What is Decline Push Up?
The Decline Push Up is a medium-level bodyweight push exercise where your feet are elevated to place extra load on the upper chest, shoulders and triceps. It also engages the core and glutes for stability and requires strict hip alignment to avoid sagging or lower-back arching.
How to Do Decline Push Up
- Set up feet: Place your feet on a bench and hands shoulder-width under shoulders; assume a straight line from shoulders to heels with tailbone tucked and glutes braced.
- Brace core and glutes: Exhale while bracing your core and squeezing glutes to maintain neutral spine; this prevents hips from sagging or the lower back from arching.
- Begin descent: Bend elbows at a 45-degree angle and slowly lower your chest toward the floor with control until your forehead or chest lightly touches the ground.
- Drive up: Press through your palms, extend elbows to return to start while exhaling, keeping hips level, shoulders stable, and core engaged throughout the push.
- Maintain tempo: Use a controlled 2–3 second descent and a 1-second press; stop or reduce elevation if form breaks to avoid injury and reinforce correct mechanics.
Muscle Groups
Triceps, Chest, Shoulders, Glutes
Description
Start on your hands and knees facing away from a bench. Extend your legs and get your feet onto the elevated surface and assume the push up position. Hands directly under the shoulders, posterior pelvic tilt (tuck your tailbone), squeeze your gluten and brace your core.Bend your elbow and begin descending, keeping tension and maintaining a straight line from your shoulders to heels. Allow your forehead to touch the floor, then drive through your hands and exhale as your push up.
Repeat for receptions.
Don’t allow your hips to sag or back to arch at any point, keep the gluten and core engaged.
Movement Group
Push
Required Equipment
Bench
Progressions and Regressions
- Negative Knee Push Up
- Negative Push Up
- Knee Push-Up
- Incline Push Up
- Push Up
- Diamond Push Up
- Decline Push Up (current)
- Pseudo Planche Push Up
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of decline push ups?
Decline push ups increase load on the upper chest, shoulders and triceps while improving pressing strength and core stability. They recruit glutes for hip stability and build upper-body endurance and muscle without machines.
What are common mistakes with decline push ups?
Common errors include hips sagging, back arching, flaring elbows, hands too far forward, and rushing the rep. Fixes: brace core and glutes, tuck the tailbone, keep elbows ~45 degrees, and use a controlled tempo or lower elevation.
How can I progress or modify decline push ups?
Progress by raising foot elevation, adding a weighted vest, pausing at the bottom, or moving to single-arm/archer variations. Modify by lowering elevation, switching to standard/incline push-ups, or performing knee push-ups until strength improves.