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Push Up Progressions

Muscles worked

  • Chest
  • Front Shoulder
  • Tricep

Form Cues

  • Maintain a straight body line

  • Avoid the hips sinking down, or raising up too high

  • Use full range of motion

  • Use roughly a shoulder wide hand placement besides your chest

  • Don’t allow the shoulders to shrug to the ears

Progressions

  1. 01

    Wall Push Ups

    • Start standing in front of a wall, hands shoulder-width apart

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body to the wall by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

  2. 02

    Vertical Push Ups

    • Start in a plank position with hands shoulder-width apart with the hands on a chest high object

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

  3. 03

    Knee Push Ups

    • Start in a kneeling plank position with hands shoulder-width apart

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

  4. 04

    Incline Push Ups

    • Start in a plank position with hands shoulder-width apart on top of a low object around knee height

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

  5. 05

    Push Ups

    • Start in a plank position with hands shoulder-width apart

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

  6. 06

    Diamond Push Ups

    • Start in a plank position with hands close together and the thumbs and index finger forming a triangle

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

  7. 07

    Decline Push Ups

    • Start in a plank position with hands shoulder-width apart and the feet on a knee-height object

    • Keep the core engaged and body in one extended line

    • Depress and retract the shoulders

    • Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them close to the body

    • Push back up to the starting position, fully extending the arms

    • Keep the neck in a neutral position

    • Avoid the hip sinking too low or coming up out of the straight body line

Common mistakes

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