Exercise Profile

• Type: Bodyweight compound exercise.

• Equipment: None required.

• Purpose: A fundamental upper body movement emphasizing chest, shoulders, and triceps strength, endurance, and muscular development.

Target Muscle Group

• Primary: Pectoralis major (chest muscles).

• Secondary: Anterior deltoids (front shoulders), triceps brachii.

• Stabilizers: Core muscles, serratus anterior, lower back, and scapular stabilizers.

Overview

Push-ups are a classic, functional exercise that involves pressing the body away from the floor while maintaining a plank position. They develop upper body strength and endurance by engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Push-ups also improve core stability and shoulder joint control. They can be modified in many ways to adjust difficulty or target specific muscles more precisely.

Instructions

1. Begin in a high plank position with hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

2. Keep the body in a straight line from head to heels, engaging the core and glutes.

3. Lower your body by bending the elbows, keeping them at about a 45-degree angle from the torso.

4. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor.

5. Pause briefly, then press through your palms to straighten the arms and return to the starting position.

6. Maintain a controlled movement throughout each repetition.

7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tips

• Keep the body rigid and avoid sagging or piking at the hips.

• Engage your core throughout the exercise to maintain spinal alignment.

• Keep elbows tucked at about 45 degrees to protect shoulders.

• Breathe in while lowering down and breathe out while pressing up.

• Modify by doing knee push-ups or incline push-ups if standard push-ups are too difficult.

• For greater chest activation, slightly flare elbows out but maintain control.

• Progress by adding variations like weighted push-ups, plyometric push-ups, or one-arm push-ups.

Avoid How to Perform

• Avoid letting hips sag or lift too high; maintain a straight plank position.

• Do not flare elbows out excessively beyond 90 degrees, which can strain shoulders.

• Avoid locking elbows forcefully at the top; maintain a slight bend.

• Avoid rapid or uncontrolled reps that compromise form.

• Do not let the head drop; keep the neck neutral aligned with the spine.

Push-ups are an effective and versatile bodyweight exercise that builds chest, shoulder, and arm strength with proper technique and control.