Step-by-Step Instructions

1
Place your hands on the floor slightly wider than shoulder width with fingers spread and middle fingers pointing forward, arms fully extended.
2
Set your feet together or hip-width apart, body forming a rigid straight line from the crown of the head through the heels—engage the glutes and brace the core.
3
Lower your body by bending the elbows to approximately 45 degrees relative to the torso (not flared out to 90), descending until your chest is 1-2 inches from the floor.
4
Press through your palms to extend the elbows and push back to the starting position, allowing the shoulder blades to protract fully at the top.
5
Maintain the rigid plank throughout—the hips should not sag or pike at any point in the rep.
6
Inhale on the descent and exhale forcefully as you press up.

Common Mistakes

Letting the hips sag toward the floor, creating lumbar hyperextension and removing core engagement from the movement.
Flaring the elbows out to 90 degrees, which impinges the supraspinatus tendon in the shoulder and reduces chest activation.
Performing partial reps by not descending close to the floor, significantly reducing pectoral stretch and time under tension.
Leading with the head and neck instead of maintaining a neutral spine, placing strain on the cervical vertebrae.

About This Exercise

The push-up is a closed-chain horizontal pressing exercise that trains the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and triceps while demanding core stability and scapular control. Unlike bench pressing, the push-up requires the serratus anterior to protract the scapulae at the top, promoting shoulder health and stability. It is infinitely scalable through hand placement, elevation, tempo manipulation, and loading, making it relevant from rehabilitation to advanced strength training.

Looking for an exercise animation collection for your app, coaching platform, or content workflow? MoveKit gives you consistent quality across every movement so your product feels cohesive from first launch through scale.