Developing Better Push-ups Part 2

By Danny Jauregui

“There are no such thing as girl push-ups and boy push-ups; there are just push-ups and not push-ups.” -Kyle Clayton

Now that you that you have a solid understanding of the push-up, it’s time to decide on a plan that’s right for you. Two of the common themes in all of these are frequency and progression. Push-ups must be done often enough to apply significant stress and in a manner that is progressively more difficult. If you’re not improving, it is likely because you’re missing one of these two variables.

For an easier to absorb video version of a push-up progression, you can take a look at a series Fitwell did a few years ago starring former instructor Kyle.



Make your selection depending on your current starting point. Below you’ll find different progressions based on varying scenarios.

Individual can’t do a push-up or negative on the floor: 3 to 5’s

The most readily accessible solution is to elevate the hands; allowing yourself to practice a perfect plank while in motion. You could utilize a ledge until you progressed far enough to try a negative on the floor. A very simple progression on the wall is to gradually build from sets of 3 reps to sets of 5 reps. Once multiple sets of 5 are achieved, you’re ready to reduce the height of your elevation slightly and restart the rep scheme. An example of what this might look like over the course of one month is written below:

Rest 2-3 minutes between sets	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
Week 1	3x3	4x3	5x3
Week 2	2x4	3x4	4x4
Week 3	1x5	2x5	3x5
Week 4	3x3 (at a lower height)	4x3	5x3

This particular example consists of 3 days of push-ups per week. Each one is relatively low volume but the frequency of exposures is high enough to continue development. There is also a clear progression in sets or reps every single session.

This same model could also be run 2 days a week, but the number of sets could be increased to help provide adequate stress. Regardless of how many days per week you choose, the idea is to very gradually adjust your reps from 3 to 5. Moving down in height of elevation overtime is the key. When you get comfortable enough with this, you’re ready to move to the floor and try negatives.

Individual can’t do a push-up but can do a negative: Singles

As soon as you feel capable of doing a push-up negative, meaning you can lower yourself down to the bottom of a push-up in a perfect plank, you should begin to incorporate them into your program. While I’ve never implemented this movement entirely alone, I think you could develop a push-up doing nothing more than negatives. They are genuinely that effective at getting you to support your own bodyweight. The basic idea with negatives is to focus on progressing time rather than reps.

Assuming 2-3 days of push-ups per week, a basic progression would look something like this:

Week 1: 5x1 @ 2-3 seconds
Week 2: 5x1 @ 3-5 seconds
Week 3: 5x1 @ 5-7 seconds
Week 4: 5x1 @ 7-9 seconds
Week 5: 5x1 @ 10 seconds

Your progression may not look exactly like this, but as long as there is some time change week to week you will continue to get better. Typically, when you get to the point when you can do a 10 second or longer negative, you’re ready to add some difficulty to the exercise.

Individual can do a 10 second negative: Pause Negatives and Half Reps

Continue doing negatives, but add a brief pause in the most difficult portion of the movement. For most people, that will be a few inches off the floor. The pause negative can be progressed in the same manner written above, but this time increasing the amount of time you spend in the stopped position.

Also begin to incorporate half reps. To do a half rep, start in a perfect plank, lower halfway down, and then press yourself back up. I would not recommend doing solely half reps as they do not help build strength from the bottom, but replacing one negative day a week with half reps can be helpful.

Day 1: Push-up Negative 5x1 w/ 3 second pause
Day 2: Half Push-up 5x3
Day 3: Push-up Negative 5x1 w/ 3 second pause

The above progression can be run until you are capable of doing a single push-up. There’s no definitive marker for when this happens, but if you’re capable of doing a 10 second pause negative, then it’s probably time to at least give a full push-up a try.

Individual can do 1 push-up: Increasing sets and reps

Once you can do one, the formula for continually improving push-ups becomes fairly simple. You will either add sets or add reps every single time you do them, as with the first example.

The key is progression. I see a number of people regularly stuck at the same number of push-ups wondering why they aren’t getting better. If you take nothing else away from this post, then let it be this: doing the same thing every single week will keep you exactly the same as you are now.

Beyond Push-ups

There comes a point where simply adding sets or reps isn’t entirely sustainable. That’s okay because no single method will work forever, but determining where to go from this point depends on your goals. Much of this leaves the scope of this post, but below are a few potential options that may be helpful based on what you want to accomplish.

Getting Stronger/Building Muscle:
Start doing any of the following exercises in place of or in conjunction with push-ups.

• Bench Press
• Incline Bench Press
• DB Presses
• Floor Presses
• Dips/Ring Dips
• Tricep/Chest/Shoulder isolation exercises

Staying Healthy:
Incorporate exercises that challenge your shoulder stability and power further, such as:

• Ring Push-ups
• Front Supports
• Dips/Ring Dips
• Glider Disc Push-ups
• Ballistic Push-ups

Getting Closer to 1500 Push-ups:
Increase frequency of push-ups and progress total number of reps done in a day. Again, this leaves the scope of this post, but 100 push-ups in a day is a good starting point. Progress reps week to week or month to month from there.

If you have questions about implementing any of these, please comment below or ask me in person (preferably comment cause you know how much I love some comments).

Developing Better Push-ups Part 1

by Danny Jauregui

Push-ups are one of the most fundamental strength exercises that you can do. Few bodyweight movements have the potential to develop musculature and improve strength in the upper body and trunk as effectively. Former NFL running back Herschel Walker has said that throughout his career he would do up to 1500 push-ups a day, and that all of his training came from calisthenics. Is he lying about that last part? Who’s to say? Whether or not he did exclusively push-ups, his proficiency with them is emblematic of how functional they can be in developing full body strength. You don’t have to be an NFL Player; push-ups are invaluable for all populations. Whether you’re trying to get that first rep or get yourself to 1500, these next two posts are for you.

The Perfect Push-up:
Before we dive into different progressions, let’s take a look at what a good push-up looks like and why it’s so effective.

Key Points:

• Hands shoulder width and in line with the chest.
• Neutral head.
• Vertical forearms throughout the movement.
• Body in a straight line plank.
• Belly and glutes tight.
• Elbows close to the body.
• Shoulder blades “pinched” at the bottom of the movement.

The example above illustrates all of these key points. In the first image, we see the individual in a perfect straight line. As her body descends to the bottom, she remains in that straight line and brings her shoulder blades together. Additionally, her elbows stay in tight to her body, and her chest is ultimately the first thing to touch the floor. You can look at these images in reverse to visualize how she’ll get back up.

The Most Common Errors:
When we teach this exercise in Onramp, many of us like to refer to it as a plank in motion. All you’re doing is bending through the arms and shoulders while your body stays in a perfectly rigid plank. The premise is simple enough to grasp, but the execution can be difficult. Every time you ascend, gravity wants to push your hips and belly down; resisting this tendency comes from strengthening of the abs and glutes to help maintain the rigid trunk. Whenever you’re put into a position that your body isn’t strong enough to hold, it will try to naturally compensate by reducing the load on the weakest point of the system. Allowing your hips and lower back to lose their position is your body’s way of taking load off of your shoulders. Understand that if you’re going to do your push-ups with your hips falling to the earth throughout the movement, you’ll likely get very little out of them.

Note the difference in hip position relative to the shoulders.

This is garbage.

The other key point we’re looking for is good shoulder mechanics, which can be simplified into two fundamental things: close elbows and retracting shoulder blades. The first is something we preach all the time; having your elbows stacked over your wrist and close to your body (right) will allow the force of the push up to be distributed across the triceps, deltoids, and pecs. When your elbows start flaring out (left), it reduces the load on your triceps and begins to dump it more into the shoulder joint rather than the surrounding musculature. This is another poor pattern that will reduce the efficacy of the exercise as it diminishes your muscles’ ability to act on your joints.




Tying into the shoulder joint, your scapula should be coming together (retracting) as you lower your chest to the floor. This retraction of the shoulder blades provides stability for the entire shoulder girdle and prevents poor positioning of your upper arm. When your scapula don’t retract, it allows the shoulder to dump into a forward position that will put more pressure directly on the joint. At the bottom of the push-up, your upper back should always be as tight as it can possibly be; that tension will provide a solid foundation to press from. When you press yourself back up, keep in mind the shoulder blades will not stay retracted, but instead come away from each other at the top of the rep.

The bottom of your push-ups should look like the left side,

while the top should look more like the right.

Given all of the musculature that push-ups incorporate, there’s several areas that may be limiting you in your quest to get better at them. And that’s okay. Regardless of what your limitations may be, you have the tools to improve yourself. Step one is to begin practicing with the solid mechanics we’ve discussed above. It may be a humbling experience if you’re not quite as good with better technique, but in the long run you will be better for it. Remember, Batman never would have rehabbed his literal broken spine without a really solid plank in his push-ups.

Batman hitting some reps in the The Dark Knight Rises.

He uses a wider hand position than I’d like, but he can do

that because he’s BATMAN.

In Part 2 we will discuss different progression options and how to actually implement push-ups into a program. Until then, start trying to do your push-ups better than you currently do, and feel free to comment with any questions or concerns below. I will respond. Probably. You can also use your email to subscribe on the right side of the page. Talk to you all next week.