Push-Up

If the standard floor variation feels overwhelming, begin with your knees grounded or place your hands on an elevated surface like a sturdy bench. Focus entirely on maintaining a straight line from your head to your knees or hips; do not let your lower back dip or your hips hike upward. As you lower yourself, keep your elbows tucked close to your ribs rather than flaring them wide, which protects your shoulder joints. True muscular failure in this movement feels like a gradual loss of control in your chest and triceps, not a sharp pinch in your shoulders or wrists. Stop the set the moment your form breaks, even if you only complete three repetitions. Common compensations include sagging your midsection or rushing the descent to use momentum instead of tension. I encourage you to treat each repetition as a deliberate practice of core bracing and controlled pressing. Consistency with perfect alignment will build the foundational strength you need to progress safely.

Once you can complete three sets of twelve with a steady two-second lowering phase, start manipulating tempo to keep progressing. A four-second descent forces the chest and triceps to work harder under tension without adding external load, whilst a deliberate one-second pause at the bottom removes any elastic rebound from the stretch. Press up quickly but under control. For pure strength, stay in the six-to-eight rep range by making the leverage harder; for endurance, push towards fifteen or twenty. When bodyweight repetitions feel manageable, elevate your feet onto a box for decline push-ups to shift more demand onto the upper chest and shoulders. Alternatively, wear a weight vest to increase resistance while keeping the standard mechanics intact. You might also try ring push-ups, which introduce instability and force greater shoulder stabilisation throughout every repetition. Move on when you own the full range of motion under these harder conditions without your hips sagging.

The most frequent error is flaring the elbows out to a ninety-degree angle, which places unnecessary shear force on the shoulder capsule instead of loading the chest and triceps. Many lifters also allow their lower back to sag or their hips to pike upward, effectively abandoning the core stabilization required for a true horizontal push. Rushing the eccentric phase is another major pitfall; dropping your body quickly relies on gravity and momentum rather than muscular tension, stripping the movement of its developmental value. Finally, incomplete range of motion, where the chest never approaches the floor or the arms never fully extend, limits both strength gains and joint mobility. Correcting these habits requires slowing down, engaging the core, and respecting the full arc of motion.

Sets

3

Reps

8-12

Rest

60s

Tempo

2-0-2-0

RPE

7

Per set

~90s

頻度

2-3x/week