Description
Start in a high plank position. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor. Keep your elbows close to your body as you push back up.
How to Do Deep Push Up
- 1Setup
Place two dumbbells, push-up handles, or blocks on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, with your hands gripping them firmly and fingers pointing forward.
- 2Setup
Extend your legs back into a high plank position, forming a straight line from your head to your heels, engaging your core and glutes to prevent sagging.
- 3
Inhale as you slowly lower your chest between your hands, allowing your elbows to bend and track at approximately a 45-degree angle to your torso, until you feel a deep stretch in your chest.
- 4
Exhale forcefully as you press through the handles to powerfully push your body back up to the starting high plank position, fully extending your elbows without locking them.
- 5
Maintain a neutral spine and engaged core throughout the entire movement, ensuring your body remains rigid and stable from head to heels.
Tips
- Focus on a controlled descent to maximize time under tension and enhance muscle activation in the chest and triceps, rather than letting gravity drop you.
- Maintain a neutral neck position by looking slightly forward or down, aligning your head with your spine to prevent unnecessary strain.
- To increase difficulty, elevate your feet on a stable surface; to decrease, perform on your knees or use less elevation for your hands.
- Actively squeeze your shoulder blades together slightly at the bottom of the movement to fully engage and stretch your chest muscles.
Common Mistakes
- ×Sagging hips or arching the lower back compromises core stability and spinal health; fix this by actively engaging your glutes and abs to maintain a straight body line.
- ×Not going deep enough limits the exercise's benefit and the increased range of motion; fix this by ensuring your chest descends significantly below your hand level for a full stretch.
- ×Flaring elbows excessively outward can strain the shoulder joints; fix this by keeping elbows at about a 45-degree angle to your torso throughout the movement.
Variations
Wide Hand Push up
Perform wide hand push-ups to intensely target your chest muscles. This bodyweight exercise strengthens your pectorals, deltoids, and triceps effectively.
Push Up
Master the classic push-up to build chest, shoulder, and triceps strength. This fundamental bodyweight exercise improves upper body endurance and core
Plyo Push Up
An explosive push-up variation building upper body power. Explode up from the floor, briefly lifting hands, then absorb impact.
Drop Push Up
Master the explosive Drop Push Up to build powerful chest, shoulder, and triceps strength. Start standing, drop into a push-up, and explode back up.
Related Exercises
Deep Push-up on Parallel Bars
Perform deep push-ups on parallel bars to maximize chest stretch and activation. Achieve greater range of motion for superior pectoral development and
One Side Archer Push-up
Master the One Side Archer Push-up, an advanced bodyweight exercise for intense chest, shoulder, and triceps development.
Elevanted Push-Up
Elevated Push-Ups target your upper chest and shoulders more intensely than standard push-ups.
Dumbbell Squeeze Bench Press
Maximize chest activation with the Dumbbell Squeeze Bench Press. This unique variation keeps constant tension on your pecs by squeezing dumbbells together
Assisted Standing Triceps Dip
Build triceps strength with machine assistance that lets you focus on proper dip form at a manageable load.
Dumbbell Complex Push-up Row Clean and Press
The ultimate full-body dumbbell complex combining a push-up, row, clean, and overhead press in one flow.
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