25 Ways to Perform Pushups to Make You Fit
Overview
Push-ups are a simple and effective bodyweight exercise that can help increase your upper body and core strength. This exercise works the pectoral muscles in your chest and the triceps.
They are versatile and easy and are suitable for beginners and individuals who are more advanced with exercise. Here are 25 ways to perform push-ups effectively, varying from standard to advance variation.
1- The Standard Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The standard push-up will strengthen the upper body primarily, the chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and back muscles.
How To Do It
Place your hands flat on the ground, shoulder-width apart, arms straight, and feet together. Get into the plank position and slowly lower your body to the ground. Keep your core muscles engaged and spread out your elbows in a V position.
Breathe in when you go lower, and then breathe out as you push back up to the starting position for one repetition. However, the standard push-ups are simple but common mistakes people can make, like letting their hips rise or sink or flare out the elbows too much.
2- Wide Hands Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The wide-hand push-up gives strength to the upper body and core and focuses on the pectoral muscles.
How To Do It
It is similar to the standard push-up, but in this, hands are placed wider. Place your body in the plank position, with your hands reaching each side, roughly 2.5 to three feet apart. Do a strict push-up, as described above, and keep your elbows tracking back throughout the movement.
3- Triangle (Diamond) Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The triangle push-ups strengthen the upper body and core and focus more on the triceps.
How To Do It
Get into the plank position and place your hands together on the ground. Angled inward at 45 degrees so that your index fingers and thumbs touch to form a triangle (or diamond). Keep your elbows tight to your body and bend them to lower your chest toward the triangle. Reverse the movement to the starting position for one repetition. Keep the triangle directly below your chest throughout the exercise.
4- Pike Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It strengthens the upper body and core, focusing more on the shoulders.
How To Do It
Get into a downward dog yoga position with your feet and hands wider than shoulder-width. Keep your hips high and heels low, and maintain the inverted-V position as you bend your elbows and lower your head toward the floor between your hands. Reverse the movement to the starting position for one repetition.
5- Super (Hindu) Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It works on the shoulders, triceps, and core and improves flexibility.
How To Do It
Super push-ups performed like a slow dive from downward dog to cobra pose. Start with a pike push-up, take a downward dog position, bend your elbows, and lower your nose to the floor between your hands. Then, without rising, continue moving your torso forward to slide your chin, chest, and rib cage between your hands.
As your ribs met your hands, you made an arc of your head and torso upward. Now take the cobra pose and continue this upward arc until your arms are straight. Your hips pressed toward the ground, and your back hyperextended. Reverse the movement until you are back in the downward dog pose.
6- Staggered Hands Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It works on the push-up muscles asymmetrically across the body and requires more core activation for stability.
How To Do It
Get into a standard push-up position, and place one hand forward and the other backward. So one hand is set in front of your shoulder level and the other below shoulder level. Bend your elbows to lower your chest until it is slightly below the level of your bent elbow.
And then, extend your elbows to push back up to the starting position. Keep your elbows tight to your body throughout the movement. Switch your hands' fore and aft positions to work each side evenly after one rep.
7- Sphinx Push-Up (Triceps Extension)
Targeted Muscles
It provides strength to the upper body and core, mainly focusing on the triceps.
How To Do It
Get in a plank position with your forearms flat on the ground, shoulder-width apart, and parallel. Push up with your triceps to lift your elbows off the ground, and continue until your arms are fully extended. Then lower your elbows until just above the ground. It is one repetition. It is more difficult the farther forward you place your arms.
8- Spiderman (Side Kick) Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It gives strength to the core in also to the typical push-up muscles.
How To Do It
Take a standard push-up position. As you lower yourself toward the ground, bring one knee up towards the shoulder and touch your elbow with your other leg parallel to the ground. Your knee should touch your elbow at the lowest point of the push-up. Reverse the movement to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
9- Cross-Body Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It works on the upper body and focuses on the core, hip flexors, and shoulders.
How To Do It
Get into a standard push-up position. As you lower yourself to the ground, simultaneously pick up one leg and cross it beneath your body as you rotate your hip toward the ground. Reverse the movement to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
10- Archer Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It works on the upper body, the core muscles, and the hips. In archer push up, we put our body weight on a single arm while the opposite arm assists.
How To Do It
Get into a push-up position, with hands flat on the ground angled outward at about 45 degrees. Lower yourself at an angle and bring your shoulder down to the hand of the same side. Do stretch out the other arm to a full extent. Push back up to reverse the movement and return to the starting position. Repeat to the other side. Keeping your feet wider may help you.
11- Power and Clap Push-Ups
Targeted Muscles
It develops power in the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
How To Do It
Get into a standard push-up position, lower your chest below the level of your bent elbow, and then push upward with force so that your hands leave the ground. Land with soft elbows in push-up form and continue lowering toward the ground. Repeat. Make sure to keep your back flat and your hips level throughout the movement.
Claps (Harder)
Once you master the power push-ups, you can add variation to the exercise by adding claps. For clap push-ups, perform a power push-up with a more upward force. While your hands are in the air, clap below your chest. Land with soft elbows in push-up form and continue lowering until your chest is slightly below the level of your bent elbow. Repeat.
Behind-the-Back Claps (Even Harder)
Do the same exercise described above, but clap behind your back instead of below your chest. Be careful not to bend at the hips, and watch your face on this one.
Triple Claps (Hardest)
This variation is the hardest in power and claps push-ups. Do the same exercise as mentioned above. But you have to clap three times, under your chest, behind your back, and again under your chest. Do all claps before touching the ground.
12- Flying Push-Ups
Targeted Muscles
They work your core, back, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, biceps, triceps, and shoulders. It helps to develop even more dynamic power in the body.
How To Do It
Get into a standard push-up position, and lower your chest below the level of your bent elbow. Then set off upwards and lift both your hands and feet off the ground.
Try to keep your back as flat as possible, but you may need to lift up your hips slightly to generate momentum. It also helps to keep your feet wider. Land with soft elbows in push-up form and continue lowering toward the ground. Repeat.
Clapping Jacks (Harder)
Do the same exercise described above, but clap your hands and feet together in the air. The push-ups require more airtime and power.
Superman Push-Up (Hardest)
Do the same exercise as mentioned above. But extend your arm fully while in the air. Like a flying Superman, keep your arms in front of your body, parallel to the ground. It requires even more airtime and power.
13- One-Arm Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It works on the upper body, core muscles, and hips. It helps to activate the core to increase stability.
How To Do It
For the one-arm push-up, place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and place your hand directly in the middle of the body. Keep one arm below your chest and the unweighted arm behind your pack. This one requires a bit more practice. Maintain a flat back and level hips throughout the movement.
14- Decline Push-Up(Feet On Bench)
Targeted Muscles
It strengthens the chest, abs, shoulders, and triceps muscles.
How To Do It
Place your hands on the floor shoulder-width apart. Elevate your feet by placing them on the bench, with only your toes and balls of feet touching the floor. Keep a flat back and engage your core while lowering your chest toward the ground, bending your elbows at a 60-degree angle. When your chest comes just above the ground, hold for one count. Then push back up to the starting position by straightening your arms.
15- Hands-on a Bench Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It primarily works on your chest, arms, and shoulders.
How To Do It
Bend down and place both hands on the bench at a distance of shoulder-width apart. Keep your body back into a plank position, one leg at a time. Make your body in a straight line. Next, bend your arms to help you slowly lower your chest to the bench and press back up to the starting position.
16- Stability Ball (Hands-On) Push-Ups
Targeted Muscles
These push-up works on the chest, core, shoulder, and triceps muscles.
How To Do It
Kneel on the ground with your feet together and your toes tucked. Place your hands on the sides of a medicine ball and bend forward into a plank position with your legs straight out behind you. Lower your chest toward the ball with a straight torso, keeping your core engaged.
Lower until your chest touches the ball, with your elbows slightly flared outward. Press yourself upward by straightening your elbows to return to a plank position before repeating.
17- Stability Ball (Feet On) Push-Ups
Targeted Muscles
These push-up works on the chest, core, shoulder, and triceps muscles.
How To Do It
Get in the standard push-up position. Place your feet on the medicine ball. Place your arms in front of you shoulder-width distance apart. Now, press up from the ground and extend your arms. Slowly lower your body towards the floor until you feel a stretch in your tricep muscles. It is one rep. Return up to the starting position. Do many reps and sets as desired.
18- One-Legged Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It primarily works the chest, shoulder, and triceps.
How To Do It
In a One-legged push-up, one of your feet on the heel remains grounded during the exercise. Get in the standard push-up position. Lift one leg and lower yourself until your chest is a few inches from the ground. Push yourself back up and repeat the movement as desired.
19- Shoulder Tap Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The shoulder tap push-up help you build your balance. It strengthens the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles.
How To Do It
Shoulder tap push-ups are performed like a traditional push-up, except at the end. In the end, you bring one hand up to touch the opposite shoulder. Get in the standard push-up position.
Slowly get lower your body to the ground. Keep your core muscles engage and spread out your elbows down out. Push back and touch your hand to the opposite shoulder. It is the one rep. Alternate the hand that touches the alternate shoulder after each push-up.
20- Single Arm Raise Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The one-arm push-up strengthens the arms, chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles.
How To Do It
The single-arm raise push-up is similar to the shoulder tap push-up. Get in the standard push-up position. Raise one of your arms in front of your body. Slowly lower to the floor and bend the elbows. Push back to the starting point by extending the elbows. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions on both sides.
21- Single-Leg Raise Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
Single-leg raise push-ups work to your glutes and core.
How To Do It
With the single-leg raise push-up, you will raise one of your legs after each push-up. Get in the standard push-up position. Lift one leg off the ground. Keep your body in a line from neck to feet, bend your arms and lower yourself to the floor. Push back up to start. Keep the lifted leg off the ground the entire time.
22- Finger Tip Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
Finger push-ups improve your grip strength. It strengthens your fingers and increases the size of your forearms.
How To Do It
Set up for finger push-up is the same as standard push-up, but instead of placing your palms on the ground, place your fingertips. Get into a push-up position and place your fingers on the floor. Then slowly get into the raised push-up position. Gradually increase the weight to make sure your fingers can take it. When you are ready, you can start doing push-ups. Try to keep the pace slow and steady.
23- Alternating Side Medicine Ball (GSP) Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The alternating medicine ball push-up is an advanced progression of the push-up. It strengthens the chest, shoulders, and triceps.
How To Do It
Get in the standard push-up position with one hand on the floor and the other hand on top of the medicine ball. Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Slowly lower your torso towards the floor. Pause and press back up to the starting position. It is the one rep. Keep performing these by alternating hands on the medicine ball for each repetition.
24- Rotational Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
It gives strength to the chest, core, shoulders, and triceps.
How To Do It
Get into the standard push-up position and extend one leg at a time. Keep your legs straight, elbows extended, and your head in a neutral position looking at the floor. Slowly lower to the floor and unlock the elbows. Lower until the upper arms are parallel or your chest touches the floor.
Push back to the starting point by extending the elbows and driving your palms into the floor. Rotate your body and take one of your arms up towards the sky. The end position should make you look like a T in a side plank position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
25- TRX (Hands-On) Push-Up
Targeted Muscles
The TRX chest press builds upper body strength and stability. It works on the shoulders, arms, and core.
How To Do It
The TRX push-up with your hands on the handle is an excellent push-up variation to provide a great stretch on your chest. Set the TRX loops to knee height or below, depending on your ability. Take a handle in each hand and position your shoulders over your wrists.
Keep the straps hanging perpendicularly to the floor. Extend your legs behind you to keep your body straight, tighten your abs and squeeze your glutes to prevent your hips from sagging. Bend your elbows and lower your torso between your hands. Extend your arms forcefully, but not explosively, to rise to the start.
TRX (Feet On) Push-Up
You can do a TRX push-up with your feet in the cradles rather than your hands, but this becomes more of a core and glute challenge. This version is for a lower body rather than a chest one.
