Step-by-Step Instructions

1
Assume a push-up position and place your hands together directly under your chest, forming a diamond or triangle shape with your index fingers and thumbs.
2
Extend your legs behind you with feet together, engaging your core and glutes to maintain a straight body line.
3
Lower your chest toward your hands by bending the elbows, keeping them tucked close to your ribs throughout the descent.
4
Descend until your chest lightly touches or nearly touches your hands for a full range of motion.
5
Press through the heels of your palms to extend the elbows, focusing on squeezing the triceps at lockout.
6
Keep your elbows tracking backward along your torso rather than flaring outward during each rep.

Common Mistakes

Allowing the elbows to flare wide, which shifts the load from the triceps to the chest and shoulders.
Placing the hands too far forward under the face instead of under the sternum, which compromises wrist alignment.
Sagging through the midsection due to insufficient core bracing, reducing force transfer and risking low-back strain.
Using a partial range of motion by stopping well above the hands, significantly reducing triceps activation.

About This Exercise

Diamond push-ups place the hands close together beneath the sternum with index fingers and thumbs touching, creating a narrow base that dramatically increases triceps brachii recruitment compared to standard push-ups. EMG research consistently ranks diamond push-ups among the highest-activating bodyweight triceps exercises. The close hand position also engages the inner chest fibers and demands greater wrist and shoulder stability, making this an advanced bodyweight pressing variation.

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