Pushup Progressions
Train your triceps, shoulders, and chest while building fundamental pushing strength!
#1 - Wall Pushups
A classic, gentle pushing movement!
Hands slightly below shoulder height. Wrists should feel slightly stretched when arms fully extended. Stand about arms-length away from the wall.
Standard: 3 Sets of 50
#2 - Incline Pushups
Introducing us to diagonal pushing!
Start with something around sternum height. The lower the base, the harder this exercise becomes. Lower yourself until your chest gently touches the base. Your hands should be around sternum height by your ribs at the bottom of the movement.
Standard: 3 Sets of 40
#3 - Advanced Incline Pushups
Using a lower base prepares our body for horizontal pushing!
Start with something around hip height. The lower the base, the harder this exercise becomes. Lower yourself until your chest gently touches the base. Your hands should be by your ribs at the bottom of the movement.
Standard: 3 Sets of 35
#4 - Knee Pushups
Finally touching ground for horizontal pushing!
These are slightly easier than Full Pushups because the knees are used as a pivot instead of the feet. Start with your arms straight and knuckles beneath your shoulders. Lower smoothly until your chest gently touches the floor and your hands are by your ribs. Pause for a moment before coming back up
Standard: 3 Sets of 30
#5 - Full Pushups
The famous bodyweight pushing movement!
Your body should be relatively straight from your shoulders to your toes. You don’t have to look forward. Start with your arms straight and knuckles below your shoulders. Lower smoothly until your chest touches the ground. Pause briefly before coming back up. Keep your abs braced! Don’t allow your lower back to sag.
Standard: 3 Sets of 25
#6 - Narrow Pushups
Preparing our arms for one-arm push movements!
Moving our hands closer together gives more work to our arms. Although the pectorals are often emphasized in modern training, the “weak link” of our pushing movements is usually our arms. This is why our routine is dedicated to building them up - a chain is only as strong as its weakest link!
Very importantly, this step begins conditioning our elbow and shoulders for the rigors of one-arm work.
Standard: 3 Sets of 20
#7 - Side-Staggered Pushups
Assisted one-arm pushing!
Because one arm is further away from the body, it is unable to assist as well as the “working” arm. Keep the working arm’s knuckles slightly below its shoulders. Keep your assisting arm about two palms distance away from your chest. Lower smoothly until your chest touches the floor. Pause briefly before coming back up. The body should go straight up and down. If you find yourself leaning towards your assisting arm, bring it closer until you can go straight up and down.
Standard: 2 Sets of 20 (Both Sides)
#8 - Archer Pushups
“Shooting” for greatness!
Start with your hands around twice shoulder width. Lower smoothly towards one hand until your chest touches the floor. Pause briefly before coming back up. The body should NOT go straight up and down. Train one side at a time - don’t do a rep on one side and then with the other side. Keeping your assisting arm straight is ideal. If you cannot do this yet, maintain a slight bend and straighten over time. Similarly, your body should be straight from your head to your toes. Try to resist your hips compensating to one side.
Standard: 2 Sets of 12 (Both Sides)
#9 - Sliding One-Arm Pushups
Sliding our way to success! Almost there!
These are done very similar to “Archer Pushups.” The main difference is that the body goes straight up and down instead of to the side. As a result, the working arm faces higher resistance. Start with your working arm’s knuckles beneath your working shoulders. Lower smoothly until your chest gently touches the ground, allowing your assisting hand to slide away as necessary. Pause gently before smoothly coming back up. If you feel your body start to lean towards your assisting arm, put more weight on your working arm. This will help build the balance needed for one-arm pushing.
Standard: 2 Sets of 12 (Both sides)
#10 - One-Arm Pushups
“Look Ma, one hand!”
This is the infamous strength exercise that kids have been using to show off for… probably millennia. Many claim to be able to do it. However, relatively few people do this exercise WELL. Keep your feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Keep your free arm by your side or grabbing your thigh. Lower smoothly until your chest gently touches the ground. Keep your shoulders parallel to the ground at all times. This may seem impossible at first, as you’ll want to tilt towards your working arm. Over time, work on keeping them parallel. Pause briefly before reversing the movement. Avoid contorting the body to compensate. Keep the work primarily in your arm and chest. Congratulations!
Standard: 2 Sets of 9 (Both Sides)
#11 - Advanced One-Arm Pushups
A rare exercise that takes horizontal one-arm pushing to a new level!
Start with your body in the Full Pushup position. The heels of your feet should be touching. Remove one arm and place it on your thigh. Lower yourself smoothly on one arm until your chest gently touches the ground. Pause briefly before coming back up. Your waist and hips will twist towards your working arm to maintain balance throughout the movement. The sides of your waist will have to work powerfully to stabilize this function!
Standard: 2 Sets of 9 (Both Sides)
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Find a Pushup progression above that you can do comfortably and safely. When in doubt, start with Wall Pushups!
Practice it a few times a week according to our Hybrid Routine.
For each workout day that you do Pushups, do 2-3 sets.
When you an hit the Level 3 Standards for a exercise, move on to the next progression!
Please click “Full Tutorial” below each exercise to view detailed, important information. Scroll through the progressions shown below.
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Start with a variation that you can do competently with good form for at least a few repetitions. When in doubt, start with Wall Pushups!
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Pushups famously work the pectoral muscles of the chest, the anterior deltoids of our shoulders, and the triceps of our upper arms.
Additionally, Pushups involve core and total-body stabilization to perform well. So almost every muscle in the body gets an isometric workout - even in our toes!
Different progressions emphasize these muscles in slightly different ways. It is beneficial to master all of them!