Form guide · Push-Up
How to Do a Proper Push-Up
The push-up is the most accessible upper-body strength move there is — no equipment, no gym. It's also one of the easiest to cheat without realising it.
A push-up looks simple, which is exactly why most people quietly shorten it. Half-range push-ups — stopping six inches off the floor — feel like real reps but train a fraction of the movement. Done to full depth with a tight body, the push-up is a serious chest, shoulder, and triceps builder.
This guide covers how to set up, how low you actually need to go, and the form mistakes that make push-ups easier than they should be (which is the opposite of what you want).
How to do it, step by step
- 1
Set your hands
Place your hands flat on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width, roughly under your chest — not up by your face. Spread your fingers and grip the floor.
- 2
Build a straight body line
Extend your legs back and squeeze your glutes and core so your body forms one straight line from head to heels. No sagging hips, no piking up.
- 3
Set your elbow angle
As you lower, let your elbows travel back at roughly 45° to your torso — not flared straight out to the sides. This protects your shoulders and loads the chest and triceps well.
- 4
Lower to depth
Descend under control until your chest is close to elbow height — your upper arms at about parallel to the floor or lower. That's a full-depth rep.
- 5
Press back up
Push the floor away until your elbows are straight, keeping your body rigid the whole way. Don't let your hips drop or lead with your head.
What Tip Top's AI checks
Chest down to about elbow height = full depth. Stopping high = a shallow rep.
Tip Top Fitness's AI tracks your elbow angle and how far your chest descends relative to your elbows on each rep. When your chest stays high — a half-range push-up — it logs the rep as shallow, and after a couple in a row your coach cues you to get lower. Because the check is based on your own arm length, it's just as accurate whether you're close to the camera or further back.
Try a form check freeMuscles worked
Primary
- Chest (pectoralis major)
- Triceps
- Front deltoids
Supporting
- Core
- Serratus anterior
- Glutes
Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
Not going low enough
The classic push-up cheat. Stopping well above the floor cuts the hardest, most productive part of the rep. Lower until your chest is near elbow height; if you can't, drop to an incline (hands on a bench) and build from full-range reps there.
Flaring the elbows out wide
Letting your elbows shoot straight out to the sides (a "T" shape) stresses the shoulders and weakens the press. Keep them tucked to roughly 45° from your torso so your forearms stay vertical.
Sagging or piking the hips
If your hips dip toward the floor or pike up into an upside-down V, you lose core tension and the rep stops being a true push-up. Squeeze your glutes and brace so your body stays one straight line.
Leading with the head
Dropping your chin to the floor while your chest stays high isn't a deeper rep — it just looks like one. Move your whole torso as a unit; your chest should be the lowest point, not your nose.
Why it's worth training
- Builds the chest, shoulders, and triceps with zero equipment, anywhere.
- Trains full-body tension — your core and glutes work hard to hold the line.
- Scales endlessly: incline to make it easier, feet elevated or deficit to make it harder.
- A reliable, honest measure of relative upper-body strength over time.
Frequently asked questions
How low should a push-up go?
Lower until your chest is close to elbow height — your upper arms at roughly parallel to the floor or just below. Touching your chest lightly to the floor is the gold standard if your mobility allows it.
Why are push-ups so hard for me?
Full-range push-ups are genuinely demanding because they load a large portion of your bodyweight. If they're too hard, do them on an incline (hands raised on a bench or wall) with full range of motion and lower the surface over time as you get stronger — this builds more than dropping to your knees.
Should my elbows be tucked or flared?
Tucked to about 45° from your torso. Fully flared elbows stress the shoulder joint and reduce how much your chest and triceps can contribute.
How many push-ups should I do?
Quality beats quantity. A few sets taken close to failure with full depth and a straight body line will do far more than a high number of shallow reps. Add reps or harder variations as full-range sets get easier.
Stop guessing about your push-up form.
Tip Top Fitness watches every rep through your phone camera, counts them, and tells you the one thing to fix — in real time.
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