How many push-ups should a beginner do?

Three sets of 5 to 10 reps, three days a week, stopping each set while the line from head to heels is still straight. If you cannot manage five, put your hands on a bench or a kitchen counter and lower the surface over the weeks. Once three sets of 15 feel steady, slow the descent to three seconds, add a pause at the bottom, or move on to feet-elevated push-ups.

How do I make push-ups easier or harder?

To make them easier, raise your hands onto a bench, table, or wall, or drop to your knees. Keep the full range either way rather than cutting the depth. To make them harder, put your feet on a chair, pause two seconds with the chest just off the floor, slow the lowering, wear a loaded backpack, or move the hands closer together to load the triceps.

What are push-ups good for and when should I choose something else?

They build the chest, triceps, and front delts while the core holds a plank, they need no equipment, and they scale from wall push-ups to one-arm work. Once you can do sets of 25 or more, you are mostly training endurance, so a weighted press or added load is a better route to strength. If your wrists hurt in full extension, use push-up handles or grip a pair of dumbbells to keep them neutral.

Beginner

Push-Up

The push-up is the foundational upper-body pushing movement and needs no equipment, making it the first pressing pattern most people should master. Because you hold a plank while you press, it trains the chest and triceps alongside a braced core. Scale it up or down endlessly, and use it anywhere as a chest builder or warm-up.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Chest
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Pectoralis Major Sternocostal
Browse by movement: Horizontal Press

How to do it

1
Set your hands slightly wider than shoulder width with your body in a straight line from head to heels.
2
Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your hips do not sag or pike.
3
Bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the floor, keeping elbows at about 45 degrees from your torso.
4
Lower until your chest is just above the ground, then press back up to full arm extension.
5
Keep your neck neutral and breathe out as you push up.

Tips

Keep a rigid plank; letting the hips drop turns off the core and stresses the lower back.
Tuck the elbows toward 45 degrees rather than flaring them straight out to protect the shoulders.
If full push-ups are too hard, drop to your knees or elevate your hands rather than shortening the range.

Variations

Common mistakes

Dipping the head to touch the floor while the chest stays high makes the rep look finished without adding range; lead with the chest and keep the neck in line with the spine.
Piking the hips into an upside-down V shortens the distance the chest travels and hands the work to the shoulders; hold one line from head to heels for the whole set.
Setting the hands up beside your head forces the elbows wide and crowds the shoulder; place them level with the lower chest, slightly wider than shoulder width.
Stopping short of straight arms at the top keeps the triceps from finishing the rep and quietly shrinks every rep as you fatigue.
Dropping fast and rebounding off the floor skips the lowering phase, which is where much of the strength is built; take about two seconds down.

Frequently asked

How many push-ups should a beginner do?: Three sets of 5 to 10 reps, three days a week, stopping each set while the line from head to heels is still straight. If you cannot manage five, put your hands on a bench or a kitchen counter and lower the surface over the weeks. Once three sets of 15 feel steady, slow the descent to three seconds, add a pause at the bottom, or move on to feet-elevated push-ups.
How do I make push-ups easier or harder?: To make them easier, raise your hands onto a bench, table, or wall, or drop to your knees. Keep the full range either way rather than cutting the depth. To make them harder, put your feet on a chair, pause two seconds with the chest just off the floor, slow the lowering, wear a loaded backpack, or move the hands closer together to load the triceps.
What are push-ups good for and when should I choose something else?: They build the chest, triceps, and front delts while the core holds a plank, they need no equipment, and they scale from wall push-ups to one-arm work. Once you can do sets of 25 or more, you are mostly training endurance, so a weighted press or added load is a better route to strength. If your wrists hurt in full extension, use push-up handles or grip a pair of dumbbells to keep them neutral.

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