Push-Up Wide
A floor push-up with the hands set outside the shoulders, biasing the press toward the chest through a deeper stretch at the bottom.
How to do it
- Get on all fours with the hands set wider than the shoulders and the toes tucked.
- Straighten both legs into a high plank so the body makes one line from head to heels.
- Look at the floor, lock the elbows, and brace the trunk before you lower.
- Bend the elbows and let the chest drop while the shoulder blades slide on the ribcage.
- Stop when the upper arms sit about even with the floor or the chest is close to the ground.
- Push the floor away until the elbows straighten and the chest returns to the start.
Key technique cue
Brace the core before the first rep, elbows in an arrow, not a T.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Letting the arms form a T at the bottom instead of an arrow, which loads the shoulders.
- ✕ Letting the hips sag because the trunk was never braced before the first repetition.
- ✕ Setting the hands as wide as they will go, which cuts range and opens the shoulders further.
- ✕ Stopping short at the top instead of pushing through and letting the shoulder blades move.
Benefits
- ✓ Biases a bodyweight press toward the chest and stretches the pecs at the bottom.
- ✓ Needs no equipment, so it drops into chest, push, and full-body sessions anywhere.
- ✓ Scales by tempo and foot elevation long before any external load is required.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 You are here - Push-Up Wide
- Push Up
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Step 3 -
Step 4
About the exercise
The wide push-up is a standard push-up with the hands placed outside shoulder width. Moving the hands out increases the horizontal distance the arms have to sweep, which biases the movement toward the chest and gives the pectorals a deeper stretch at the bottom than a shoulder-width press. The trade-off is a more open shoulder, so the hands belong moderately wide rather than as wide as they will go. Everything else is an ordinary push-up: brace the trunk, hold one line from head to heels, and descend until the upper arms are at least parallel. Keep the elbows closer to the ribs than a flared T so the work stays on the chest.
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