If you wish to hit a great deal of muscle tissues in a single rep, you may’t do a lot better than a commonplace push-up. However the base transfer is only the start. To see new features in power, muscular growth, and mobility, there are dozens of push-up variations to attempt.

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

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

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

• Assume a high-plank place along with your ft collectively, your physique straight from head to heels, and your arms in step 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 kind an arrow when seen 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 rapidly as potential.

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

• Place your arms 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 mass focused: This tougher push-up hits the standard muscle tissues, with added emphasis on the triceps

• Assume a low-plank place along with your forearms, palms, and balls of your ft on the ground, and your physique straight from head to heels. Your ft must be shoulder width, your fingers unfold broad, 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 beneath 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, conserving 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 arms 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 mass focused: The nearer hand positioning calls for extra of the triceps on this extra superior push-up with nonetheless loads of rigidity on the chest and shoulders

• From a push-up place, carry the information 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 frivolously touches the backs of your arms. (Or so far as you may go with out compromising kind.)
• Pause, after which push your self again as much as the beginning place.

5. Single-Leg Push-Up

Muscle mass 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 rapidly as potential.
• Full all reps on one aspect, then repeat on the opposite, performing equal reps on each.

Muscle mass focused: Strolling your arms ahead locations extra rigidity on the stomach muscle tissues and spinal erectors as you stabilize your backbone, subsequently working your triceps, chest, and shoulders

• Stand tall along 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 vital.
• Stroll your arms ahead till you assume a high-plank place. Your wrists must be instantly below your shoulders and your physique must 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 arms again towards your ft, to return to the beginning place.

7. Extensive-Arm Push-Up

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

• Assume a push-up place, putting your arms 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 rapidly as potential.

Muscle mass focused: Shifting to 1 arm on the prime of the push-up locations better rigidity on the shoulder and triceps of the planted hand, and challenges core stability — notably the obliques — with the rotational motion

• Assume a push-up place.
• Maintaining your elbows tucked (not flared), core engaged, and head in step 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 back to the beginning place, shift your weight onto your left hand, stack your proper foot on prime of the left, roll your proper hip again, and lengthen your proper arm towards the ceiling (the one components of your physique on the ground will likely be your left hand and the skin fringe of your left foot). Hold your physique straight all through the motion.
• Deliver your proper hand and foot again all the way down to the ground, and repeat the sequence, switching sides on the following aspect plank. Proceed alternating sides on every rep.

Muscle mass focused: Elevating your ft shift extra weight onto your arms, rising work on all the standard muscle tissues engaged in a push-up

• Assume a push-up place along with your arms 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 potential.
• Return to the beginning place.

Muscle mass focused: Including a “bounce” along with your arms 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 arms to depart the bottom.
• Land softly, transitioning instantly into your subsequent rep.

11. Staggered Push-Up

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

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

12. Spider-Man Push-Up

Muscle mass focused: Bringing your knee to your elbow on the backside of the transfer will increase time below rigidity 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, carry your proper knee as shut as potential 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.
• Deliver your left knee as shut as potential 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 both sides.

13. Mountain Climber Push-Up

Muscle mass focused: Pumping your ft additional emphasizes your core, requiring greater than isometric engagement out of your stomach 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 mass focused: Positioning your arms farther again targets the shoulders whereas nonetheless working the chest and triceps

• Lie face down on the ground, putting your arms 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 mass focused: Including a bounce on the prime of the transfer turns a push-up right into a full-body train and introduces a hellacious dose of cardio

• Stand tall along 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 rapidly push again up.
• Soar your ft again to your arms, after which explode upward, leaping into the air.
• Land softly and instantly start your subsequent rep.

16. Stability Ball Decline Push-Up

Muscle mass 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 along with your toes on prime 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 the whole transfer.
• Decrease your chest towards the bottom, conserving your elbows tucked near your physique. They need to kind a forty five diploma angle to your torso when seen from above.
• Push your self again as much as the beginning place.

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

• Assume a push-up place along with your arms elevated on a medication ball. Place the drugs ball instantly beneath your chest along with your arms on both aspect of it.
• As this push-up variation may be powerful on the wrists, place your arms 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 arms).
• Place your ft broad for stability. 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 mass Do Push-Ups Work?

As touched upon above, these are the first muscle tissues you’ll interact 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 in the course of the elevating and decreasing parts of the push-up.

Shoulders

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

Triceps

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

Core

When carried out proper, the push-up will interact 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.