Negative Push-up
Strengthen your chest, shoulders, and triceps with negative push-ups. Master the controlled eccentric phase to build strength for full push-ups.
Description
A variation of the standard push-up where you lower your body slowly and push up quickly. This exercise primarily targets the chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles.
How to Do Negative Push-up
- 1Setup
Begin in a high plank position with your hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward, and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.
- 2
Slowly and with control, begin to bend your elbows, allowing your chest to descend towards the floor over a count of 3-5 seconds, inhaling as you lower.
- 3
Keep your elbows tucked slightly towards your body, not flaring out to the sides, as you continue lowering until your chest lightly touches the floor or you reach your deepest controlled range of motion.
- 4
Once your chest touches the floor, relax your body, lift your hands momentarily, and then push yourself back up to the starting high plank position or reset by pushing off your knees, exhaling as you reset.
Tips
- The slower your descent, the more time under tension your muscles experience, which is key for building eccentric strength; aim for a 3-5 second controlled lowering phase.
- Maintain full body tension by actively engaging your core and glutes throughout the entire movement to prevent your hips from sagging or rising too high, ensuring a straight body line.
- Avoid flaring your elbows out wide; instead, keep them angled back at about 45 degrees relative to your torso to protect your shoulders and better engage your chest and triceps.
- Focus on a smooth, continuous lowering motion without any jerky movements, ensuring constant muscle engagement throughout the eccentric phase.
Common Mistakes
- ×Allowing your hips to drop towards the floor indicates a lack of core engagement; keep your core tight and maintain a straight line from head to heels throughout the descent.
- ×Dropping too quickly bypasses the eccentric strength benefits; focus on a slow, controlled 3-5 second lowering phase to maximize muscle engagement and build strength effectively.
- ×Flaring your elbows directly out to the sides can strain your shoulder joints; instead, keep them tucked at a roughly 45-degree angle to your torso for better joint protection and muscle activation.
Variations
Push-up Pull
Build upper-body pushing and pulling strength in one move with this challenging push-up and row combo.
Archer Push-up
Master the archer push-up, an advanced bodyweight exercise to build incredible chest, triceps, and shoulder strength with a challenging unilateral push.
Push-Up Plus
Enhance your push-up with the Push-Up Plus, specifically targeting the serratus anterior for shoulder stability and overall chest, shoulder, and triceps
Knuckle Push-Up
Elevate your push-up game with knuckle push-ups. Strengthen your chest, triceps, and shoulders while building robust wrists and forearms.
Related Exercises
Lateral Walk Push-up
Combine strength and cardio with the Lateral Walk Push-up. This dynamic exercise targets your chest, shoulders, and core, enhancing stability and
Lay Down Push-up
Master the Lay Down Push-up, a powerful bodyweight exercise to build chest, shoulder, and tricep strength.
Push-up Jack
A combination of a push-up and a jumping jack that targets the chest and shoulder muscles, while also working the core and increasing heart rate.
Push up (With push up handles)
Perform push-ups with handles to deepen your chest engagement and protect your wrists.
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.
Bodyweight Kneeling Push-up Row
Build chest and back strength with this kneeling push-up variation that adds a rowing pull at the top.
Track Negative Push-up in your workouts
Log sets, reps, and weight. See your progress over time.
Get Ellim — Free