Decline Push-Up
The decline push-up is a push-up performed with your feet raised on a bench or step, which puts more of your bodyweight onto your hands than a floor push-up. It works the chest, the front of the shoulders and the triceps, and it is a common way to make the push-up harder without adding weight.
Also called: Decline Push-Ups, Feet Elevated Push-Up, Decline Pushup, Decline Press-Up · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Place your feet on a stable bench, box or step behind you and your hands on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width, directly under your shoulders.
- Straighten your arms so your body forms one straight line from head to heels. Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes.
- Bend your elbows and bring your chest towards the floor under control, keeping your elbows about 45° from your body.
- Go down until your chest is a few centimetres from the floor, keeping your hips in line with your shoulders.
- Press the floor away to straighten your arms, moving your whole body as one piece.
- At the top, push your shoulders slightly away from the floor, then start the next rep.
- After the last rep, bring your knees to the floor, then take your feet down from the bench.
- Body in one straight line from head to heels
- Elbows about 45° from your body
- Chest to just above the floor
- Push the floor away
- Glutes and abs tight throughout
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Pectoralis major: sternocostal (mid) | Prime mover | C |
| Pectoralis major: clavicular (upper) | Prime mover | D |
| Anterior deltoid: anterior | Secondary | D |
| Triceps brachii: lateral head | Secondary | C |
| Serratus anterior | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | D |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips sagging
Fix: Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes so your body stays one straight line.
Hips piking up
Fix: Keep your hips level with your shoulders all the way down and up.
Elbows flaring out
Fix: Keep your elbows about 45° from your body as you go down.
Head dropping first
Fix: Keep your head in line with your body and lead with your chest.
Shallow reps
Fix: Bring your chest to a few centimetres from the floor on every rep.
What the research says
General fitness · first choiceStrengthMuscle growthSport performanceEndurance
- Load — A force-platform study found push-ups with the feet raised put more of the body's weight through the hands than any other push-up variation tested, so box height works as the load setting.
- Push-ups as a press — Training studies found load-matched push-ups produced chest and triceps growth and bench-press strength gains similar to the bench press.
- Load and effort — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, and true failure adds only a small extra benefit, so higher-rep bodyweight sets can build muscle.
- Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns.
- Progression — Common ways to progress are a higher box, a weighted vest or slower reps. There is no research comparing these options.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the decline push-up in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.