A knee push-up is a push-up with your knees resting on the mat instead of your toes. You hold a straight line from your knees to your head, bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the floor, then press back up. It uses the same muscles as the full version (the chest, the triceps along the back of each arm and the front of the shoulder), but you lift less of your body weight. Physios often use it as the stage between a wall or counter push-up and a full one on the floor.

How to do the knee push-ups

Kneel on a mat and put your hands on the floor a little wider than your shoulders, fingers facing forward.
Walk your hands forward until your body makes a straight line from your knees through your hips to your head. You can lift your feet off the floor behind you, as in the video, or leave your toes resting on the mat.
Gently tighten your stomach. Breathe in and bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the floor, with your elbows pointing back at a slight angle, not wide.
Go down until your chest is close to the floor, or as far as you can while your back stays straight. Pause there for a second.
Breathe out and push the floor away to straighten your arms, keeping your hips in line as you rise.

What you should feel

Work across your chest, in the back of each arm and at the front of the shoulders. Your stomach and buttocks hold your hips in line with the rest of your body.

Common mistakes

Bending at the hips so the bottom pokes up and the chest barely drops.
Letting the lower back sag once you start to tire.
Staying in a crawling position with your hips above your knees, so the body stays tilted up and the arms do little work.
Leading with the chin or head instead of the chest.
Holding your breath on the way up.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15, a few days a week, ending each set while your back still stays straight. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Chest pain or pressure, dizziness or feeling faint, a racing or irregular heartbeat, or being far more out of breath than the effort should cause.
A sharp or catching wrist, elbow or shoulder pain.
Tingling, numbness or pain that runs from the neck or shoulder into an arm.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Pain at the front of the knee from kneeling, even with a folded towel underneath.

From the clinic

Kneeling on a hard floor presses on the kneecaps, so put a folded towel or a cushion under your knees. If your wrists ache with the hands bent back, hold push-up handles or two sturdy dumbbells so the wrists stay straight. Too hard for now? Wall push-ups take much more weight off your arms. Once a few sets from your knees feel steady and controlled, the usual next step is a full push-up on your toes.

The voice guide says your chin may lightly touch the floor. Aim for your chest to come close to the floor instead, with your neck long, so your head does not drop first. If you have had shoulder surgery or a dislocation, ask your physio when it is safe to take weight on your arms.

If your blood pressure is high or you have a heart problem, breathe out on each push and never hold your breath. Get your doctor's advice first if your blood pressure is not well controlled. If chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Knee push-ups