Push-up — Proper Form Guide

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Exercise Type

A compound, upper-body pushing exercise using your own bodyweight. Your hands stay fixed on the floor while your body moves, so the chest, shoulders and triceps press while the core, glutes and legs hold you in a straight plank.

Compound Bodyweight Upper-body push Closed-chain Strength & endurance

Equipment: None — just the floor
Level: Beginner → Advanced
Rep range: 8–20 reps × 3–4 sets
Tempo: 2 s down · 0.5 s hold · 1.5 s up

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Starting Position

Kneel on the floor and place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, directly under them, fingers pointing forward.
Step your feet back one at a time so you are on your toes, with your arms straight (not locked hard) and your body in one straight line from head to heels.
Brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and look at the floor just ahead of your hands so your neck stays in line with your back.

Side view — top of the push-up, arms straight

One rep ≈ 5 s · red glow = chest working

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Movement

Bend your elbows and lower your whole body together toward the floor, keeping your elbows about 45° from your sides.
Pause briefly when your chest is about a fist’s height from the floor.
Push the floor away to straighten your arms, moving your body as one rigid unit — hips rise at the same speed as your shoulders.

Down · 2 s

Hold · 0.5 s

Up · 1.5 s

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End Position

At the bottom, your chest is about a fist’s height above the floor (or lightly touching it), with your elbows bent past 90°.
Elbows point back toward your feet at roughly 45° from your body — not flared straight out to the sides.
Your body is still one straight line: hips have not sagged toward the floor or piked up, and your head is neutral.

Side view — bottom of the push-up, chest near the floor

From above — hands beside the chest, elbows angled back

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Hand Position

Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width, so that at the bottom they sit beside your mid-chest.
Spread your fingers, point them forward (or turned slightly out) and press through the whole palm and the finger pads.
At the top, your wrists sit directly under your shoulders. If your wrists hurt, use push-up handles or dumbbells to keep them straight.

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Leg Position

Keep your legs straight with your knees locked and thighs tight — they should never touch the floor during a full push-up.
Rest on the balls of your feet, with feet together or up to hip-width apart. Wider feet are more stable; feet together is harder.
Squeeze your glutes to keep your hips level with your shoulders and stop your lower back from sagging.

Side view

From behind

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Breathing

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Breathe In

Breathe in as you lower your body toward the floor. Take the breath through your nose and keep your abs tight so your hips don’t drop.

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Hold

Hold your breath briefly — about half a second — at the bottom of the movement, while your chest is closest to the floor. This keeps your trunk rigid as you change direction.

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Breathe Out

Breathe out as you push yourself back up, exhaling through the hardest part of the press and finishing as your arms straighten.

TopBottomTop

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Between Sets

Lower your knees to the floor or stand up, and shake out your arms and wrists.

Rest 60–90 seconds. Gently stretch your wrists (palms flat, fingers back) and open your chest with a doorway stretch.

Note how many good reps you did. If your hips started sagging, finish the remaining sets with hands on a bench (incline) or from your knees.

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Major Muscles Exercised

Front
Front · chest

Pectoralis major
Chest — lowers you under control and pushes you back up
Front
Front · shoulder

Anterior deltoid
Front of the shoulder — assists the press
Back
Back · upper arm

Triceps brachii
Back of the upper arm — straightens the elbow

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Minor Muscles Exercised

Front
Front · side of ribs

Serratus anterior
Holds the shoulder blades flat against the ribs
Front
Front · abdomen

Core (abs, obliques)
Keeps the body in a straight plank
Back
Back · shoulder blade

Rotator cuff
Stabilises the shoulder joint
Back
Back · buttocks

Gluteus maximus
Keeps the hips level and stops sagging
Front
Front · thigh

Quadriceps
Keep the knees straight and legs rigid

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Joints

Joint	Action during the push-up
Shoulder (glenohumeral)	Horizontal adduction and flexion as you push up
Elbow	Flexion while lowering, extension while pushing up
Shoulder girdle (scapulothoracic)	Shoulder blades draw together as you lower and spread as you push up
Wrist	Bent back (extended) about 90°, bearing your weight
Spine & hips	Held neutral and still — a rigid plank
Ankle & toes	Toes bent, supporting the lower body

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Closest Variation: Knee Push-up

The one difference

You pivot on your knees instead of your toes, which shortens the lever.

Push-up — long lever, toes to head

Knee push-up — shorter lever, knees to head

What that changes — compared with the push-up

Load you can lift

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Your hands support about 49% of your bodyweight instead of about 64%.
Main muscle emphasis

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Chest, shoulders and triceps make the same movement with less load; the core, glutes and legs do much less.
Joint & spine stress

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Less load through the wrists and shoulders — but some pressure on the kneecaps, so use a mat.
Difficulty to learn

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Much easier to keep a straight body line and good elbow position.

About the same: range of motion, balance & stability demand, grip demand.

Role: Regression· Easier

Choose the knee push-up if…

✓You can’t yet do 8 full push-ups with good form
✓You want to finish a set after full push-ups get too hard
✓You are returning from a break or a wrist or shoulder niggle

Stick with the push-up if…

✓You can do 12–15 good knee push-ups — it’s time to progress
✓You want the core and glutes to work too
✓You want push-ups that build real pressing strength

Load figures: Ebben et al., Kinetic Analysis of Several Variations of Push-Ups (2011). Exact values vary with body proportions and position.

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All Variations at a Glance

Each variation changes one thing about the push-up. Read down a column to see what changes, how hard it is, and what that does — every effect is compared with the regular push-up.

↑ more than the push-up ↓ less = about the same

Scroll sideways to see all 6 variations →

	Closest ↑ above Knee Push-up	Incline Push-up	Decline Push-up	Wide-Grip Push-up	Close-Grip Push-up	Deficit Push-up
What changes	Pivot: toes → knees	Hand height: floor → bench or box	Foot height: floor → bench or box	Hand width: slightly wide → much wider than shoulders	Hand width: slightly wide → under the chest	Range: hands on the floor → on handles or blocks, chest goes lower
Role	Regression· Easier	Regression· Easier	Progression· Harder	Lateral· Similar difficulty	Lateral· Similar difficulty	Progression· Harder
Load you can lift	↓ ≈ 49% BW	↓ ≈ 55% BW	↑ ≈ 70% BW	=	=	= / ↑
Main muscle emphasis	↓ core & glutes	↑ lower chest	↑ upper chest, front delts	↑ chest	↑ triceps	↑ chest stretch
Range of motion	=	=	=	↓	=	↑↑
Joint & spine stress	↓ wrists, shoulders	↓ wrists, shoulders	↑ shoulders	↑ shoulders	↑ wrists, elbows	↑ shoulders
Grip demand	=	=	=	=	=	↑
Difficulty to learn	↓	↓	↑	=	↑	↑
Equipment	Mat	Bench or box	Bench or box	None	None	Push-up handles or blocks

Load figures: Ebben et al., Kinetic Analysis of Several Variations of Push-Ups (2011), for 30 cm boxes. Other arrows are estimates based on how each change alters the movement.

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Alternates

Different exercises that train the chest, shoulders and triceps — useful when you want variety or to add load. They are not versions of the push-up itself.

Dumbbell Bench Press

Lying on a bench pressing dumbbells; you can add load far beyond bodyweight.

Best for: Building pressing strength

Dumbbells, bench

View guide →

Barbell Bench Press

The classic heavy press, lying on a bench with a bar.

Best for: Maximum strength

Barbell, bench, rack

Machine Chest Press

Seated press on a fixed track; the machine handles the balance.

Best for: Beginners and hard sets alone

Chest-press machine

Parallel-Bar Dips

Press yourself up between two bars — a bodyweight press in a different direction.

Best for: Lower chest and triceps

Dip bars

Cable Chest Fly

Arms stay almost straight and sweep together, isolating the chest.

Best for: Extra chest volume

Cable machine

Too hard for now? Start with hands on a bench or wall, or from your knees, and progress to full push-ups. Stop if you feel sharp pain in the wrists, elbows or shoulders.