Knee Push-Up
The knee push-up is a push-up performed with your knees on the floor, which shortens the lever and makes it lighter than the full version. It works the chest, the front of the shoulders and the triceps, and is the usual first step towards a full push-up.
Also called: Knee Pushups, Knee Pushup, Kneeling Push-Up, Modified Push-Up · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Kneel on a mat or folded towel and place your hands on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width, fingers pointing forward.
- Walk your knees back until your body forms a straight line from knees to head, with your hands under your shoulders. Your feet can rest on the floor or be crossed in the air.
- Brace your trunk and squeeze your glutes so your hips stay in line with your shoulders.
- Bend your elbows to bring your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows about 45° from your sides.
- Go down until your chest is about a fist's height from the floor.
- Push the floor away until your arms are straight, moving your chest and hips together as one unit.
- At the top, keep pushing for a moment so your shoulder blades spread apart, then start the next rep.
- Straight line from knees to head
- Elbows about 45° from your sides
- Chest to a fist's height from the floor
- Push the floor away
- Hips move with your chest
- Hands under your shoulders
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 |
| Triceps brachii: lateral head | Prime mover | B |
| Triceps brachii: medial head | Secondary | C |
| Anterior deltoid: anterior | Secondary | C |
| Serratus anterior | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips piking up
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and hold a straight line from knees to head.
Hips sagging
Fix: Brace your trunk and move your chest and hips together as one unit.
Elbows flared out to 90°
Fix: Tuck your elbows to about 45° from your sides as you go down.
Partial reps
Fix: Bring your chest to about a fist's height from the floor on every rep.
Head dropping first
Fix: Keep your head in line with your body and lead with your chest.
Knees too close to the hands
Fix: Walk your knees back until your knees, hips and shoulders line up.
What the research says
Rehab & prehab · first choiceMuscle growthGeneral fitnessEndurance
- Load — Force-plate research found the knee push-up puts about 49% of body mass through the hands, against about 64% for a standard push-up, making it a lighter version of the same press.
- Growth and strength — In an 8-week trial, push-ups adjusted to match 40% of bench-press max, including kneeling versions, produced chest and triceps growth and bench-press strength gains comparable to bench pressing at the same load.
- Effort — Studies show muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, and sets that finish a rep or two short of failure capture most of that benefit.
- Volume and frequency — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. Around 10 or more hard sets a week has been associated with more growth than fewer than 5, and training a muscle about twice a week is a common way to spread that volume.
- Progression — Many lifters move on to incline or full push-ups once they can complete sets of 10–15 with a straight body line. There is no research on the best point to progress.
Log the knee 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.