🏋️ Sports & Fitness10 steps

How to Do a Perfect Push-Up

Master the push-up with perfect form — no injury, maximum results. Most people do them wrong. Here's how to fix that in minutes.

Reading time

45 seconds

Achieve in

1 day

Steps

The 10 Steps

Plant your hands shoulder-width apart

Place your hands directly below your shoulders, fingers pointing forward. Avoid going wider — that shifts stress to your shoulders. Think of your hands as the base of a triangle with your chest at the top.

💡Press your fingertips into the floor for extra grip and stability.

The Perfect Push Up | Do it right! — AthleanX

Create a straight line from head to heels

Your body should form one rigid plank. Hips not sagging, not piking upward. Imagine a broomstick resting along your spine — it should touch your head, upper back, and tailbone simultaneously.

💡Squeeze your glutes hard to prevent hip sag.

Brace your core like you're about to be punched

Take a breath in, then tighten your abs as if bracing for impact. This is called the Valsalva maneuver and it stabilises your spine throughout the movement.

💡A tight core also protects your lower back.

Tuck your elbows at 45 degrees

As you lower, your elbows should flare out at roughly 45 degrees from your torso — not straight out to the sides (90°), not pinned to your ribs. This is the joint-safe angle.

💡Think 'arrows', not 'wings'.

Lower with control — 2 seconds down

Descend slowly, taking about 2 seconds to reach the bottom. Your chest should almost touch the floor — aim for a fist's distance if you're new. Controlled lowering builds more strength than dropping fast.

💡The eccentric (lowering) phase is where most strength gains happen.

Touch chest (or come close) at the bottom

Full range of motion means your chest either grazes the floor or comes within an inch. Half-reps don't count and rob you of the stretch reflex at the bottom of the movement.

💡If you can't reach the floor yet, use an elevated surface like a bench.

Push the floor away — don't just push yourself up

Reframe the movement: you're driving the floor down and away from you. This mental cue activates your chest and serratus anterior more effectively and makes the push feel more powerful.

💡Spread the floor apart with your hands as you push up.

Lock out at the top — protract your shoulders

At the top of the rep, fully extend your elbows and then round your shoulder blades forward slightly (protraction). This finishes the chest's range of motion and hits the serratus anterior.

💡This extra inch of movement at the top is often skipped. Don't skip it.

Keep your neck neutral

Don't crane your neck up to look forward — your gaze should be about 6 inches in front of your hands, keeping the spine in line. Neck craning causes tension headaches and upper traps tightness.

💡A neutral neck is a comfortable neck.

Reset your breath each rep

Breathe in on the way down, out on the way up. Reset this rhythm every rep. For maximum tension and safety on heavy sets, hold your breath through the sticking point then exhale at the top.

💡Good breathing = more reps and less fatigue.