Push-ups and presses
Kneeling push-ups
- Kit
- No kit
- Works
- chest · front delts · triceps
- Also
- abs · serratus
Kneeling push-ups are a full push-up performed with your knees on the floor, which cuts the load your arms and chest have to move while keeping the same pressing shape. They build the chest, shoulders and triceps, and they teach the braced trunk a full push-up needs. Useful if floor push-ups still collapse partway down, and useful late in a circuit when your arms are already tired.
Form
How to do kneeling push-ups
- 1Kneel on a mat and place your hands on the floor slightly wider than your shoulders, roughly under your upper chest. Walk your knees back until your hips, shoulders and knees form a straight line.
- 2Squeeze your glutes and brace your stomach so your back does not sag, and let your ankles cross or rest behind you.
- 3Bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows at about 45 degrees from your ribs. Breathe in as you descend.
- 4Stop when your chest is an inch or two off the floor, then press the floor away and breathe out as you return to the start.
- 5Keep the line from knees to head fixed throughout, and keep moving at a steady pace until the effort ends.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Hips sag so the lower back arches and the chest barely moves.
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and brace your stomach before the first rep so knees, hips and shoulders travel as one piece.
Sitting back towards your heels, which turns it into a short partial rep.
Fix: Walk your knees further back so your shoulders sit over your hands and your hips stay open.
Elbows flaring straight out to the sides and stressing the shoulders.
Fix: Tuck them to roughly 45 degrees from your ribs so your upper arms point back and out, not sideways.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions
Put it in a workout
None of the fixed workouts uses it. Pick a workout for your kit, or start today's session on /gym.