Exercise guide · Beginner · Compound

Push-Up: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The push-up lowers and presses your body from the floor in a straight plank. It trains the chest, front delts and triceps with no equipment, and the plank position makes your core work too.

Primary muscles
Chest
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Beginner · Compound

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Demonstration of the push-up
Front view: muscles worked by the push-up. Primary: chest. Secondary: abs, shoulders, triceps and obliques.
Back view: muscles worked by the push-up. Primary: chest. Secondary: abs, shoulders, triceps and obliques.
Primary Secondary

How to do the push-up

  1. Step 1: Start in a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your feet together.
  2. Step 2: Engage your core and lower your body towards the ground by bending your elbows, keeping your body in a straight line.
  3. Step 3: Pause for a moment when your chest is just above the ground, then push yourself back up to the starting position by straightening your arms.
  4. Step 4: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Form cues

  • Hands slightly wider than your shoulders, fingers spread, body straight from head to heels.
  • Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs so your hips do not sag.
  • Lower your chest to just above the floor with elbows about 45 degrees from your body.
  • Push the floor away until your arms are straight and your upper back spreads.

Common push-up mistakes

  • Hips sagging or piking up.

    Fix: Keep the glutes tight and think of moving as one rigid plank.

  • Elbows flared at 90 degrees.

    Fix: Tuck them to about 45 degrees.

  • Half reps.

    Fix: Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor; elevate your hands if you cannot yet.

Sets, reps and programming

Beginners: 3 sets as many as you can with good form, using hands on a bench if needed. Once you can do 20 or more, add a weight vest or backpack, slow the tempo, or elevate your feet.

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the push-up by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Variations and progressions

Push-Up alternatives

More exercises that train the chest as their main target:

Push-Up FAQs

Can you build muscle with push-ups only?

Yes, as long as the sets are hard. Research on low-load training shows muscle grows similarly across a wide range of loads when sets go close to failure, so push-ups work, especially if you progress them.

How many push-ups should I do a day?

There is no magic number. Two to four hard sets, two or three times a week, is plenty for most people; doing them daily is fine if your shoulders and elbows recover.

More chest exercises

See the best chest exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset; cues, mistakes, programming and FAQs are written by FitStack.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.