Exercise guide · Chest

Push-ups

Push-ups train chest, shoulders, and triceps using your bodyweight on the floor. Keep a straight line from head to heels and move your whole body as one unit.

  • Targets: Chest
  • Equipment: Bodyweight
  • Type: Compound
Push-ups exercise illustration showing the movement position

Step by step

How to do the Push-ups

  1. Start in a high plank with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and fingers spread.
  2. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your body forms a straight line.
  3. Lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows about 45° from your torso.
  4. Stop when your chest is just above the floor or when upper arms are parallel to the floor.
  5. Press through your palms to straighten your arms and return to the top without sagging your hips.
  6. Repeat with controlled reps, keeping your neck neutral.

Form cues

  • Body straight like a plank
  • Elbows track back, not flared wide
  • Chest leads toward the floor
  • Core tight the whole rep

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging or piking up
  • Elbows flaring straight out to the sides
  • Partial reps that never reach depth
  • Head dropping toward the floor

Muscles worked

Primary

Chest

Secondary

Triceps and Front delts

Safety: Drop to your knees or elevate your hands on a bench to reduce load if full push-ups feel too hard.

Alternatives

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