Everyone thinks they know how to do it. You drop down, you push, you get back up. Simple, right? Honestly, most people I see at the gym are doing a version of the press up that is essentially a slow-motion car crash for their rotator cuffs. It’s the most basic movement in the world, yet it’s the one we mess up the most because we treat it like a chore rather than a skill.
Stop thinking about it as just "pushing the floor away."
When you ask how do you do a press up, you’re actually asking how to coordinate your entire posterior chain, core, and pectoral complex into a single, rigid lever. If your hips sag or your elbows flare out like a frightened lizard, you aren't doing a press up; you're just vibrating on the floor.
The Setup That Most People Ignore
Before your chest even moves an inch, your body needs to be a plank of wood. I mean it. If I kicked you in the stomach mid-rep, nothing should move. You start in the high plank position. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, but here is the kicker: you need to "screw" your hands into the floor.
Think about trying to tear a piece of paper between your palms by rotating them outward. This external rotation engages the lats and tucks the shoulders into a stable pocket. If you skip this, your shoulders will roll forward, and that’s how you end up with impingement issues that keep you out of the gym for a month.
Your feet? Keep them together for more tension, or slightly apart if you're struggling with balance. Squeeze your glutes. Hard. Most people forget that the press up is a full-body exercise. If your butt is soft, your lower back will arch, and you’ll look like a banana. Nobody wants to be a banana.
The Descent: It’s Not a Race
Gravity is going to try to do the work for you. Don't let it.
As you lower yourself, your elbows shouldn't go straight out to the sides at a 90-degree angle. That’s the "T-shape" mistake. It puts massive pressure on the anterior deltoid and the joint capsule. Instead, aim for an "A-shape" or an arrow shape. Your elbows should be at roughly a 45-degree angle relative to your torso.
Go down until your chest is about an inch from the floor. You don't necessarily need to touch it, but you need to get close enough that your shoulder blades are fully retracted.
Why Your Neck Matters
I see this all the time: the "chicken neck." People reach for the floor with their chin because their brain wants to believe they are closer to the ground than they actually are. It’s a lie. Keep your gaze about six inches in front of your fingers. Your neck should be an extension of your spine.
If you're looking at your toes, you're rounding your back. If you're looking at the wall in front of you, you're straining your cervical spine. Neutral is the name of the game.
The Ascent: Driving Through the Palms
This is where the magic happens. Or the failure.
When you push back up, imagine you are pushing the Earth away from you. Don't just think about moving your body. Use your whole hand—fingertips included—to grip the floor. You want to maintain that rigid line from your head to your heels.
A common "leak" in power happens when people let their hips stay down while their chest rises. This "cobra" press up is a sign of a weak core. If this is happening to you, you're better off dropping to your knees to maintain a flat back than doing ten "ego reps" with a broken midsection.
Common Variations and When to Use Them
Once you've mastered the standard move, you can start playing around. But don't move on until you can do 15 perfect, slow reps.
- Diamond Press Ups: These are for the triceps. Bring your hands together so your index fingers and thumbs form a diamond. It’s significantly harder and puts a lot of load on the elbow, so ease into it.
- Wide Grip: This hits the outer pecs more, but be careful. The wider you go, the more strain you put on the shoulder's structural integrity.
- Incline Press Ups: If a floor press up is too hard, put your hands on a bench or a sturdy table. This takes some of the weight off your upper body. It's way better than doing "girl pushups" on your knees because it keeps the core-to-toe tension intact.
- Decline Press Ups: Put your feet on a chair. This shifts the weight to your upper chest and shoulders. It's a beast.
The Science of Why We Fail
According to a 2010 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, when you do a standard press up, you are lifting approximately 64% of your body weight. When you drop to your knees, that number falls to about 49%.
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That’s a huge jump.
If you weigh 200 lbs, that’s the difference between benching 128 lbs or 98 lbs. It’s why people get stuck. They can do 50 knee press ups but zero real ones. The transition is about neurological adaptation. Your brain has to learn how to keep the legs and core engaged while the upper body does the heavy lifting.
What Most People Get Wrong About Volume
You don't need to do 100 reps a day. Honestly, if you can do 100 press ups, you aren't doing them right, or you aren't doing a hard enough version.
To build muscle, you need mechanical tension. That means slow reps. Try a "3-1-1" tempo: three seconds on the way down, a one-second pause at the bottom, and one second to explode back up. Do ten of those. I bet you’ll feel it more than 30 fast, bouncy reps where you’re just using momentum.
Rest is also vital. Your pectorals and triceps are relatively small muscle groups compared to your legs. They burn out fast. Give yourself 48 hours between heavy press up sessions.
Real-World Advice for Progressing
If you are struggling with the question of how do you do a press up because you simply can't do one yet, start with negatives.
Stand in the high plank. Lower yourself as slowly as humanly possible—aim for 5 to 10 seconds. Once you hit the floor, just get back up however you can. Repeat. You are building the eccentric strength required to eventually push yourself back up.
Another trick is the "Hand Release" press up. Go all the way to the floor, lift your hands off the ground for a split second, then place them back and push up. This kills all momentum and forces you to start the lift from a "dead" stop. It’s brutal but effective for building raw power.
Practical Steps to a Perfect Press Up
Start by filming yourself. We all think we look like Captain America, but the camera usually reveals a sagging lower back or flared elbows.
- Check your hand placement. Are they under your shoulders or way up by your ears? Move them down.
- Tighten your "belt." Imagine you're bracing for a punch. That tension should stay through the whole set.
- Control the descent. If you’re dropping like a stone, you’re missing half the workout.
- Track your progress by "Time Under Tension" rather than just rep counts.
- Incorporate pulling movements like rows or pull-ups. If you only push, your shoulders will eventually pull forward, leading to a hunched posture and eventual injury.
Mastering the press up is a journey of millimeters. It's about the angle of the wrist, the tuck of the chin, and the fire in the glutes. Get those right, and the strength will follow.
Next Steps for Mastery
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To truly integrate this into your routine, start with a "Form Check Friday." Perform three sets of five reps at a 5-second descending tempo. Focus entirely on the "A-shape" of your elbows and the tension in your core. Once those five reps feel effortless and stable, gradually decrease the tempo or add a slight decline by elevating your feet on a step. Consistent, high-quality movement beats high-volume, poor-form repetitions every single time.