Pushups

Like to Workout without Weights? Work your Chest Muscles, Core, Shoulders, Triceps, and Upper Back Muscles with one of the Best Body Weight Exercises

Welcome to our Pushups Exercise Instruction Guide! 

On this page you'll learn how to do the perfect pushup. Below you'll find pictures, exercise instructions, and tips on how to get the most out of this and other Weight Training Exercises so you can immediately add to your Weight Training Programs, next Chest Workout, or next Body Weight Workout.

Have you seen our Best Chest Exercises list yet? See if this exercise made the list! 

Exercise Summary

Exercise Name:	Pushups
Main Muscle:	Chest
Secondary Muscle(s):	Core, Deltoids, Triceps, Upper Back
Exercise Type:	Compound, Push
Equipment Required:	Body Weight Exercise

Exercise Description and Instruction:

Pushups are a compound, body weight exercise that work your upper body and core. Possibly the greatest thing about this classic exercise is that you can do an effective body weight workout anytime, anywhere. 

Check out our No Limit Pushup Workout, which can be used effectively as a Muscle Building Workout or Fat Loss Workout.

Another major benefit of pushups is that they are very versatile. You can target specific muscles by changing the angle of the your body or changing the width of your hand base. 

Try some of our variations:

• Exercise Ball Push-ups
• Tricep Push-ups
• Wide Chest Push-ups
• Biased Push-ups

To Perform This Exercise:

1. Lie on an exercise mat or the floor face down and place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart while holding your torso up at arms length and keeping your back straight.


2. Next, inhale and lower yourself down by bending at the arms until your chest almost touches the floor. Your biceps and forearms should form a ninety (90) degree angle in this position at the bottom of the movement.


3. Next, exhale and press your body back up to the starting position by extending your arms fully and squeezing your chest.


4. Pause for a moment then lower yourself downward again and complete the desired number of repetitions.

Tips:

1. Keep your back straight throughout the exercise.


2. The width of your hand base determines where the emphasis is placed. A wider hand base focuses more on the outer portion of the chest whereas a close grip focuses more on the triceps. See Tricep Push-upsand Wide Chest Push-ups.


3. To increase the resistance, place your feet on a bench or other high surface. In addition to increasing resistance, this new angle also creates an upper chest exercise that places more of an emphasis on the upper head of the pectoralis major and your pectoralis minor.

Other Popular Upper Body Exercises:

Check out some of our other popular Arm Exercises and Variations:

• Close Grip Bench Press
• Bent Over Row
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Chin Ups and Pull Ups
• Triceps Extension

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Now that you've seen the Pushups, which primarily target your pectorals, check out all of our different Chest Exercises. 

Or, check out these other pages of interest:

• Weight Training Exercises
• Chest Exercises Main Page and Best Chest Exercises List
• Muscle Building Workouts
• Fat Loss Workouts 

You've seen the Chest Exercises. Now access the Workout Routines. 
Start at our Home Page.