A push-up is a strength exercise done face down. You hold your body straight on your hands and toes, lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows, and push back up. It works the chest, the back of the upper arms and the front of the shoulders, while your stomach holds your body in line. It is one of the harder pushing exercises you can do at home, so many shoulder and upper body programs build up to it from easier versions.

How to do the push-ups

Start face down on a mat. Place your hands flat on the floor about shoulder width apart or a little wider, fingers pointing forward.
Straighten your arms and come up onto your toes with your feet close together. Your body should be stiff and straight from head to heels.
Breathe in as you bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, until your elbows are at about a right angle. Stop before your chest touches the floor.
Keep your elbows angled back a little rather than flared straight out to the sides, and keep your hips in line with your shoulders.
Breathe out and push through your hands to straighten your arms and return to the start.

What you should feel

Mostly in your chest, the backs of your upper arms and the fronts of your shoulders. Your stomach and thighs have to work as well to keep your body straight.

Common mistakes

Letting the hips sag toward the floor, which arches the lower back.
Pushing the bottom up into the air.
Letting the chest drop onto the floor at the bottom of each repetition.
Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides.
Dropping the head or poking the chin forward.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 10, a few days a week, ending each set while your form still holds. Your physio will adjust this, including which version you start with.

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.
Sharp pain in a wrist, elbow or shoulder.
Pain, numbness or tingling running down 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.

From the clinic

If a full push-up is too hard, raise your hands. Wall push-ups are the easiest, then hands on a kitchen counter, then a sturdy bench or step. A push-up from your knees is another common in-between stage. Holding a still plank builds the straight body position you need.

Push-ups put a lot of weight through the wrists with the hands bent right back. If that hurts, try gripping a pair of sturdy dumbbells or push-up handles, which keep the wrists straight. After shoulder surgery or a shoulder dislocation, or with ongoing shoulder pain, check with your physio before doing push-ups on the floor. With high blood pressure or a heart condition, check with your doctor first and breathe out as you push rather than holding your breath. 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.

Push-ups