Dorm or gym floor
Push-Up
A push-up is a moving plank. If your hips sag, you are not training your press. You are leaking.
Hunter: I would rather see 6 clean reps on an incline than 20 sloppy ones on the floor. Pride is not a set.
Cues
- Hands under shoulders, not out by your ears.
- Squeeze your glutes so your hips stay in one line.
- Lower until your chest would touch a fist on the floor.
- Elbows about 45 degrees from your torso, not flared to 90.
- Push the floor away. Neck stays long. Do not crane.
Setup
Set your hands a little wider than your shoulders. Walk your feet back until your body is one board. Eyes on a spot on the floor in front of you. That is the start. If the floor is too hard, put your hands on a bench. That is still a push-up.
Dorm version that still counts
Hands on a desk, bed frame, or counter. Same cues. Same logging. You are not cheating. You are picking a height you can own. When 10 reps feel honest, drop one level closer to the floor.
Gym version
After your squat or press, do 3 sets of as many clean push-ups as you can stop two reps before failure. That last ugly rep does not make you tougher. It teaches your shoulders a bad story.
How I count them
Only the reps that keep the line. If you need a knee version, log knee push-ups as their own movement. Do not mix them in one set and pretend the number means the same thing next week.
Common misses
Hips piked to the ceiling, or hips dumped to the floor. Both skip the hard part. If you cannot keep the line, raise the hands. Do not add a clap, a diamond, or a weighted vest until the regular one looks like a plank.
FAQ
Are knee push-ups fake?
No. They are a regression. Log them honestly. Progress toward the full plank line.
Should I go chest to the floor?
Chest to a fist is enough for most people. If your shoulders complain, stop the set and raise the hands.
Open the free Vitality Engine and log the push-up set with the height you actually used.