You’ve got this! Start with hands shoulder-width apart, wrists under shoulders, feet hip-width apart on your toes. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs like you’re dodging a punch, and keep your body STRAIGHT as a board. Lower down with elbows at 45 degrees-chest nearly touches the floor. Push explosively back up, shoulders past wrists, maintaining that rigid line throughout. Keep elbows IN, not flaring out like chicken wings. Stick around to discover the game-changing alignment checks that’ll transform your form completely.
Getting your starting position RIGHT is honestly half the battle-it’s like setting up your video game controller before the boss fight. Your hands need to sit slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with wrists stacked directly under your shoulders. Think of your forearms and upper arms forming one straight vertical line-no bent wrists allowed!
Next, plant your feet hip-width apart and extend onto your toes for that high plank position. Your entire body should form a STRAIGHT LINE from your head all the way down to your heels. No sagging lower back! No raised hips! Keep everything engaged and tight. Squeezing your shoulder blades and bracing your core will help maintain that rigid body posture and protect your lower back throughout the movement. This proper alignment ensures you’re training the correct movement patterns rather than reinforcing poor technique from the start.
Finally, look down at the floor slightly in front of you, keeping your head neutral and aligned with your spine. You’re not ready to descend yet-just holding steady. Perfect! You’ve nailed the setup.
Squeeze your glutes and thighs hard. This isn’t optional! Your core needs engagement before any movement happens. Think of bracing your abs like someone’s about to punch you-that’s the tension you want. Pull your chin back slightly to stabilize your mid-back. Slide those shoulders down away from your ears, activating your lats (the big back muscles). Push the floor away forcefully to engage your serratus anterior-the shoulder blade stabilizers that prevent injury.
Keep everything tight from head to heels. You’re creating one rigid line. This full-body tension prevents energy leaks and protects your shoulders. Maintaining this isometric core engagement throughout the movement keeps your torso stable and prevents your lower back from collapsing into unwanted flexion. Focus on proper form over quantity by ensuring your body alignment matches the movement standards before attempting additional repetitions. Ready to move? You’re locked and loaded!
Once you’ve created that rigid full-body tension, it’s time to lower yourself down-and this is where the magic actually happens. Keep those elbows at a 45-degree angle (think “chicken wings” are NOT your friend here). Lower with control-no free-falling like you’re skydiving! Your chest should approach the floor while your shoulders travel past your wrists. Breathe in deeply as you descend; oxygen fuels those hardworking muscles. Your core stays BRACED. Your back stays straight-no sagging hips or arching spine allowed. Think: plank position that’s moving downward. This controlled descent recruits maximum muscle fibers and slashes injury risk dramatically. Speed matters: rushing destroys effectiveness and invites shoulder stress. Slow, purposeful descent? That’s where real strength builds. Maintaining a straight body like a plank during the descent ensures your entire kinetic chain works together to maximize upper body strength development.
What’s the secret sauce separating casual push-uppers from real strength builders? The bottom position-where the magic happens!
Here’s where you lock in MAXIMUM control. Your chest nearly kisses the floor. Your nose, chest, and belly button all reach the same level. Hold this position for a 3-count or 40 seconds, building serious strength. This evidence-based approach to strength training aligns with personalized strategy via EBM that ensures your training adapts to your individual baseline and goals.
What makes this tough? You’re engaging EVERYTHING simultaneously:
Keep constant pressure through your hands. Your body forms one straight line from head to heels-no sagging hips allowed. Maintaining a straight body alignment during the bottom position prevents compensatory movements that reduce exercise effectiveness. You’re building the foundation for explosive power!
You’ve crushed the hardest part-now it’s time to explode back up! Drive through your palms explosively, pressing for about one second. Your chest initiates the movement, followed by shoulders and triceps powering the ascent. Keep those elbows at a 45-degree angle to your torso-think “elbows IN, not OUT”-to protect your shoulders from injury.
Brace your core and glutes HARD. Squeeze like you’re preventing hip rotation (because you are!). Your hips stay locked in a straight line from head to heels. No sagging. No rising early.
Push to full lockout-completely extended arms. Maintain constant hand pressure throughout the movement. Your serratus anterior and upper trapezius stabilize everything.
You’re not just moving up; you’re building explosive upper-body strength. Control matters as much as speed here. For added resistance during push-ups, consider using adjustable push-up stands* to increase the difficulty and target your muscles more intensely.
Now that you’re firing on all cylinders during the ascent, let’s zoom in on the blueprint-because perfect form is like a Marvel movie: one tiny plot hole ruins the whole thing!
Check your wrists first. They’re stacked directly under shoulders, not drifting forward. Your elbows? They’re hugging your ribs, not flaring like chicken wings. Next, scan your core-abs locked, hips level with shoulders, no sagging allowed. Your lower back should stay STRAIGHT, not arched like a banana.
Head check time. Gaze hits the floor slightly ahead, keeping your neck neutral. Shoulders aren’t shrugging toward your ears either. Finally, verify those feet remain hip-width apart on your toes. One quick full-body scan catches everything. You’re basically your own form inspector now! If standard push-ups feel too challenging, consider starting with knee push-ups to build foundational strength while maintaining proper alignment.
You’ll get optimal results performing 3–6 sets per workout if push-ups are your sole pushing exercise. Aim for 10–20 reps per set, totaling 10–20 weekly sets for muscle growth. You can adjust based on your experience level and progression.
You’ll benefit from wall push-ups, incline push-ups, knee push-ups, and negative push-ups. Start with wall push-ups to build foundational strength, progress to incline variations, then advance to knee push-ups and negatives before attempting full push-ups.
You’ll build muscle effectively by performing push-ups 2-3 times weekly with rest days between sessions. This frequency allows you to increase volume progressively while maintaining proper recovery. Advanced lifters can train 4-6 times weekly using split routines.
You’ll experience shoulder or wrist pain when you flare your elbows outward, position your hands too wide, place excessive weight into your fingers, or maintain poor wrist alignment. You’re also likely overloading joints through weak forearm stabilizers and limited wrist extension mobility.
Yes, you should vary hand positions to target specific chest areas effectively. Wide grips emphasize outer chest, narrow positions shift focus to triceps and upper chest, while standard shoulder-width positions build overall chest development. You’ll maximize results through strategic variation.
You’ve nailed it! Master these fundamentals-tight core, straight spine, controlled descent-and you’re basically a push-up SUPERHERO. Your chest, shoulders, and triceps will thank you. Keep practicing daily or every other day for best results. Form beats quantity every single time. You got this! Now drop and give yourself twenty (or whatever you can manage without sacrificing that perfect technique). Your gains await!