Pushups (Close and Wide Hand Positions)

Also called close and wide push-ups, push-up variations and mixed width push-ups.

Works

Chest, plus shoulders and triceps

Equipment

Bodyweight

Level

Beginner

Type

Compound

How to do it

Setup. Lie on the floor face down and body straight with your toes on the floor and the hands wider than shoulder width for a wide hand position and closer than shoulder width for a close hand position. Make sure you are holding your torso up at arms length.

1. Lower yourself until your chest almost touches the floor as you inhale.
2. Using your pectoral muscles, press your upper body back up to the starting position and squeeze your chest. Breathe out as you perform this step.
3. After a second pause at the contracted position, repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Wide: hands outside the shoulders.
• Close: hands under the chest.
• Body straight, glutes tight.
• Chest to just above the floor.

Common mistakes

• Hips sagging.
• Elbows flaring on the close grip.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

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