Push-ups on the wall or with knees on the floor are secrets to mastering the exercise.

Simple, strenuous, and possible to do almost anywhere, push-ups are an almost universally known exercise and a mainstay of military, sports, and physical training regimens. Push-ups are a “basic, fundamental movement,” said James Whitener 3, a strength and conditioning coach at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida.

Because this exercise requires knowing your body’s position from head to toe, it helps you develop something called kinesthetic awareness — an understanding of how the body moves in space. This awareness, in turn, can help practitioners develop a sense of their own body’s capability and prepare them for “bigger, more complex movements” like lifts or squats, he said.

To get the most out of push-ups, you need good technique. Here’s what you need to know.

WHAT MAKES PULL-UPS GREAT

Push-ups improve your chest, shoulders, and arms—especially your deltoid, triceps, and pectoral muscles—but they’re really a full-body movement.

“We think of them as an upper body exercise, but they also work the core muscles and develop coordination,” Whitener said. Holding your body in a rigid plank position while performing a push-up activates your core muscles and may also require some leg work.

“They’re very versatile because they target many things at once,” said Tessia De Mattos, physical therapist and strength, conditioning and performance rehabilitation coach at The Strength Athlete.

HOW TO DO A BEND

To begin, get into a classic plank position, with your palms on the floor, arms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and hands in line with your shoulders. Mastering regular planks is important, De Mattos said, because “if you can’t do a full plank in proper form, you’re going to have a hard time doing a full pushup.”

To ensure you’re in good form, try filming yourself with a smartphone, advised Hampton Liu, personal trainer, fitness influencer and founder of Hybrid Calisthenics. “You don’t have to show the video to anyone! You can even delete it right after. It’s just for you.”

Two common mistakes, De Mattos said, are letting your belly hang or arching your lower back instead of keeping it in line with the rest of your body.

HOW MANY TIMES?

How many reps you should do depends on your current skill and your goals. For the average person trying to get healthier, fitter, and stronger, the best approach is to target momentary failure — the point of fatigue where you can’t complete another rep in good shape — rather than a specific number of times. repetitions, said Patroklos Androulakis-Korakakis, a researcher at Solent University in England and strength coach at StrongerByScience.com.

“By reaching momentary failure, or at least getting very close to it, the person can ensure they are getting enough stimulation for strength and hypertrophy adaptations,” he said.

If you can only do a few reps before you get to that point, you can try some of the easier variations below. As you progress, you can switch back to standard push-ups and then move on to harder variations to increase the difficulty as you gain strength, said Dr. Androulakis-Korakakis.

TO EASILY BENDING

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of if you can’t do a push-up. Fitness is a journey and we all start somewhere,” Liu said in a video about push-ups. If you still can’t do a push-up, “you can strengthen yourself,” he added.

wall flexes: If you’re just starting out, Liu suggests trying wall push-ups. Face a wall at arm’s length and place your hands on it, shoulder-width apart. Lean in until your face almost touches the wall, then push back to the starting position. Do as many reps as you can, and when it becomes easy, you can progress to a push-up.

Knee push-ups: If you still can’t do a standard push-up, you can give yourself some momentum by starting the movement in a kneeling position, which reduces the amount of load you put on your arms, shoulders, and chest, said Dr. from Mattos.

TO MAKE BENDING DIFFICULT

As you become more effective at push-ups, you will need to do more to reach the point of momentary failure. Exercising up to this point can maximize motor unit and muscle fiber recruitment, which in turn will stimulate adaptations and make you stronger, said Dr. Androulakis-Korakakis. “Hitting momentary failure is a great way to ensure people get the most out of each set.”

Here are some ways to get there.

Raised leg push-up: Once you’re firm in standard push-ups, you can increase the difficulty by starting the push-up movement with your feet elevated above your body, Liu said. Starting with a few books on the floor under your feet should make some noticeable difference, he said. From there, you can try a low stool (maybe 30 centimeters off the floor) and then climb onto a chair or even a railing.

Narrow bend (or diamond): This is a more difficult variation of the pushup, which you do by putting your hands together with your thumbs and forefingers touching to create a diamond-shaped hole. You can get there by simply bringing your hands a little closer together until it becomes easy, then bringing them closer and closer until they finally touch, Liu said.

heavy bending: When you can do sets of 10 push-ups with ease, you can increase the difficulty by placing a small weight plate on your back to increase the weight you push. If you’re doing this at home and don’t have weights, you can put some heavy books in a backpack and use it as a weight, De Mattos said. The extra weight shouldn’t be so much that you can only do a few push-ups, but it should be enough to take you to the point of momentary failure in about ten reps or less.

One-arm push-up: It requires excellent core strength to keep your body in position as you push up with one arm, Liu said. “It’s a great core exercise.” The trick here is to use your legs and core to keep your body stable as you push up with one arm. Spreading your feet further apart can help you stabilize as you go.

There are many ways to do push-ups, Liu said. “Find one you can make and work on it.” As you get stronger, you can progress to a harder version.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves