Last updated
17 October 2009

How to do press-ups

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Press-Up

Arms should be approximately shoulder-width apart with fingers facing forward, back straight and body in straight line. Lower your body towards the floor with your elbows pointing back (not splaying out to the side). When your chest and hips are an inch off the floor, straighten your arms to return to the start position.

Easy

Standing Press-Up

Stand with your feet together about 2ft (60cm) away from a wall with your arms outstretched and hands placed on the wall shoulder-width apart. With your body forming a straight line from your shoulders to your feet, lower your body towards the wall until your arms form right angles. Pause for a second and then straighten your arms returning to your start position.

Medium

Press-Up on Knees

As with the press-up except your knees stay on the floor (you can cross your legs below your knees if you wish). With your arms shoulder-width apart outstretched and on the floor, form a straight line with your body from your kees to your shoulders. Lower yourself down until your hips and chest are an inch off the floor, pause, and return to your start position.

Incline Press-Up

As with the standard press-up, except this time your hands will be on a raised surface rather than the floor. The higher the surface, the easier the exercise. Keeping your body in a straight line, lower your chest and hips towards the support until you are an inch away, pause, and return to your start position.

Hard

Decline Press-Up

If you want to make the press-up harder, place your feet on a raised surface rather than on the floor. A chair or a weights bench is ideal. As before, lower your chest and hips until you are around an inch off the floor.

Clap Press-Up

As an alternative the the decline press-up, why not try the clap press-up. This is as the standard press up except you take your hands away from the floor when in the raised part of the press-up and clap once as part of each repetition.

Note: The position of your hands in a press-up alters the contribution made by various muscle groups. A narrow stance targets the triceps on the back of the upper arms; a stance where your arms are more than shoulder-distance apart targets your chest muscles.