Deep Push Up

Build chest and triceps with the deep push up, a bodyweight press with an extended range of motion

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How to perform

1. Set your hands on two handles, dumbbells, or parallettes slightly wider than shoulder width and step back into a high plank with a straight body.
2. Brace your core and keep your head, hips, and heels in one line.
3. Inhale and lower your chest toward the floor, bending your elbows and letting your chest travel below the height of your hands.
4. Pause briefly in the deep stretch, then push through your palms as you exhale and extend your arms back to the top.
5. Keep your elbows close to your body and repeat for the desired number of reps.

Muscles worked

The deep push up is a bodyweight compound press with extra range of motion at the bottom, where the pectorals are under their greatest stretch. The triceps take over during the extension, and the front shoulders stabilize the movement.

• Pectorals — work hardest in the deep, stretched part of the rep
• Triceps — extend the elbows as you press back up
• Anterior deltoids — stabilize and assist near the top
• Core — keeps the body rigid and the hips from sagging

Make it easier

Perform the deep push up with your hands on a higher surface, like a bench or table, or drop to your knees. Standard floor push ups with a full range also prepare you for the added depth.

Make it harder

Raise your feet onto a bench or box so more load shifts to the shoulders, add a pause at the bottom, or wear a weighted vest. Slowing the lowering phase to a three-second count adds tension without changing the range.

Common mistakes

Mistake: Letting the hips sag. Fix: brace your glutes and core so your body stays in one straight line. Mistake: Flaring the elbows wide. Fix: keep your elbows at roughly 45 degrees and close to your torso. Mistake: Cutting the range short. Fix: lower until your chest drops below your hand line on every rep.