17 Push-Up Variations for Muscle Development and Power

If you wish to hit a great deal of muscle tissues in a single rep, you possibly can’t do a lot better than a normal push-up. However the base transfer is only the start. To see new beneficial properties in energy, muscular improvement, and mobility, there are dozens of push-up variations to attempt.

Push-ups are available in many various types, making it easy to advance (or dial again) the traditional train as wanted. Varied hand positions, physique angles, props, and add-on strikes work and emphasize completely different muscle tissues, maintaining the transfer contemporary and efficient.

Strive for your self with the next push-up variations.

Muscle tissues focused: Chest, shoulders, triceps, and core

• Assume a high-plank place together with your ft collectively, your physique straight from head to heels, and your palms consistent with (however barely wider than) your shoulders. Have interaction each your glutes and your core to lock your physique into place.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked towards your physique (your physique ought to type an arrow when considered overhead) and your head impartial, decrease your torso till your chest is inside a number of inches of the ground.
• Pause, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place as shortly as doable.

Muscle tissues focused: Together with the triceps and shoulders, this simpler expression of the transfer shifts emphasis to the decrease chest

• Place your palms barely wider than shoulder-width aside on a bench or different secure, elevated floor, and assume a push-up place.
• Maintaining your again flat and core engaged, decrease your chest to inside a number of inches of the bench.
• Pause, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place.

Muscle tissues focused: This tougher push-up hits the same old muscle tissues, with added emphasis on the triceps

• Assume a low-plank place together with your forearms, palms, and balls of your ft on the ground, and your physique straight from head to heels. Your ft needs to be shoulder width, your fingers unfold extensive, and your forearms parallel.
• With out shrugging your shoulders towards your ears, or letting your hips sag or carry, shift your weight onto your left forearm and place your proper palm flat on the ground under your proper shoulder.
• Nonetheless sustaining a superbly straight physique, shift your weight onto your proper palm, putting your left hand flat, and straightening each arms to imagine a high-plank place.
• Reverse the transfer, decreasing your proper forearm after which your left forearm again to low-plank place, maintaining your physique straight the entire time.
• Repeat the motion, this time putting your left hand in push-up place earlier than your proper hand. After each palms are in high-plank place, decrease your left arm to low-plank place earlier than your proper arm.
• Proceed the motion, alternating the initiating arm with every rep.

4. Diamond Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: The nearer hand positioning calls for extra of the triceps on this extra superior push-up with nonetheless loads of pressure on the chest and shoulders

• From a push-up place, convey the ideas of your thumbs and index fingers collectively in order that they’re touching (see the diamond?). That is the beginning place.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked (don’t allow them to flare), decrease your torso till your chest evenly touches the backs of your palms. (Or so far as you possibly can go with out compromising type.)
• Pause, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place.

5. Single-Leg Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: The lifted leg challenges core stability along with the chest, shoulders, and triceps

• Assume a push-up place, lifting your proper leg off the ground.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked towards your physique, decrease your torso till your chest is inside a number of inches of the ground.
• Pause, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place as shortly as doable.
• Full all reps on one facet, then repeat on the opposite, performing equal reps on each.

Muscle tissues focused: Strolling your palms ahead locations extra pressure on the belly muscle tissues and spinal erectors as you stabilize your backbone, subsequently working your triceps, chest, and shoulders

• Stand tall together with your ft hip-width aside and your arms at your sides.
• Maintaining your core engaged and again flat, hinge ahead at your hips and place each palms on the ground. Bend your knees barely if crucial.
• Stroll your palms ahead till you assume a high-plank place. Your wrists needs to be straight beneath your shoulders and your physique needs to be straight from head to heels.
• Decrease your physique, bringing your chest inside a number of inches of the ground, after which return to high-plank.
• Reverse the motion, strolling your palms again towards your ft, to return to the beginning place.

7. Large-Arm Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: Shifting your palms out farther to the edges shifts emphasis to the muscle tissues of the chest

• Assume a push-up place, putting your palms on the ground twice shoulder-width aside.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked towards your physique, decrease your torso till your chest is inside a number of inches of the ground.
• Pause, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place as shortly as doable.

Muscle tissues focused: Shifting to at least one arm on the high of the push-up locations better pressure on the shoulder and triceps of the planted hand, and challenges core stability — significantly the obliques — with the rotational motion

• Assume a push-up place.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked (not flared), core engaged, and head consistent with your backbone, decrease your physique till your chest is inside a number of inches of the ground.
• Pause, after which push again as much as the beginning place.
• As soon as you come to the beginning place, shift your weight onto your left hand, stack your proper foot on high of the left, roll your proper hip again, and prolong your proper arm towards the ceiling (the one elements of your physique on the ground can be your left hand and the surface fringe of your left foot). Hold your physique straight all through the motion.
• Carry your proper hand and foot again right down to the ground, and repeat the sequence, switching sides on the subsequent facet plank. Proceed alternating sides on every rep.

Muscle tissues focused: Elevating your ft shift extra weight onto your palms, rising work on the entire typical muscle tissues engaged in a push-up

• Assume a push-up place together with your palms on the ground and your ft elevated on a sturdy bench or field.
• Maintaining your physique straight and core engaged, slowly decrease your chest as near the ground as doable.
• Return to the beginning place.

Muscle tissues focused: Including a “leap” together with your palms helps construct explosive energy within the chest, shoulders, and triceps

• Assume a push-up place.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked, decrease your torso till your chest is inside a number of inches of the ground, after which push up with sufficient power on your palms to go away the bottom.
• Land softly, transitioning instantly into your subsequent rep.

11. Staggered Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: Offsetting hand positions locations better weight on one arm, difficult stability and selling useful energy

• Begin in a normal push-up place, after which transfer your proper hand barely ahead and your left hand barely backward.
• Do two push-ups.
• Change hand positions and repeat.
• Proceed alternating hand positions each two reps.

12. Spider-Man Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: Bringing your knee to your elbow on the backside of the transfer will increase time beneath pressure for the customary push-up muscle tissues, whereas introducing challenges to hip mobility and the glutes

• Assume a push-up place.
• Maintaining your hips stage, convey your proper knee as shut as doable to your proper elbow. Pause, after which step again to the plank place.
• Decrease your physique, bringing your chest inside a number of inches of the ground, after which return to the beginning place.
• Carry your left knee as shut as doable to your left elbow. Pause, after which step again to the plank place.
• Carry out one other push-up and repeat the sequence, performing equal reps on all sides.

13. Mountain Climber Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: Pumping your ft additional emphasizes your core, requiring greater than isometric engagement out of your belly muscle tissues

• Assume a push-up place.
• Raise your proper foot off the ground and draw your proper knee towards your chest, ensuring to maintain your again flat, your butt down, and the remainder of your physique stationary.
• Return your proper foot to the beginning place, and instantly repeat with the left leg.
• Decrease your physique till your chest is a number of inches from the ground, after which return to the beginning place.

14. Modified Planche Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: Positioning your palms farther again targets the shoulders whereas nonetheless working the chest and triceps

• Lie face down on the ground, putting your palms on the bottom beside your ribs.
• Participating your core and glutes to make sure your physique stays straight, hold your elbows tucked towards your physique and push your self as much as excessive plank. That is the beginning place.
• Decrease your physique till your chest is inside a number of inches of the ground, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place.

Muscle tissues focused: Including a leap on the high of the transfer turns a push-up right into a full-body train and introduces a hellacious dose of cardio

• Stand tall together with your ft hip-width aside and your arms at your sides.
• Bend your knees, hinge at your hips, and squat down, putting each palms on the ground.
• Soar your ft again to a push-up place.
• Decrease your torso till your chest is a number of inches from the ground, after which shortly push again up.
• Soar your ft again to your palms, after which explode upward, leaping into the air.
• Land softly and instantly start your subsequent rep.

16. Stability Ball Decline Push-Up

Muscle tissues focused: This model of the decline actually challenges your core as you’re employed to stabilize your self on the ball

• Assume a push-up place together with your toes on high of a stability ball. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes to maintain your physique in a single straight line from head to toes for all the transfer.
• Decrease your chest towards the bottom, maintaining your elbows tucked near your physique. They need to type a forty five diploma angle to your torso when considered from above.
• Push your self again as much as the beginning place.

Muscle tissues focused: Performing the transfer on an unstable med ball promotes steadiness throughout either side of your physique

• Assume a push-up place together with your palms elevated on a drugs ball. Place the drugs ball straight beneath your chest together with your palms on both facet of it.
• As this push-up variation will be robust on the wrists, place your palms in exterior rotation on the drugs ball — level your thumbs towards your head and your draw your fingers out to the edges (away from the heels of your palms).
• Place your ft extensive for steadiness. Have interaction your core and squeeze your glutes to maintain your physique straight.
• Bend your arms and decrease your torso towards the drugs ball. Hold your head down and your elbows near your sides.
• Pause as soon as your chest is inside a number of inches of the drugs ball. Then, push your self again as much as the beginning place.

What Muscle tissues Do Push-Ups Work?

As touched upon above, these are the first muscle tissues you’ll have interaction to some extent throughout any push-up.

Chest

Your pectoral muscle tissues (also called your “pecs“) work to attract your higher arms towards your physique. You’ll really feel them throughout the elevating and decreasing parts of the push-up.

Shoulders

The deltoid muscle tissues help your pecs in bringing your arms towards your physique throughout the decreasing portion of the push-up, and pushing the ground away throughout the elevating portion.

Triceps

Your horseshoe-shaped triceps muscle tissues — situated on the backs of your higher arms — work in partnership together with your shoulders and chest to decrease and lift your physique within the push-up.

Core

When carried out proper, the push-up will have interaction your rectus abdominis (a.ok.a. the six-pack muscle), in addition to the transverse abdominis, which is the deep core muscle that lies beneath it. Collectively, these core muscle tissues work to maintain your trunk secure all through the motion.