flaring the elbows out wide, which turns the lift back into a chest push up and removes the triceps focus.

• Letting the hips sag or pike, which breaks the plank line and shifts strain into the lower back.

• Not bringing the hands close enough so the diamond shape disappears and the lift loses its triceps bias.

• Cutting the range short by stopping high above the hands instead of touching down for full triceps stretch.

About This Exercise

The diamond push up brings the hands together under the chest to form a diamond shape, which narrows the press path and shifts the load almost entirely onto the triceps. The chest still helps, but the long range of elbow extension is what makes this variation a serious arm builder without weights. It's a clean fit for bodyweight, home, and travel programs that need real triceps work without a bench or dumbbell. App builders can drop it into push-day finishers, beginner-friendly arm blocks, or no-equipment fat-loss circuits. A 3D angle makes the close hand position obvious — something static photos consistently underplay.

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