Push-up

A push-up is a way to exercise.

You start lying on the floor. Then you use your arms to lift your body up. This move makes your chest and arms strong. It also helps your middle stay steady.

Some people use their knees to make it easier. You can also move your hands to change the work. It is a great way to get fit without tools.

A push-up is a way to exercise your body. You start by lying face down on the floor.

To do one, you use your arms to lift your body up and then lower it back down. This move works many parts of your body. It is great for your chest muscles. It also works your triceps, which are the muscles on the back of your arms. Your shoulders and your middle, or core, help keep you steady.

There are many ways to do this move. Some people use their knees to make it easier. This is called a modified push-up. Others try harder versions. A diamond push-up uses hands placed close together. This makes the triceps work harder. You can even do a Hindu push-up, also called a dand. This move started in India. It moves the body from one yoga pose to another.

Some people do push-ups in the military to get strong. Others use them in martial arts. You do not need any tools to do them. This makes them a very popular way to stay fit.

A push-up is a common exercise used to build strength. It is a type of calisthenics, which means using your own body weight to move.

People use them in many places. You might see them in school sports or physical education classes. They are also a big part of military training for many soldiers. Sometimes, they are even used as a form of punishment in schools or martial arts. Because you do not need any special tools, they are a very easy way to stay fit.

To perform a standard push-up, you start in a prone position. This means you are lying face down on the floor. You then use your arms to raise and lower your body. This movement works many different muscles at once. Your chest muscles, called the pectoralis major and minor, do most of the heavy pushing. Your triceps, which are on the back of your arms, help extend your elbows. Your shoulders, or deltoids, also help move your arms toward your chest.

Many other parts of your body help you stay steady. Your middle, or core, stays very active during the move. Muscles called the rectus abdominis and transversus abdominis contract to keep your torso straight. Your back uses stabilizer muscles like the erector spinae to keep you aligned. Even your forearms and wrists work hard to hold your position.

If you want to make it easier, you can do a modified push-up. This is when you use your knees as a pivot point instead of your toes.

There are many ways to change a push-up to make it harder. A diamond push-up brings your hands close together to target the triceps. A hand release push-up requires you to lift your hands off the floor entirely. Some people even try the planche push-up. This is an extremely difficult move where you balance on your hands without your feet touching the floor.

There are also tandem push-ups. In this version, two people work together to press up while facing different directions.

Push-ups have different names and histories in different places. In American English, the term "push-up" was first used between 1905 and 1910. In British English, they are often called "press-ups." One famous version is the Hindu push-up, also known as a dand. This version started in India and is part of Indian physical culture. It involves moving from a yoga position called downward dog to an upward dog position. Martial artists also use knuckle push-ups to toughen their hands for punching.

A push-up is a fundamental calisthenics exercise performed from a prone position. Calisthenics refers to exercises that use an individual's own body weight for resistance.

This movement is a staple in civilian athletic training and physical education. It is also a core component of military physical training programs. Because it requires no specialized equipment, it is highly accessible. In some settings, such as the military, schools, or martial arts, it is even used as a form of punishment. The effectiveness of the move lies in its ability to engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously.

The mechanism of a push-up involves a controlled cycle of raising and lowering the body. During the upward phase, the primary movers work to extend the joints and lift the torso. The pectoralis major and minor, which are the large chest muscles, perform most of the heavy pushing. Simultaneously, the anterior deltoids—the front part of the shoulder muscles—act as horizontal adductors to move the upper arms toward the chest. The triceps brachii, located on the back of the arm, extend the elbow joints to reach full extension. During the downward phase, these same muscles work to control the speed of the descent.

To maintain a proper plank position, many stabilizer muscles must work isometrically. The core muscles, specifically the rectus abdominis and the transversus abdominis, contract to keep the legs and torso aligned. The rectus abdominis spans the front of the abdomen, while the transversus abdominis lies deeper, wrapping around the abdominal area. In the back, the erector spinae acts as the main stabilizer. This group includes the spinal, longissimus, and iliocostalis muscles. Even the gluteus medius and minimus work to stabilize the upper legs during the movement.

There are numerous variations designed to target specific muscles or increase difficulty. For example, diamond push-ups involve placing the thumbs and index fingers together to emphasize the triceps. Wide-arm variations can shift the focus toward the shoulders. To increase the load, athletes may use weighted push-ups by placing barbell plates or resistance bands on their upper backs.

Some advanced practitioners perform planche push-ups. In this extreme version, the athlete balances on their hands with their feet elevated in the air. This requires immense strength to keep the center of gravity over the hands.

Modified versions exist to adjust the intensity of the exercise. Knee push-ups use the knees as a pivot point rather than the toes. This reduces the amount of body mass being supported. Research published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research provides specific data on this. In traditional push-ups, subjects supported an average of 69.16% of their body mass in the up position and 75.04% in the down position. In modified knee push-ups, that support drops to 53.56% in the up position and 61.80% in the down position.

Cultural history has shaped different styles of the push-up. The American term "push-up" appeared between 1905 and 1910, while the British "press-up" was recorded in 1920. In India, a version known as the Hindu push-up or "dand" is a traditional part of physical culture and martial arts like Pehlwani.

This version transitions between a downward dog and an upward dog yoga position. It is noted for involving both the anterior and posterior chains of the body in a harmonious way. Martial artists also utilize knuckle push-ups to toughen the wrists and forearms for combat.

Push-ups also demonstrate how human coordination can reach extreme levels. Tandem push-ups involve two people working together in a highly coordinated manner. Each person faces a different direction, with one athlete lying on top of the other.

This requires perfect balance to place feet against each other's shoulders. Other variations, like hand release push-ups, eliminate momentum by requiring the athlete to lift their hands off the floor between repetitions. These diverse forms show how a simple movement can be adapted for strength, stability, or specialized training.