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Fitness Fitness Basics

Doing Push-Ups the Right Way

Summary & Participants

Knowing how to do push-ups the right way will help you get the most out of your workout.

Medically Reviewed On: August 08, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Push-ups are a great way to build upper body strength. Or, they can be an exercise in futility. Can you tell which is which? Take a look at these two versions. Fitness expert Jonathan Cane explains why A is a time waster.

JONATHAN CANE, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: The most common thing you see people do wrong with push-ups is they go through a very limited range of motion. You also will typically see people moving a little too fast through the range of motion, which makes the exercise easier.

ANNOUNCER: Here’s how to do a push-up the right way.

JONATHAN CANE, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: First of all, we're going to slow everything down. We're going to go about three seconds on the way up, three seconds on the way down. So a slow, controlled movement that eliminates momentum from the picture. We're going to flatten out his back and we're going to also make sure that he goes through a full range of motion, so he's going to come all the way up to the top, stopping just short of locking out his elbows at the top and then, he's going to come all the way down 'til his chest touches the floor.

ANNOUNCER: And don’t worry if you lose your bragging rights.

JONATHAN CANE, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: He's going to get strength gains through the full range of motion and the exercise is going to be far harder to do and far more effective. And rather than doing dozens and dozens of repetitions, far fewer will get a far greater effect.

ANNOUNCER: Cane says if you can’t do eight or ten push-ups the right way, you may want to try a modified push-up.

JONATHAN CANE, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: You're changing the physics of the equation and you're having to support less of your body weight if you're doing it from your knees as opposed from your toes.

ANNOUNCER: But whatever kind you do, make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck!

JONATHAN CANE, EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST: Focus on doing each repetition perfectly as opposed to focusing on how many you can do and trying to make a contest out of it.

ANNOUNCER: Thanks for joining us on today’s Once Daily!