With an infinite number of exercises available, it might probably be hard to place together a workout routine that a) effectively hits your whole muscles and b) prevents you from spending all day within the gym pushing through a protracted list of exercises. Enter compound exercises. And at the highest of our compound must-dos? The push-up.
It is a strength training powerhouse move you possibly can do anywhere. As if that wasn’t enough, the classic move offers an infinite assortment of push-up variations, saving you from exercise boredom and strength plateauing.
With this many push-up variations, no upper body muscle will go ignored.
In this text, we’ll cover:
- What a push-up is
- What muscles push-ups work
- 33 push-up variations
- Find out how to pick one of the best version on your fitness goals
Finish this list, and also you’ll feel inspired to drop and provides us 20.
WHAT IS A PUSH-UP?
Fitness fanatics in all places appreciate the push-up for its challenge, versatility, and lack of required equipment. And as a compound exercise that requires multiple joints and muscles, it definitely gives the bench press a run for its money.
Lots of the push-ups featured in this text require starting in the same position (high plank), so it’s a very good idea to master the classic move’s form.
Standard Push-Up:
Find out how to do the usual push-up (aka an everyday push up):
- Start along with your hands placed directly under the shoulders and your feet barely wider than hip-width.
- Step your legs behind; lift to a high plank.
- Placing your body in a straight line, bend the elbows, keep them near the perimeters, and lower your chest to the ground. Go as little as you possibly can, ideally until your chest is just above the ground.
- Push through the palms, straightening your arms to press your body back to a standing position.
WHAT MUSCLES DO PUSH-UPS WORK?
Push-ups activate the pectoralis muscles, deltoids, triceps, and serratus anterior. And on account of maintaining a plank position the whole time, the abdominals, erector spinae, glutes, and hamstrings contract isometrically throughout the movement.
Make an effort to retract your shoulder blades a bit, and the latissimus dorsi, traps, and rhomboids can even engage. It doesn’t get far more full-body than that.
The beauty of this list is that with variation comes the chance to work more – or goal different – muscles. Moving your hands closer will put more weight on the triceps while widening them targets the whole chest. Move the butt as much as a pike push-up, and now the back muscles are engaged. Whatever your muscle strengthening goal, we promise there’s a push-up variation here that can assist you to hit it.
33 BEST PUSH-UP VARIATIONS
There isn’t any shortage of push-up variations, as you possibly can see by our list of 33. Ordered from easiest to hardest, you should utilize your fitness level to guide where you jump in here. Newcomers to the strength training game should start with the wall push-up. If that is no big deal, give the wide version a shot to see how that ranks for difficulty.
The training variables for every are highlighted, including body positioning and the muscles worked. One last note before you dig into these variations: There are multiple names for a lot of these moves, so you could notice that one among the push-ups on this list is named something different elsewhere. Whether you wish to discuss with it as a diamond or tricep push-up, we promise it’ll work the identical muscles in the identical way.
1. Wall Push-Up
At first stages of your strength-training journey? Start with the wall push-up. It is going to strengthen your entire upper body like a typical push-up but with more stability.
Place each palms on a wall along with your wrists according to your shoulders. Keep your body in a high plank position, retracting your shoulder blades to activate the lats. Bend your elbows as you lower to the wall. Once your brow is near the wall, straighten your arms. The chest, triceps, shoulders, and lats are all activated, and the core, glutes, quads, and calves can even engage to carry that high-plank position.
2. Incline Push-Up
There are two great training advantages to the incline push-up. One: The positioning takes some stress off your elbow and shoulder joints. Two: The pectoralis muscles do the majority of the work, making it a terrific chest exercise.
Grab a box or bench or something stable of comparable height. Go for something taller to put your hands on to make it easier. For an additional challenge, discover a box or bench lower to the bottom. Your hands will likely be about shoulder-width apart, placed on a box. Step back right into a plank position, lowering your chest to the box. To hit your chest a bit of more, push your body forward so your hands are a bit of further down.
3. Wide Grip Push-Up
You’re progressing to the bottom for wide push-ups, a variation targeting the pectoralis muscles, more so the outer chest, anterior deltoid, and triceps. Research has found a large hand placement prompts the serratus anterior greater than a standard push-up, a muscle that helps move the arms and shoulders while supporting the neck and back1.
Your hands should be wider than your shoulders for this movement. From there, move right into a high plank and lower to the bottom.
4. Close Grip Push-Up
Switching your hand placement from a large grip to a better one creates a better muscle activation for the inner chest and triceps. The narrow push up can also be going to work the shoulders and back.
Difficult? Yes. Price it? We’ll let your developed chest and defined triceps speak for themselves. And if you pair it with other killer arm exercises, like on this shoulders and arms workout, you will see crazy good results. The palms needs to be narrower than shoulder-width and almost touching. Maintain a plank position, and begin to lower down.
5. Reverse Grip Push-Up
Push-ups aren’t only for the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Enter: the reverse hand version, which engages the biceps by placing the hands with the fingers facing the feet and the palms outward. Along with the front upper arm muscles, the deltoid major and minor, pectoralis major and minor, and triceps are activated.
In your hand placement, put your hands wider than the shoulders with palms flat on the ground and fingers pointing toward your feet. In the event you feel any pain, turn the hands a bit of inward.
6. Diamond Push-Up
The diamond push-up does a terrific job of taking the work out of the chest and placing it on the triceps. On this triceps-focused push-up version, the hands make the form of a diamond on the ground. The skin triceps head gets probably the most work (we are able to thank this guy for that nice-looking horseshoe shape), while the chest and deltoid muscles work to a lesser extent.
To form the diamond shape, place your index fingers and thumbs in order that they touch, forming a diamond shape. Put your body in a plank position, and start lowering.
7. Decline Push-Up
Your upper chest muscles and anterior deltoids (the fronts of the shoulders) put in probably the most work within the decline push-up. To perform the movement, place the feet on a box or bench (or something similar), maintain a plank position with hands under the shoulders, and bend the elbows to lower to the bottom.
Curious as to what makes this move so difficult? The elevated foot position forces the upper body to push up more of the body’s weight than the classic move, making the muscles work even harder. Make this difficult move even harder by raising your feet more.
8. Staggered Push-Up
Staggering the hands forces different muscles to work on either side of the body and is a progression for the one-handed push-up. Along with putting more force on one arm, this variation works more on the chest and targets the core.
To position your hands, get into the plank position along with your right hand above your right shoulder and your left hand below your left shoulder. Then reverse arm positions.
9. Hands-Release Push-Up
The pectoralis muscles and anterior deltoids are highly activated. This movement also supports a greater range of motion than most push-up versions.
Placing your hands barely wider than shoulder-width, lower your body to the bottom like a traditional push-up. Retract your shoulder blades, lifting your hands off the ground barely. Bring your hands back to the ground, and straighten your arms to return to the starting position.
10. Push-Up with Single Leg Raise
Full-body stability is a must for this advanced push-up. Along with working the chest, shoulders, and triceps, the lower body can also be engaged. The quads and glutes will contract isometrically to stabilize the body.
Starting in an everyday push up position, along with your hands under the shoulders and feet hip-distance apart, lift one leg within the air, keeping your hips and shoulders square toward the bottom. Lower your body to the bottom, and press as much as the starting position. Remember to alternate legs!
11. Elevated Push-Up
With the elevated push-up, the upper you might be, the better the push-up, while the lower you might be, the tougher it’s. This move will work the pectoralis major and minor, deltoids, and triceps, and the slight incline will put more work on the chest than standard push-ups.
We like this movement since it allows for much more personalization. Move the blocks closer together for more triceps and shoulder work, and place the blocks further apart for more chest activation. Place your hands on the blocks, your body in a plank position, and lower down.
12. Uneven Push-Up on a Bench
Able to up your push-up game but not yet prepared to tackle the single-arm version? The uneven variation is a terrific first step. The unilateral movement places more work on one arm, engaging the chest, triceps, and shoulders on the working side.
If this exercise is simply too hard, you possibly can start by placing the knees on the ground. Place one hand on a bench or block, and put the opposite hand on the bottom in a traditional push-up position. Place more body weight in your hand touching the bottom, and lower down.
13. Uneven Push-up on a Medicine Ball
Taking the uneven bench push-up up a notch, performing the exercise on a drugs ball places more weight on one arm while adding instability to the movement. Your chest, triceps, shoulders, and core will work even harder to balance the body as you’re employed through it. Follow the identical protocol because the uneven bench push-ups, and be sure you switch sides!
14. Stability Ball Decline Push-Up
This version is a progression of the decline push-ups. It is going to activate the upper chest and shoulder while ensuring the triceps are engaged. And since there’s instability to this movement (thanks, stability ball!), your abdominals will work twice as hard in comparison with a more stable variation. Start in the usual plank position required for push-ups, with one difference: The tops of your feet will rest on top of a stability ball throughout the movement.
15. Stability Ball Incline Push-Up
The chest and shoulders have their justifiable share of labor on this movement, while the abdominals work extra hard to maintain your body stable. This movement can also be great for shoulder stabilization. Place your hands on a stability ball, or BOSU ball, shoulder-width apart. Place your body within the plank position, and begin to lower.
16. Single-Arm Push-Up on Knees:
One-arm push-ups will not be a feat mastered overnight. Moderately than disbursing your body weight between the 2 arms, it places all of that body weight, around 70%2, on one arm. That requires a variety of strength! The one-arm version on the knees is a terrific movement to master first. But make no mistake, not all knee push ups are easy, and this one is proof. The pectoralis major, fronts of the shoulders – anterior deltoids – and triceps are highly activated, as are the abdominals and obliques as they work to stabilize you.
Start along with your hands wider than shoulder-width with the hand you’re using first directly under the center of your chest. Point that hand toward the alternative shoulder, and place your other hand behind the back.
17. Renegade Row Push Ups
Wish to put a bit of more back and bis into your routine? The renegade row requires a dynamic pulling movement that prompts the lats, rhomboids, biceps, triceps, chest, and shoulders while forcing the core to work to stabilize you. One other unilateral move that works almost the entire upper body muscles, it increases muscle activation on the pulling side. That results in that hypertrophy we’re all striving for, and helps discover any muscle imbalances.
Grab a set of dumbbells for this one, placing them about shoulder-distance apart with the handles parallel. Grip a dumbbell in each hand, moving to the plank position. Keep the feet hip-width apart for extra support. Draw the dumbbell in your right hand toward the chest, and bend your elbow as you draw the dumbbell toward you. Slowly lower the dumbbell to the ground. Repeat on the left side.
18. Close-Grip Single Dumbbell Push-Up
This chest and triceps-focused move requires placement and elevation of the hands in a way that permits a forceful muscular contraction. This variation also improves grip strength, essential for handling heavy dumbbells. The abdominals, glutes, and thighs can even activate on this position as they contract to stabilize you, making this a terrific full-body body weight exercise.
Place one dumbbell on the ground in a standing position, grabbing the top along with your hands. Get right into a plank position with the arms straight, directly below your chest. Lower your body down, and ward off up.
19. Knee Drive Push-Up
A hybrid of two killer moves – the mountain climber and the push-up – the knee drive push-up does a terrific job activating the pectoralis muscles. The shoulders, triceps, and abdominals will all be working as well. It’s really a terrific move on your entire body. The push-up portion of this exercise replicates a typical push-up, however the added core work is available in with the knee drive. As your knee drives toward the chest, your abdominals will contract as they work to stabilize the body.
Assume the usual push-up position. Lower to the ground, after which ward off up. When you reach the highest, drive one knee toward the chest. Repeat the movement with a knee drive on the alternative side.
20. Sphinx Push-Up
Also known as the tricep plank press, we bet you possibly can guess which muscle is extremely activated. You bought it – the triceps! While pushing from a low to a high plank, the range of motion prompts the triceps and engages the pectorals, shoulder, and abdominal muscles.
To perform this exercise, start with a high plank, lowering your body to your forearms. To maneuver the body back to the high plank starting position, rotate your shoulder blades outward and push the palms of the hands into the bottom to push yourself upward. Squeeze your triceps to straighten the elbows.
21. Resistance Band Push-Up
Along with supporting 70% of your body weight, band push-ups force you to work even harder by adding some extra resistance. Which muscles are put to work? Similar to a category push-up – chest, shoulders, triceps, and serratus anterior – but they work extra hard due to the band’s resistance.
Wrap a resistance band around your back, slightly below the armpits, holding an end in each hand. We advise wrapping the band around your hands an time beyond regulation to be certain it’s nice and tight. Get within the plank position, and lower down.
22. Weighted Vest Push-Up
A weighted vest is one other great technique to add more weight to the push-up. It’s the identical concept we discussed within the resistance band variation. You’re going to work the chest, shoulders, and triceps, but it’s going to be infinitely harder on account of the added weight. The vest will result in some serious strength and mass gains and manages to activate the lats and scapula greater than other variations.
23. Clap Push-Up
The clapping push up, also known as the plyo push-up, works the chest, triceps, primarily the front of the shoulders, and abs. As well as, the high-intensity interval training element adds improved muscle endurance to the list, burns fat, and builds strength and speed. Research shows that HIIT training results in improvements in body composition, meaning less fat and more muscle3.
Start within the high plank position, and lower your body down. As you raise yourself back to the high plank, push up with additional force, enabling your hands to go away the bottom. You possibly can just start with lifting your hands, but for an added challenge, clap your hands together. Place the hands frivolously on the bottom before moving back all the way down to the push-up position.
24. Decline Push-Up Depth Jump
That is once we really start moving into the advanced push up variations. Grab a box and two thick mats (the sort used for aerobic steps work great) and prepare to feel the burn. The pectoralis muscles will likely be highly activated, with the shoulders and triceps contracting. Place the aerobic mats barely outside the shoulders.
Put your hands contained in the mats, and your feet on the box to maneuver to an incline position. Bend the elbows, lowering the body toward the bottom. Place force through your hands to push your body off the bottom. As you permit the bottom, put your hands on the steps, bending the elbows.
25. Chest Tap Plyo Push-Ups
The chest tap push-ups activate the anterior and medial deltoids, pectoralis major and minor, and triceps while combing strength and plyometrics. The lats, scapulae, and glutes must also stabilize the body throughout the exercise. And on account of the HIIT component, you’ll blast fat and burn calories concurrently.
Start within the plank position, lower down, and push through your palms to boost your body within the air. While within the air, tap your chest with each hands, quickly placing them back all the way down to lower into one other one.
26. Spiderman Push-Up
Spiderman push-ups goal the pectoralis muscles, shoulders, and triceps, working them extra hard as they keep you stabilized while the knee drives out to the side. The obliques contract because the knee drives up, and the hip flexors help lift the knee. Along with improving your range of motion and anti-rotational core strength, it’ll also get you one step closer to the last word push-up goal: the single-arm version.
Start within the high plank position with hands barely wider than shoulder width. Bend your elbows to lower, while concurrently bending your right knee, drawing it forward and outward toward your right elbow. Straighten your right leg while pushing as much as the starting position.
27. Elevated Pike Push-Up
Prepare to work the shoulders, serratus anterior, upper back muscles, and triceps. The overhead pushing motion makes it a shoulder move, while also recruiting the traps and core. The glutes are also activated as they contract to maintain your body stabilized.
Start in a plank position, elevating your feet on a bench (or something of comparable height). Looking down, lift the butt into the air, and keep your arms straight. You need to be in the form of an upside-down V. Bend your elbows to lower the top toward the ground and straighten your elbows to rise back up.
28. Pike to Cobra Push-Up
This variation can also be known as dive bomber push ups. The first movers on this exercise are the shoulders, chest, triceps, erector spinae, and glutes. The hamstrings and calf muscles will activate as they stabilize the body through the transition from plank to cobra, after which back again.
Start in a plank position, then raise your butt and look down. Bend at your elbows to lower the top down toward the ground. Moderately than stopping here, proceed lowering your body to a low push-up position. The tops of your legs can rest on the ground, as you proceed moving through the exercise by lifting your chest off the ground. Roll your shoulders back, keeping your elbows on the side. Keep off into the starting pike push-up position.
29. Archer Push-Up
Consider yourself one step closer to mastering the single-arm push-up. Also called the side-to-side push-up, this move prompts the anterior deltoids, pectoralis muscles, triceps, and serratus anterior. The range of motion is far deeper, making it a much more intense exercise than the classic version. It requires the abs, spinal erectors, iliacus, and psoas major to stabilize the body.
Start in a powerful plank position along with your hands wider than the shoulders. Rotate your hands outward to point the fingers away from the body. Rotate your shoulders outward, shifting your upper body toward the best side. Pull your right chest toward the best hand while bending the best elbow. The fitting shoulder and hand can rotate inward as you lower into the push-up. Lower toward your right side, while straightening your left arm. Fully extend the left arm to the side. Begin to push up, as you straighten your right arm and move the left arm back to the starting position.
30. Cross Arm Push-Ups
The triceps are the first activator on this movement, while the chest and front shoulder muscles also work significantly. The obliques contract and work along with the hips to permit body rotation, making it a terrific abdominal move. The biceps, rectus abdominis, and quads must also contract to maintain the body balanced.
Start in a plank position along with your fingers pointing outward and the insides of the wrist touching. Lower down, bending your elbows to point outward along with your forearms touching the bottom. Keep off up.
31. Fingertip Push-Up
Neglected in lots of gym workouts are the very used and continuously ignored hand muscles. And as a very good grip is crucial in helping you grasp heavy barbells and dumbbells, they need some attention also. Fingertip push-ups, that are amongst probably the most advanced push-up variations, strengthen the wrist, hand, and finger muscles. This move also prompts the forearm and triceps muscles, and after all, chest.
To begin, lay in your stomach along with your toes on the ground and arms outstretched with palms down. Lift your body weight onto the palms and toes, after which raise it in your fingertips. Staying in your fingertips, lower all the way down to the bottom and ward off up. Do not be surprised for those who only get just a few reps (if any).
32. Superman Push-Up
Muscle strength, agility, and balance are only just a few of the advantages of superman push-ups. It’s a significant muscle builder and plyo move that requires creating enough force to push the body into the air, landing in a push-up position. The abdominals will work the toughest on this exercise, however the chest, lats, obliques, shoulders, and triceps can even activate.
Lay down in your stomach along with your arms above your head and legs straight. Put your hands close together on the ground, and the feet together. Press your hands and feet all the way down to raise the body into the air, parallel to the ground. Keep your arms straight in front of you, in a flying position. As you lower to the bottom, land gently within the starting position.
33. Single-Arm Push-Up
We’ve reached the holy grail of push-ups: the one arm push up. This unilateral movement requires the pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, and triceps to work excruciatingly hard, because the core and hip muscles must contract to maintain the body square to the ground and stabilized. It’s also going to be one of the best movement for observing any muscle imbalances. If the best side can perform three single-arm push-ups, however the left side can only complete one, you recognize there’s work to be done.
Get into the push-up position, with feet wide. Keep one hand on the bottom, shifting your weight to that side, while placing the opposite hand behind your back. Lower your body down until your chest is near the ground, and ward off up. Don’t forget to do either side!
PROGRAMMING PUSH-UPS
Now, an excessive amount of of something is just not at all times a very good thing, so there isn’t any have to fit eight push-up variations into your next gym session! As an alternative, think strategically about your current upper-body routine and the muscles you’re attempting to grow. In the event you are an absolute beginner and your goal is to hit each muscle evenly, we recommend starting with the wall push-up.
Or, if you wish to persist with one push-up variation, you’ve been on the gym game a protracted time, and the last word goal is to master the single-arm version, try the uneven push-up on a drugs ball. Master that, and skip to the subsequent push-up variation that encourages unilateral movement. Perhaps you are searching for a move that gets the guts rate nice and high – in that case, perform push ups of the plyo variation, just like the clap push-up gets you to your goals.
You could even want to include just a few kinds of push-ups into your regimen, as seen in our Calisthenics Chest Workout, besides just regular push ups (that are great). The incline push-up is great for pecs and shoulders, whereas the diamond one targets the triceps. Add them each in, and also you’re well in your technique to a killer upper-body routine. Or you possibly can use a push-up board to get a greater range of motion and take away some stress out of your wrists and shoulders. If you wish to take your push-up game to the subsequent level, be certain to envision out our post that covers the Best Push-Up Boards available on the market.
Irrespective of the kinds of push-ups you choose, we all know one thing: Any move on this list will yield some serious upper body strength gains. And as you get stronger and develop power, be sure you incorporate tougher push ups into your exercise routine.
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