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Push Ups

One exercise that works chest, shoulders, triceps and core all at once. The backbone of any home workout.

Level Intermediate
Equipment None
Sets and reps 3 sets x 8-20
Works on Chest, shoulders, triceps

How to do it

  1. Place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, fingers pointing forward.
  2. Keep a straight line from head to heels with your core tight.
  3. Lower yourself with elbows at roughly 45 degrees to your body.
  4. Bring your chest to about a fist above the floor, then push back up.

Common mistakes

  • × Letting the hips sag - tightening your core fixes this.
  • × Flaring elbows straight out to 90 degrees - the number one cause of shoulder pain.
  • × Only going halfway down - a partial range gives you half the benefit.
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One thing that matters

If you cannot do one yet, go in this order: wall push ups, then table push ups, then knee push ups, then the full version.

How much

Sets and reps for Push Ups

Where you are Aim for
Just starting 3 sets x 5
The standard 3 sets x 8-20
Once it is easy 4 sets x 25
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Breathing

In on the way down, out as you press up. Breathing out on the effort is what stops your blood pressure spiking.

Too hard, or too easy?

Where this sits

← Easier Knee Push Ups 3 sets x 8-12

Start here if you cannot do push ups with clean form yet.
You are here Push Ups 3 sets x 8-20

Intermediate · None

Harder → Diamond Push Ups 3 sets x 8-15

Move up when push ups stops being a challenge.
Questions

Push Ups, answered

How do I go from knee push-ups to full push-ups?

Through incline push-ups. Hands on a table, then a chair, then a low step - each one is closer to the floor and harder. When you can do 12 clean push-ups off a chair, the floor is usually possible.

How many push-ups should I be able to do?

For an untrained adult, one clean full push-up is a genuine milestone. Ten is respectable, twenty is strong. The number matters far less than whether the last two are as clean as the first two.

Why do my elbows flare out to the sides?

Usually because the hands are too wide or too far forward. Put your hands just outside shoulder width, under your chest rather than your face, and let the elbows travel back at about 45 degrees to your body.

One exercise is never the whole story

Which day to do Push Ups, how many sets, and what to pair it with - the AI builds the whole plan. Your first one is free.

Build My Free Plan
Chest

You can also try

💪 Beginner

Knee Push Ups

Chest, triceps

Start here if a full push up is not happening yet. Same exercise, simply less bodyweight to move.

3 sets x 8-12 →
💪 Advanced

Diamond Push Ups

Triceps, inner chest

Bringing your hands together shifts the load onto your triceps. Considerably harder than a normal push up.

3 sets x 8-15 →
💪 Beginner

Wall Push Ups

Chest, shoulders

The easiest push up there is. If a knee push up is still too hard, this is where you start - and there is nothing wrong with starting here.

3 sets x 15-20 →
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This is general information, not medical advice

Everything on this page is worked out from a formula or from published averages. It has never met you, and it cannot see your blood pressure, your medication or an old injury.

Talk to a doctor before you start if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a heart condition, diabetes or high blood pressure, take regular medication, have or have had an eating disorder, are recovering from injury or surgery, or are under 18. Stop and get advice if any exercise causes pain, dizziness or chest discomfort.

More about where these numbers come from is on the about page.