Plyo Push-up
Muscles worked
Instructions
- 1Move into a prone position on the floor, supporting your weight on your hands and toes.
- 2Your arms should be fully extended with the hands around shoulder width. Keep your body straight throughout the movement. This will be your starting position.
- 3Descend by flexing at the elbow, lowering your chest towards the ground.
- 4At the bottom, reverse the motion by pushing yourself up through elbow extension as quickly as possible. Attempt to push your upper body up until your hands leave the ground.
- 5Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise.
- 6For added difficulty, add claps into the movement while you are air borne.
table_chartRecommended sets and reps
These ranges vary depending on your training goal — adjust the load accordingly.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| boltStrength | 4–5 | 3–6 | 3–5 min |
| fitness_centerHypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 | 90 s |
| timerEndurance | 2–3 | 15–20 | 30–45 s |
About Plyo Push-up
The plyo push-up is an explosive variation of the standard push-up where the hands leave the ground at the top of the press, developing power and contraction speed in the chest rather than raw strength. In a plank position with arms extended, you lower your chest toward the floor by bending the elbows, then reverse the motion as quickly as possible by pushing hard until the hands leave the ground, before landing to absorb the impact and moving straight into the next rep. This explosive nature heavily recruits fast-twitch muscle fibers, making it an excellent complement to standard strength movements for building pressing power. For added difficulty, you can add a hand clap during the airborne phase, but this requires solid mastery of the basic version first.
check_circleBenefits
- check_circleBuilds explosive power in the chest and triceps
- check_circleStrongly recruits fast-twitch muscle fibers
- check_circleA great complement to standard strength movements
- check_circleCan be progressively made harder with a hand clap
lightbulbExecution tips
- lightbulbMaster the standard push-up before adding explosiveness
- lightbulbPush as hard and fast as possible during the upward phase
- lightbulbAlways cushion the landing with a slight bend in the elbows
- lightbulbKeep the body aligned throughout the rep
warningCommon mistakes
- warningLanding with the elbows fully locked, without cushioning
- warningAttempting the movement without a solid base in standard push-ups
- warningLetting the hips sag during the explosive phase
- warningDoing too many reps at the expense of execution quality
helpFrequently asked questions
Do the hands really need to leave the ground?expand_more
Yes, that lift-off is what creates the plyometric effect; without it, the exercise is just a fast push-up.
What level do I need to start plyo push-ups?expand_more
You should already handle several sets of strict standard push-ups easily before adding the explosive component.
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