Chest exercise
Wall Push-UpHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Chest
- Also works
- Triceps, Front delts
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Wall Push-Up?
- Stand a little more than arm's length from a wall.
- Place your palms on the wall at shoulder height, slightly wide.
- Bend your elbows to bring your chest close to the wall.
- Pause, then push back until your arms are straight.
Cues
- Straight line, head to heels
- Elbows angled down, not out
- Chest leads, not your chin
Common mistakes
- Hips sagging or sticking out: tighten your stomach and buttocks.
- Face reaching the wall first: keep your head in line.
- Barely bending the elbows: lower until your chest nears the wall.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Palms flat on the wall at about shoulder height (accept chest to shoulder height), hands slightly wider than the shoulders (about 1.2× shoulder width), fingers pointing up. Heels stay on the floor. Abdominals and buttocks lightly braced, head in line with the spine, shoulders down away from the ears.
The movement
The whole straight body hinges forward at the ankles towards the wall and back again, like a plank tipping. Only the elbows and shoulders bend; the hips stay in line with the shoulders and heels, the feet stay planted and the hands do not slide. Shoulder blades move together slightly as the chest nears the wall and apart as the arms straighten.
End position
(turnaround point): Elbows bent until the chest is about 10 cm from the wall (accept 5–20 cm); the nose and chin do not touch it. Upper arms about 45° out from the torso (accept 30–60°), elbows pointing down and back, not straight out to the sides. Brief pause.
Tempo
2 s lowering, about 1 s pause near the wall, 2 s pushing back.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand height | shoulder height | chest to shoulder height | |
| 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-wall gap at bottom | 10 cm | 5–20 cm | |
| Elbow at top | 175° | 170–180° | |
| Lower / pause / push | 2 s / 1 s / 2 s | 1.5–3 s / 0.5–1 s / 1.5–3 s |
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 Wall 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
