The purpose of this post is to explain how to do push ups for beginners because of the following facts:

• Many people avoid exercise just because they don’t know how to do simple exercises properly (or at all) and they are too embarrassed to ask someone for help?
• Many people who get into exercising for the first time (or after a long layoff) injure themselves because they start an exercise program not appropriate for their level of conditioning?

Another reason for this post is because many people returning from shoulder injuries require a gentle transition into regular push ups and so the steps outlined in this post should be helpful.

First let me explain why push ups are such a great exercise and why they should feature in any exercise program.

 

Push ups are a great exercise because…

Push ups are a fantastic, full body exercise when done with good form, as they work your chest, arms, core, and legs.

Another benefit, as with all bodyweight exercises, is that that are progressive and completely scalable, which makes them ideal for people of all levels of fitness.

What I mean by this is that you start out at a level that is comfortable for you and then as you get stronger you swap out the current exercise for a more difficult one from the push up progression list.

For example, as a beginner, you can start with wall push ups (easiest) and as you get stronger, move through the push up progressions until you can complete one armed push ups with good form (hardest).

 

So what are the progressions?

There are literally too many progressions to list (if you include variations and so on) but the list below gives you the basic outline: 

1. Wall Push Ups.
2. Incline Push Ups.
3. Knee Push Ups.
4. Regular Push Ups.

Each of these progressions can be made harder as well using various methods such as:

• Doing a one armed variation of the standard exercise.
• Moving your hand position i.e. close hands, wide hands, or staggered hands are just a few examples.
• Altering the elevation angle, i.e. with decline push ups, increasing the elevation angle of your feet progressively until eventually you are doing Handstand Push Ups.

When going through the progression levels, you need to remember that as you advance, the number of reps that you can do will drop back initially until you build the strength.

For example, say you are on the knee push ups and can do 3 sets of 12 reps so it is time for you to progress to regular push ups. When you first start out doing the regular push ups, you will find that you can only do 6 or 8 reps per set.

Don’t let this get you down, this is a good sign and helps to build even more strength because low repetitions at such high intensity led to more muscle growth. Before you know it you’ll be back up to 3 sets of 12 reps and it will be time to progress again, at which time you’ll take another hit to your rep count.

That’s enough about that for now…this is about teaching beginners how to do push ups so they can progress so let’s go through the exercises from the above list.

 

Wall Push Ups:

The following steps will outline how to do this exercise safely:

1. Stand facing a wall with your feet together and your palms against the wall, shoulder width apart, and at around armpit height (or whatever is comfortable for you).
2. Keep your body straight from head to toe by keeping your abdominals tight as you bend your elbows until your forehead almost touches the wall in front of you, without flaring your elbows out to the side to much.
3. Push yourself back to the starting position without flaring your elbows to much and while continuing to keep your body rigid by keeping your abdominals tight.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until you complete the set.

Once you can complete 3 sets of 12 you should move onto the next progression i.e. incline push ups. If this is too much of a jump for you, as an alternative you can just move your feet out a little farther from the wall.

Below is a quick video showing you the correct technique for wall pushups. The video features Mark Lauren, a fantastic fitness trainer who has a great range of products, all of which are available from our store.

 

 

Incline Push Ups:

Incline Push Ups are very similar to the wall push ups. All you are really doing is altering the elevation angle.

The following steps will outline how to do this exercise safely:

1. Stand facing an object that is around hip height (a table or bench top for example) with your feet together and your palms resting on object, shoulder width apart, so that your body is on a 45 degree angle (or whatever is comfortable for you).
2. Keep your body straight from head to toe by keeping your abdominals tight as you bend your elbows until your chest gently “kisses” the object in front of you, without flaring your elbows out to the side to much.
3. Push yourself back to the starting position without flaring your elbows to much and while continuing to keep your body rigid by keeping your abdominals tight.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until you complete the set.

Once you can complete 3 sets of 12 you should move onto the next progression i.e. knee push ups. If this is too much of a jump for you, as an alternative you can just move your feet out a little farther from the object.

Below is a quick tutorial video showing correct technique for incline pushups. The video features Mark Lebert using an excellent piece of equipment of his own design, the Lebert Equalizer.

 

 

Knee Push Ups:

Knee Push Ups are very similar to regular push ups, you just utilise your knees as the pivot point instead of your feet.

The following steps will outline how to do this exercise safely:

1. Lay on the ground with your feet and knees together and your palms on the ground shoulder width apart. Your thumbs should be near your armpits (or as close as you can get that remains comfortable for you).
2. Keep your body straight from your head to your knees by keeping your abdominals tight as you push yourself up so that your arms are straight (don’t lock your elbows). This is the starting position.
3. Keep your body straight from your head to your knees by keeping your abdominals tight as you bend your elbows until your chest gently “kisses” the ground, without flaring your elbows out to the side to much.
4. Push yourself back to the starting position without flaring your elbows to much and while continuing to keep your body straight from your head to your knees by keeping your abdominals tight.
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until you complete the set.

Once you can complete 3 sets of 12 you should move onto the next progression i.e. regular push ups.

Below is a quick tutorial video showing correct technique for knee pushups. 

 

 

Regular Push Ups:

Great work…you have reached the final hurdle. Master the regular push ups and you are no longer a beginner!

The regular push up is essentially the same as the knee push ups, you just use your feet as the pivot point instead of your knees.

The following steps will outline how to do this exercise safely:

1. Lay on the ground with your feet and knees together and your palms on the ground shoulder width apart. Your thumbs should be near your armpits (or as close as you can get that remains comfortable for you).
2. Keep your body straight from your head to your knees by keeping your abdominals tight as you push yourself up so that your arms are straight (don’t lock your elbows). This is the starting position.
3. Keep your body straight from your head to your knees by keeping your abdominals tight as you bend your elbows until your chest gently “kisses” the ground, without flaring your elbows out to the side to much.
4. Push yourself back to the starting position without flaring your elbows to much and while continuing to keep your body straight from your head to your knees by keeping your abdominals tight.
5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 until you complete the set.

Once you can complete 3 sets of 12 it official…you are no longer a beginner.

Below is a quick tutorial video showing correct technique for regular pushups.

 

 

From here you can start to change things up a bit. You can either move onto the next progression i.e. decline push ups or you can start adding some variations to your routine such as one armed push ups.

If you chose to do some variation work, add one armed incline press ups to your routine or move your hands around i.e. close grip or wide grip push ups.

I hope this article on how to do push ups for beginners was helpful to you.

If you have any thoughts you would like to share, feel free to leave a comment below.

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Thanks

Jeremy