Push-Up Variations

step by step guide:

  1. The push-up is an infinitely scalable exercise. For the classic version, place your hands about shoulder width apart or slightly wider and place your feet straight back behind you. Your body should be in a straight line (also known as a tall plank).

  2. Lower your body down by bending at the elbows until your torso drops below the elbows, then push yourself back up.

Helpful Cues:

  1. Scale this exercise down by lowering to your knees and performing the exercise from there rather than from your toes.

  2. Make push-ups more challenging by elevating one or both hands on a book, a ball, a stack of weights, or similar to increase range of motion.

Common mistakes:

  1. Not going down far enough. You will get more benefit from full range of motion knee push-ups or push-up negatives than you will from half range of motion push-ups. Force yourself to drop your body all the way below your elbows. If you can’t do this with good form, scale back to knee push-ups or push-up negatives.

  2. Not keeping the body straight. The only joints that should be moving during this exercise is the elbows and shoulders. Your hips should not be sagging down or sticking up in the air, and your legs should not be bent. Keep your everything straight and tight.