Push-Up
The push-up is the foundational pushing movement in calisthenics. It builds strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps while engaging your core for stability.
Short answer
Push-Up: a beginner bodyweight exercise for the chest, triceps and front deltoids. It needs no equipment. A typical target: 3 sets of 10-20 reps. If it is still too hard, start with the easier variation, “Incline Push-Up”. Once it feels easy, “Diamond Push-Up” is the next step.
Benefits
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these steps for perfect form
Start in a plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
Lower your chest toward the ground by bending your elbows at 45 degrees.
Go down until your chest nearly touches the floor.
Push through your palms to return to start.
Pro Tips
Common Mistakes
Target Muscles
What muscles does the push-up work?
The pectoralis major does most of the work, pulling your upper arm across your body as you press. Your triceps take over the last third of the rep, straightening the elbow, which is why lockouts feel hardest when your arms are tired. The front deltoid assists throughout and carries more load the lower you go. Less obviously, the push-up is an anti-extension core exercise: your abs and glutes hold the spine flat against gravity trying to fold you at the hips. The serratus anterior pins your shoulder blades to your ribcage, and it is the muscle that fails when your upper back caves between the blades.
Primary Muscles
Secondary Muscles
How to train it
Three sets of 10 to 20 reps, two or three times a week, with at least a day between sessions. Stop each set two or three reps before you physically cannot do another: form breaks before strength does, and grinding out ugly reps mostly teaches you to do ugly reps. Once you can do 20 clean reps for three sets, stop adding reps and change the leverage instead - slow the descent to three seconds, pause at the bottom, or move to decline, diamond or archer variants. Adding reps past 25 builds endurance you already have rather than strength you do not.
If you are stuck
The most common stall is hips sagging, and it is almost never a weak chest. It is the core letting go, usually because the set went past the point where you could hold the plank. Squeeze your glutes hard before you lower and treat the whole body as one rigid piece. The second issue is elbows flaring to 90 degrees, which grinds the front of the shoulder. Aim for roughly 45 degrees between upper arm and torso so your arms form an arrow shape, not a T. If depth is the problem, elevate your hands on a step rather than cutting the range short.
Progressions
Level up your training
Push-Up questions
What muscles do push-ups work?
Push-ups primarily work the chest (pectoralis major), triceps, and front deltoids (shoulders). Secondary muscles include the core, serratus anterior, and stabilizer muscles throughout the body.
How many push-ups should a beginner do?
Beginners should start with 3 sets of 5-10 push-ups with proper form. Focus on quality over quantity and gradually increase reps as you get stronger.
How do I progress from beginner to advanced push-ups?
Start with wall or incline push-ups, progress to regular push-ups, then try diamond, archer, and eventually one-arm push-ups. Master each variation before moving to the next.
Related Exercises
More Push exercises
Diamond Push-Up
A close-grip push-up variation where your hands form a diamond shape. This targets the triceps more intensely than regular push-ups.
Wide Push-Up
A push-up variation with hands placed wider than shoulder-width for greater chest activation and stretch.
Archer Push-Up
A unilateral push-up where one arm does most of the work while the other extends to the side. Great progression toward one-arm push-ups.
Ready to Practice Push-Up?
Find a calisthenics park with open space near you and start training.