Diamond Push up (on knees)
Master the diamond push-up with this knee-supported variation, perfect for strengthening your triceps and inner chest.
Description
An easier variant of the diamond push-up exercise where the individual kneels instead of being on their toes. This exercise primarily targets the triceps and chest muscles.
How to Do Diamond Push up (on knees)
- 1Setup
Begin on your hands and knees, positioning your knees hip-width apart and slightly behind your hips so your body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders.
- 2Setup
Place your hands directly under your chest, bringing your thumbs and index fingers together to form a diamond shape with your hands.
- 3
Inhale as you slowly lower your chest towards your hands by bending your elbows, keeping them tucked close to your body and pointing backward.
- 4
Continue lowering until your chest nearly touches your hands, maintaining a straight line from your knees to your shoulders without sagging your hips.
- 5
Exhale as you powerfully push through your palms to extend your elbows and return to the starting position, squeezing your triceps at the top of the movement.
Tips
- Keep your elbows pointing directly backward throughout the movement to maximize triceps engagement and protect your shoulders from unnecessary strain.
- Maintain a rigid plank-like posture from your knees to your shoulders by actively engaging your core and glutes, preventing your hips from sagging or piking up.
- Focus on initiating the push-up by driving through the heels of your hands, feeling the contraction primarily in your triceps and inner chest as you push up.
- Control the eccentric (lowering) phase for at least 2-3 seconds to increase time under tension and enhance muscle activation in the triceps and chest.
Common Mistakes
- ×Flaring elbows out to the sides reduces triceps activation and puts undue stress on the shoulders; instead, keep your elbows tucked tightly against your torso.
- ×Allowing your hips to sag or pike up breaks the straight body line; instead, keep your core braced to maintain a rigid posture from knees to shoulders throughout the exercise.
- ×Not achieving a full range of motion by only partially bending the elbows limits muscle growth; instead, lower your chest until it's just above your hands to fully engage the muscles.
Variations
Diamond Push up
Master the Diamond Push-up to intensely sculpt your triceps and inner chest. This challenging bodyweight exercise builds upper body strength and
Close-grip Push-up (on knees)
Build strong triceps and a stable chest with close-grip push-ups on your knees. This modified exercise uses a narrow hand placement to intensely target
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Assisted Standing Triceps Dip
Build triceps strength with machine assistance that lets you focus on proper dip form at a manageable load.
Body Up
Master this advanced bodyweight move that combines a pull-up with a dip for complete upper-body strength.
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