Should my elbows be tucked or flared during push ups?

Your elbows should be at roughly a 45-degree angle from your torso, not fully tucked to your sides or flared out to 90 degrees. This angle balances chest activation with shoulder health and allows optimal triceps involvement.

How do I progress push ups if regular ones are too easy?

Add external load with a weighted vest or plate on your back, elevate your feet on a bench, or slow down the tempo to increase time under tension. You can also progress to more challenging variations like archer push ups or one-arm progressions.

What should I do if I cannot perform a full push up yet?

Start with incline push ups by placing your hands on a bench or elevated surface to reduce the load, or perform eccentric-only push ups by lowering slowly and resetting at the top. Gradually progress to lower surfaces until you can perform push ups from the floor with proper form.

Push Up

The push up is a bodyweight exercise that builds strength in the chest, deltoids, and triceps by pressing your body away from the floor. It suits beginners learning foundational pressing patterns and experienced lifters seeking accessory volume or training without equipment.

Muscle group: Chest
Primary muscles: chest, deltoids, triceps
Equipment: Bodyweight

How to do the Push Up

Start in a plank position with hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, arms straight, and feet together or hip-width apart.
Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels by bracing your core and squeezing your glutes.
Lower your body by bending your elbows until your chest nearly touches the floor, keeping your elbows at roughly a 45-degree angle from your torso.
Press through your palms to extend your arms and return to the starting position, maintaining full-body tension throughout.

Form tips

Keep your neck neutral by looking at a spot on the floor about a foot in front of your hands rather than craning your head up or letting it drop.
Maintain a posterior pelvic tilt and avoid letting your hips sag by actively bracing your abs and glutes throughout each rep.
Drive your hands into the floor as if trying to push the ground apart to engage your lats and create shoulder stability.

Common mistakes

Flaring elbows out to 90 degrees increases shoulder strain and reduces chest and triceps engagement.
Letting hips sag or pike upward breaks the plank position and reduces core involvement while increasing lower back stress.
Performing partial reps by not lowering the chest close to the floor limits range of motion and reduces muscle activation.

Sets and reps

For strength, perform 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 10 reps with controlled tempo or added resistance; for hypertrophy, perform 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps with a focus on time under tension.

Track the Push Up in Gym Track

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Frequently asked questions

Should my elbows be tucked or flared during push ups?: Your elbows should be at roughly a 45-degree angle from your torso, not fully tucked to your sides or flared out to 90 degrees. This angle balances chest activation with shoulder health and allows optimal triceps involvement.
How do I progress push ups if regular ones are too easy?: Add external load with a weighted vest or plate on your back, elevate your feet on a bench, or slow down the tempo to increase time under tension. You can also progress to more challenging variations like archer push ups or one-arm progressions.
What should I do if I cannot perform a full push up yet?: Start with incline push ups by placing your hands on a bench or elevated surface to reduce the load, or perform eccentric-only push ups by lowering slowly and resetting at the top. Gradually progress to lower surfaces until you can perform push ups from the floor with proper form.

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