10 Beginner-Friendly Bodyweight Push-Up Variations

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Are you tired of doing the same old push-up routine? Well, you're not alone.

Did you know that 67% of people who exercise regularly look for variety in their workouts? That's where these 10 beginner-friendly bodyweight push-up variations come in.

Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or just starting out, these exercises will add excitement and challenge to your routine.

Get ready to break free from the ordinary and take your push-ups to the next level.

Key Takeaways

10 Bodyweight Push-Up Variations for Beginners

If you're a beginner looking to strengthen your upper body, these 10 bodyweight push-up variations are perfect for you. Whether you're new to push-ups or looking to challenge yourself, there's a variation that suits every fitness level.

Starting with the standard push-up, you can gradually progress to more challenging options like spiderman push-ups. Remember, progress takes time and consistency, so start with the variation that feels comfortable for you and gradually work your way up.

It's important to stay determined and committed. With regular practice, you'll see improvements in your strength and physique. Keep pushing and strive for progress!

Quote: "Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn't." – Rikki Rogers

Standard Push-Up

Performing a standard push-up starts with assuming a high plank position, placing your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. This classic exercise is excellent for activating and strengthening various muscle groups, including the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. By keeping your core engaged and lowering your body until your chest lightly touches the ground, you can maximize muscle activation in these areas.

For beginners, it's beneficial to try variations of the standard push-up to build strength and confidence. One modification is performing push-ups on your knees instead of your toes. This reduces the amount of body weight you need to lift, making it more manageable for newcomers. Another option is performing push-ups with your hands elevated on an incline, using a bench or step. This variation lowers the difficulty level, allowing you to gradually increase strength and progress toward the standard push-up.

Now that you have a good understanding of the standard push-up and its variations for beginners, let's explore the next step in your push-up journey: the incline push-up.

Incline Push-Up

Looking to up your push-up game?

The incline push-up is a fantastic variation that challenges your upper body strength. By placing your hands on an elevated surface like a bench or step, you increase the difficulty of the exercise while still maintaining proper form.

This variation specifically targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps, helping you develop strength and definition in these areas.

It's a great way to level up your push-up routine and take your fitness journey to new heights.

Difficulty of Incline

If you're new to working out and want to challenge yourself, the incline push-up is a great option. It's a modified version of the traditional push-up that allows you to adjust the difficulty level to match your fitness level.

One way to make the incline push-up easier for beginners is to use a higher surface like a bench or sturdy table to elevate your upper body. This reduces the amount of weight you have to lift, making the exercise more manageable.

As you get stronger and more comfortable, you can gradually lower the height of the surface until you're able to do push-ups on the ground. This progressive approach helps you increase the difficulty of the exercise in a safe and controlled manner, while challenging your muscles.

Muscles Targeted During?

During an incline push-up, the muscles targeted are the chest, shoulders, and triceps. This variation is ideal for beginners who want to strengthen these specific muscle groups. By focusing on these muscles, you can develop a well-defined upper body and enhance your overall physical performance.

The incline push-up allows you to concentrate on maintaining proper form and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts. As you become more comfortable with this exercise, you can progress to more challenging variations. Targeting specific muscles offers benefits such as increased muscle tone, improved posture, and enhanced upper body strength.

Now that you understand the muscles targeted during an incline push-up, let's move on to the next variation: the knee push-up.

Knee Push-Up

To do a knee push-up, start by positioning yourself on the ground with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees on the floor. This modified version of a traditional push-up is great for beginners or those who are still building upper body strength. While knee push-ups may not be as challenging as regular push-ups, they still offer numerous benefits.

One of the main advantages of knee push-ups is that they target the same muscle groups as regular push-ups, including the chest, triceps, and shoulders. By consistently performing knee push-ups, you can strengthen these muscles and improve your overall upper body strength.

Maintaining proper form is crucial to maximize the benefits of knee push-ups. Keep your back straight and engage your core muscles throughout the exercise. As you lower your body towards the ground, ensure that your elbows are at a 45-degree angle to your body. This will effectively work your chest and triceps.

Wide Push-Up

Ready to level up your push-up routine? The wide push-up variation is worth a try.

To maintain proper form, position your hands wider than shoulder-width apart.

This exercise specifically targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps.

With practice, you can gradually progress to more challenging variations.

Proper Form Tips

Tips for Proper Form

To perform a wide push-up with correct form, start by placing your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the ground. This hand position targets the chest muscles, shoulders, and triceps more intensely compared to a regular push-up.

Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe, engaging your core and glutes throughout the movement. Lower yourself down by bending your elbows, making sure they track back at a 45-degree angle from your body. Avoid dropping your hips or sagging your lower back.

As you push back up, exhale and focus on evenly pressing through your palms. Remember to maintain proper form and avoid common mistakes such as letting your elbows flare out or allowing your head to droop.

With practice and consistency, you'll soon be able to perform wide push-ups effortlessly, increasing your strength and freedom of movement.

Muscle Groups Targeted

When you perform wide push-ups with proper form, you specifically target the chest muscles, shoulders, and triceps more intensely compared to regular push-ups. The wider hand placement in wide push-ups increases the activation of these muscle groups, providing a greater challenge and leading to a stronger upper body.

Engaging the chest muscles through wide push-ups can help you develop a well-defined and sculpted chest. The shoulders are also heavily engaged, contributing to building strong and broad shoulders. Additionally, the triceps are targeted, resulting in toned and defined arms.

Wide push-ups are an excellent variation for beginners who want to strengthen and tone their upper body. They offer a great starting point for those new to push-ups and can be adjusted to suit individual fitness levels.

Progression Options Available

To make your wide push-ups more challenging, you can try incorporating these advanced variations into your workout routine.

One option is to perform incline push-ups by elevating your hands on a bench, step, or solid surface. This increases the difficulty of the exercise and places more emphasis on your chest and shoulders, while also engaging your triceps and core muscles.

Another option is to add a plyometric element to your wide push-ups. This involves explosively pushing yourself off the ground and clapping your hands together before landing back in the starting position. Plyometric push-ups not only target your chest, shoulders, and triceps, but they also help improve your power and speed.

By including these progression options, you can challenge yourself and continue to build strength and muscle.

Now, let's move on to the next progression: the close grip push-up.

Close Grip Push-Up

Try the close grip push-up to target your triceps and chest muscles. Another variation to add to your bodyweight push-up routine is the close grip push-up. This exercise involves placing your hands closer together, just slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart.

Close grip push-ups offer several benefits. They primarily target the triceps, helping to strengthen and tone this muscle group. Additionally, they also engage the chest muscles, providing a great overall upper body workout. By bringing your hands closer together, you increase the emphasis on the triceps and chest, making this exercise more challenging and effective.

To perform a close grip push-up, start in a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders. Make sure your body is in a straight line from head to toe. Lower your body towards the ground, keeping your elbows close to your sides. Pause briefly when your chest is just above the ground, and then push back up to the starting position.

Incorporating close grip push-ups into your routine won't only help you build strength and muscle, but also improve your overall fitness level. So give them a try and experience the freedom of a strong, toned upper body.

Diamond Push-Up

To further target your triceps and chest muscles, try transitioning into the next beginner-friendly bodyweight push-up variation known as the diamond push-up. This variation gets its name from the hand placement, where you form a diamond shape by touching your index fingers and thumbs together.

Here's why you should give diamond push-ups a try:

Increased muscle activation: By bringing your hands closer together, diamond push-ups place more emphasis on your triceps. This helps strengthen and tone these muscles, giving you more defined arms.
Target your chest muscles: The narrow hand placement in diamond push-ups also targets your chest muscles in a unique way. It engages the inner part of your chest, helping you build a stronger and more balanced upper body.
Modifications and regressions: If you're just starting out or find diamond push-ups too challenging, you can modify the exercise by performing them on an incline. Placing your hands on an elevated surface, such as a bench or step, reduces the amount of body weight you have to lift, making it more manageable.

Now that you've mastered the diamond push-up, it's time to move on to the next variation: the wall push-up.

Wall Push-Up

The wall push-up is a beginner-friendly exercise that can help you build upper body strength. To perform a wall push-up, stand facing a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on the wall at chest level. Keep your body straight as you lower your chest towards the wall, then push back up.

This exercise serves as a stepping stone towards more challenging variations. As you progress, you can make it more difficult by moving your feet further away from the wall or trying different hand positions.

Proper Wall Push-Up Technique

Mastering the proper technique for wall push-ups is crucial to ensure proper form and avoid common mistakes. Starting with wall push-ups is a great way to build strength and prepare your body for more challenging variations.

Here are three key tips to help you achieve the correct technique:

Position yourself facing a wall, standing about arm's length away with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Place your hands on the wall at shoulder height, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Engage your core, keep your body in a straight line, and slowly lower your chest towards the wall by bending your elbows. Push back up to the starting position.

By following these steps, you can maintain good form and avoid arching your back or flaring your elbows. It's important to focus on maintaining proper technique and gradually increasing the difficulty as you build strength.

Enjoy the freedom of movement and the benefits that come with mastering the wall push-up technique.

Benefits of Wall Push-Ups

As you continue with your wall push-up journey, you'll discover the many benefits that come from incorporating this beginner-friendly exercise into your fitness routine.

Wall push-ups not only help you build strength and tone your upper body muscles, but they also offer several other advantages.

One of the main benefits of wall push-ups is that they provide a great starting point for beginners who may not yet have the strength to perform traditional push-ups on the floor. By gradually increasing the difficulty level, you can progress to more challenging variations.

In addition, wall push-ups are a low-impact exercise that puts minimal stress on your joints, making them a safe option for individuals with joint pain or injuries.

These push-ups also improve your posture, increase shoulder stability, and engage your core muscles for added stability.

By incorporating wall push-ups into your fitness routine, you can develop a strong foundation for more advanced exercises while enjoying the freedom of movement and the satisfying feeling of progress.

Progressions for Wall Push-Ups

To advance from wall push-ups, you can transition to incline push-ups using a stable elevated surface. This progression will help you build more strength and challenge your muscles further. Here are three progressions you can try:

Incline Push-Ups: Place your hands on a stable elevated surface, such as a bench or step. Keep your body straight and lower yourself towards the surface by bending your elbows. Push back up to the starting position. As you get stronger, you can gradually decrease the height of the elevated surface.
Knee Push-Ups: If you're not ready for standard push-ups yet, try doing knee push-ups. Start in a plank position, but instead of being on your toes, rest your knees on the ground. Lower your chest towards the floor by bending your elbows, and then push back up.
Proper Form Tips for Standard Push-Ups: When performing standard push-ups, make sure to keep your body in a straight line from head to toe. Engage your core muscles to maintain stability, and lower your chest towards the floor by bending your elbows. Push back up to the starting position, keeping your elbows close to your body.

Transitioning from wall push-ups to incline push-ups and incorporating knee push-ups will help you progress towards performing standard push-ups with proper form and technique.

Next, let's move on to the next progression: decline push-ups.

Decline Push-Up

Take your push-up game to the next level with the decline push-up. To perform this variation, elevate your feet on a stable surface. By positioning your feet higher than your hands, you increase the challenge for your upper body strength. This intense exercise requires your upper body to lift more weight.

There are different ways to do the decline push-up. You can use an exercise bench, step, stability ball, or yoga block to elevate your feet. Experiment with different heights to find the level that challenges you while maintaining proper form.

The benefits of decline push-ups are abundant. Not only do they target your chest, shoulders, and triceps, but they also engage your core muscles as you work to maintain stability. The decline angle places more focus on your upper chest, helping you achieve a well-rounded and balanced physique.

Once you've mastered the decline push-up, you can move on to the next variation, the staggered push-up. This exercise will further challenge your upper body strength and stability, allowing you to push yourself to new limits.

Staggered Push-Up

Try adding the staggered push-up to your bodyweight exercise routine to challenge your upper body strength. This push-up variation targets different muscle groups and improves your overall fitness level. Some benefits of incorporating the staggered push-up into your routine include increased stability and balance, as well as a greater emphasis on one side of the body at a time. By adding this variation to your workouts, you can take your push-up game to the next level and discover the extraordinary pushup variations that can enhance your strength and endurance.

Here are the benefits of incorporating staggered push-ups:

Increased stability: By placing one hand higher than the other, the staggered push-up requires your core muscles to work harder to maintain stability. This helps enhance your balance and coordination.
Enhanced muscle engagement: The staggered hand placement shifts the workload, focusing more on the chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles. This provides a targeted and intense workout for these areas.
Improved muscle symmetry: Staggered push-ups can address any imbalances between the left and right sides of your body. By focusing on each side independently, you can work towards achieving a more balanced physique.

To perform a proper staggered push-up, follow these steps:

Start in a push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart. Stagger one hand slightly forward and the other hand slightly back.
Engage your core and keep a straight line from your head to your heels. Lower your body towards the ground.
Push yourself back up to the starting position and repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.

By incorporating staggered push-ups into your workout routine, you can challenge yourself and enjoy the benefits they offer.

Now, let's move on to the next push-up variation – the spiderman push-up.

Spiderman Push-Up

Let's explore the Spiderman Push-Up, a challenging variation that will target your upper body strength and engage your core muscles. The Spiderman Push-Up is an advanced version of the traditional push-up that adds an extra element of difficulty and excitement to your workout routine.

To perform a Spiderman Push-Up, start in a high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart. As you lower your body towards the ground, bring your right knee towards your right elbow in a controlled movement. Push yourself back up and return your right leg to the starting position, then repeat the movement on the left side. This exercise not only works your chest, shoulders, and triceps but also engages your obliques and hip flexors.

There are various ways to modify the Spiderman Push-Up to suit your fitness level. You can increase the intensity by elevating your feet on a bench or step, or challenge your stability and core strength by performing the exercise on an unstable surface like a Swiss ball. For a more dynamic movement, you can incorporate a plyometric element by explosively pushing yourself off the ground and bringing your knees towards your elbows.

By incorporating the Spiderman Push-Up and its variations into your routine, you can improve your upper body strength, core stability, and add variety to your workouts. Give it a try and experience the satisfaction of pushing yourself to new limits.

'Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't.' – Rikki Rogers

Conclusion

These 10 bodyweight push-up variations are perfect for beginners who want to challenge and strengthen their upper body. These variations include incline push-ups, where you place your hands on an elevated surface like a bench or stair, and close grip push-ups, where you bring your hands closer together to target your triceps. By incorporating these bodyweight pushup variations into your routine, you can gradually build up strength and endurance in your chest, shoulders, and arms. Plus, they require no equipment, making them convenient for anyone looking to add more resistance to their workouts.

From standard push-ups to spiderman push-ups, there's a variation that suits every fitness level.

Remember, progress takes time and consistency. Start with the variation that feels comfortable for you and gradually work your way up to more challenging options.

Stay determined, and you'll see improvements in your strength and physique.

Keep pushing!