Upper chest exercise
Decline Push-UpHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Upper chest
- Also works
- Triceps, Front delts
- Equipment
- Bench
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Decline Push-Up?
- Place your feet on a bench and hands on the floor, slightly wide.
- Brace into a straight line from head to heels.
- Lower your chest until it nearly touches the floor.
- Push back up until your arms are straight.
Cues
- Body stays one straight plank
- Elbows at about 45°
- Chest to the floor, not chin
Common mistakes
- Hips sagging: squeeze your stomach and buttocks.
- Elbows flaring wide: angle them back to about 45°.
- Shallow reps: lower until your chest is just above the floor.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
A flat bench (pad top about 45 cm high; accept 30–60 cm) sits behind the lifter. The balls of both feet rest on the end of the pad, feet together or hip-width. Hands flat on the floor, slightly wider than the shoulders (about 1.2× shoulder width), fingers forward. Shoulders directly above the hands at the top. The body is one straight line from head to heels: no sag, no pike. Abdominals and buttocks braced, head in line with the spine, shoulder blades back and down.
The movement
The whole rigid body pivots about the toes on the bench, lowering and rising as one piece. Only the elbows and shoulders bend; the hips stay in line with shoulders and heels, the feet stay on the bench and the hands stay planted. The chest travels down towards the floor just in front of the hands' line.
End position
(turnaround point): Chest about 3 cm above the floor (accept 2–5 cm; it nearly touches). Upper arms about 45° out from the torso (accept 30–60°), elbows pointing back and out, not straight out to the sides. The head may tilt back very slightly so the chest, not the nose, reaches the floor; the low back does not arch.
Tempo
2 s lowering, about 0.3 s near the floor (no touch-and-bounce), 1.5 s pressing, about 0.2 s at the top.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bench (foot) height | 45 cm | 30–60 cm | |
| Hand width | 1.2× shoulder width | 1.0–1.5× | |
| Body line (hip angle) | 180° | 170–185° | |
| Upper arm from torso at bottom | 45° | 30–60° | |
| Chest-to-floor gap at bottom | 3 cm | 2–5 cm | |
| Elbow at top | 175° | 170–180° | |
| Lowering / pressing time | 2 s / 1.5 s | 1–3 s each |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Decline Push-Up is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
