Push · Tier 1
Push-up
The full push-up is the foundation of horizontal pressing — a rigid plank lowered to a hovering chest and driven back up, the rep that unlocks dips, diamonds, pikes, and the planche line.
Also known as: Press-up · Full Push-up- Difficulty
- 2/10 · Beginner
- Tier
- 01
- Equipment
- none
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The full push-up sits at tier 1 of the push branch — the rep you earn after 12 clean incline push-ups, and the true starting line for horizontal pressing. Clear it and the tree opens up fast: diamond push-ups, dips, pike push-ups, and the pseudo-planche push-up that begins the planche journey all branch directly off it.
Treat it as a moving plank, not an arm exercise. If your body can't hold a straight line, you don't have a push-up yet — you have a wiggle. Own the full range with a rigid torso first; the fancy variations are just this same rep tilted, narrowed, or loaded harder.
Readiness gates
Clear these measurable conditions before forcing the skill.
12 clean reps
Technique, step by step
Four checkpoints for one honest repetition or hold.
- 01Setup
Build a rigid plank
Set your hands just outside shoulder width with the heels of your palms under your shoulders or a touch lower, fingers spread and gripping the floor. Lock your elbows out, brace your abs and squeeze your glutes so your body is one straight line from heels to head — no sagging hips, no piked butt. Look at the floor a few inches ahead of your hands so your neck stays neutral. This whole-body tension is the rep; lose it and the push-up collapses into a worm.
- 02Lower
Descend with elbows back
Lower on a 2-second count, driving your elbows back at roughly 45 degrees to your torso — not flared straight out to the sides. Keep the line rigid the entire way down; your chest and hips should arrive together. Go until your chest is a fist's height off the floor, shoulders still packed. The bottom is where most people cheat range, so own it.
- 03Drive
Press the floor away
From the bottom, think 'push the floor away,' not 'push myself up' — same motion, better intent. Drive evenly through both hands and squeeze your chest as the elbows extend. The body moves as one plank; if your hips shoot up first, you've lost the brace. Keep the glutes and abs tight all the way to lockout.
- 04Top
Lock out and protract
Finish with elbows straight and push slightly further, rounding your upper back to spread the shoulder blades — that small protraction trains the serratus and protects the joint. Hold the plank for a beat, body still dead-straight. Reset your brace before the next rep rather than free-falling into it.
Skill practice guide
Public skill guidance — not your protected personalized eight-week plan.
Build clean, full-range push-ups to a repeatable set of 12, then push toward harder variations.
4-5 sets of 8-12 reps (regress to incline push-ups if you can't hold a rigid line for 8).
2-3×/week with 48h between pressing sessions.
Once you can do 3 sets of 12 with perfect lines, slow every rep to a 3s lower or elevate your feet before chasing diamond and pseudo-planche push-ups.
Common faults
My hips sag toward the floor during push-ups+
Your core and glutes aren't bracing, so the spine takes the load instead of the chest. Before every set, squeeze your glutes hard and pull your ribs down into a hollow position, then keep that tension the whole rep. Drop to incline push-ups for a few weeks if you can't hold the line for a full set.
My elbows flare straight out to the sides and my shoulders hurt+
Wide-flared elbows jam the shoulder joint and overload the front delt. Tuck your elbows to roughly 45 degrees from your torso so your arms make an arrow shape, not a T. Filming a set from the side or front will show you the angle fast — fix it before the irritation becomes a chronic ache.
I can't get my chest low — I stop halfway down+
Either your pressing strength runs out in the bottom range or you're afraid of the floor. Train slow negatives and pause reps with your chest one fist off the ground to build that exact range. Half-reps feel productive but leave the hardest position untrained, so cap each set at full-depth reps only.
My wrists hurt when my hands are flat on the floor+
Flat-hand push-ups load the wrist near end-range extension, which stings if the joint isn't conditioned. Grip the floor actively to spread the load across your fingers, and warm the wrists up with gentle rocks before pressing. Push-up handles or fists on a mat keep the wrist neutral while the tissue adapts — tendons take time.
My head dips to the floor before my chest does+
You're craning your neck to fake depth instead of lowering the chest. Keep your gaze a few inches ahead of your hands and lead the descent with your sternum, so chest and chin arrive together. Slow the tempo down — chasing depth with your head only hides a range problem you still need to fix.
Useful setup
Cushions the chest and wrists without going so soft that it robs your hands of a stable push-off.
Spares cranky wrists and lets your chest drop below hand level for deeper range as you get stronger.
Elevate your hands for incline regressions when full push-ups are still out of reach for clean reps.
Primary muscles
Chest · Triceps · Front delts · Core