As of: March 1, 2024, 6:17 p.m
By: Alexandra Grauvogl
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For a clean push-up technique, a few points must be taken into account.
For example, the gaze should be directed downwards so that the neck is not overextended.
© IMAGO/Kzenon
It is a fitness classic that appears in almost every training plan: the push-up.
It is all the more important that the push-up is carried out cleanly.
And that's not so easy, because the technical devil is in the details.
“Push up” means something like “to push up” or “press up” and describes the movement sequence during push-ups.
Totally simple, right?
Unfortunately no.
Correct execution of the well-known fitness exercise requires more than just a rough idea of the movement.
Ultimately, clean technique is a prerequisite for effective strength and muscle building and for avoiding injuries and pain.
Here you can find out what exercisers should pay attention to when doing push-ups, what typical sources of error there are and what variants are suitable for different skill levels and goals.
Push-ups – the right technique
Anyone who performs the push-up correctly activates around a third of the body's 656 muscles.
This makes the push-up an effective full-body exercise with a focus on a strong chest (
pectoralis major, pectoralis minor)
, shoulders (
deltoideus pars clavicularis
) and arms (
triceps brachii)
.
Which muscles are stimulated and how strongly depends on various factors - such as the position of the hand (wide vs. narrow) or the orientation of the palms (straight, turned inwards or outwards).
The correct technique for the classic push-up is explained below:
The starting position:
Start in the support position (plank).
Place your hands shoulder-width apart at chest height, fingers pointing forward.
Build tension in your core.
The elbows are extended, but not locked.
The gaze is directed downwards.
Head, back, hips, legs and feet form a straight line.
This straight line must be maintained throughout the entire exercise.
Lower your body:
Slowly and controlledly lower your body until your chest touches the floor.
When bending, keep your arms close to your upper body, do not spread your elbows.
Inhale while lowering.
Push the body up:
After reaching the final position, the body is pushed back into the starting position with the arms.
In contrast to lowering, this should be done quickly or explosively.
Exhaling forcefully supports the movement.
Finally learn push-ups!
You can learn to do push-ups – with the right training plan © Imago/Lian Fei
If you want to systematically learn push-ups using the correct technique with preliminary exercises, you can download the 6-week training plan as a PDF for free and get started.
Typical mistakes that many people make when doing push-ups
Anyone who does not know how to perform push-ups correctly and makes one or more of the typical mistakes has several disadvantages: On the one hand, there is a risk of pain in the cervical spine (mistake 2), in the back (mistake 1), in the shoulders (mistake 3) or in the wrists (mistake 6).
Or there is no training progress (all together, especially mistakes no. 4, 5 and 7).
The list of 7 typical push-up mistakes and why you should avoid them:
No body tension:
There are two possible sources of error here: “sagging” and “stretching your bottom up”.
In both versions, the head, shoulders, back, bottom and legs do not form a straight line.
On the one hand, this weakens the training effect on the core muscles.
When you sag, you also risk pain in your lower back.
If you stretch your buttocks and hips too high, you put more strain on your chest and shoulders.
Tip: Tense your core and gluteal muscles, stretch your legs and feel the tension “down to your heels”.
Check your posture with a quick sideways glance in the mirror, internalize what the correct body tension feels like and maintain this feeling.
Neck overextended:
Anyone who looks forward and overextends the cervical spine risks neck pain.
Tip: Fix a point on the floor!
The head forms a straight line as an extension of the spine.
Elbows point outwards:
If you don't keep your arms close to your body when doing a push-up and spread your elbows apart, you're putting a lot of strain on the rotator cuff muscles in your shoulders.
This can lead to shoulder pain, especially over time.
Tip: Elbows point backwards and not outwards!
By the way, this is how you train your chest and triceps more.
“Let it fall” downwards:
If you don’t resist the force of gravity and let your body fall downwards, you’re missing out on a crucial part of the exercise.
Tip: The controlled lowering increases muscle tension and thus the training effect and also prepares the subsequent upward push.
This makes the clean push-up much easier.
Incorrect breathing:
Holding your breath or forced breathing is not uncommon in weight training and can increase performance if done for a short time.
Nevertheless, it poses risks for the cardiovascular system for inexperienced athletes and those with previous health problems.
Tip: Correct breathing supports push-up performance.
To do this, exhale in a controlled manner when pushing up (contraction phase) and inhale when lowering the body.
Incorrect strain on the wrists:
If the palms of the hands are placed too far back, they form an acute angle to the forearm.
Also unfavorable: wrists turned inwards.
Both can lead to overloading of the joints and cause pain.
Tip: The hands are shoulder-width apart at chest height and point forward.
If you still have problems with your wrists, you can try doing the push-ups with your fists (back of your hands pointing outwards) or using push-up handles.
ROM is not used:
Many athletes want to complete the targeted repetitions as quickly as possible and forget to use the full range of motion (ROM) - i.e. the full range of motion.
Sometimes the elbows are not extended in the upper area, sometimes the chest does not touch the floor.
Tip: To achieve the greatest possible training effect, you should always reach the starting and ending positions.
If you get sloppy, you can try to stay there for a second before starting the next repetition.
However, the goal is a fluid movement sequence.
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Learn to do push-ups – read the preliminary exercises
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In addition to the classic push-up, there are numerous variations for different training levels.
The technology recommendations listed above are deliberately modified in order to provide different training stimuli.
Advanced users can, for example, try the diamond push-up, in which the elbows point outwards and the hands are placed so that the index finger and thumb touch under the breast.
However, before you attempt such variations, you should master the clean execution of the classic push-up.
The author is a former competitive athlete, certified fitness trainer and ski instructor.