Incline Push-Up: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The incline push-up is a beginner-friendly chest exercise: your chest presses your body up away from the elevated surface while your shoulders and triceps assist by extending the arms. Raising your hands on a bench or step reduces the amount of bodyweight your upper body has to move.
- Primary muscle:
- Chest
- Secondary muscles:
- Shoulders, Triceps
Muscles worked
Your chest is the prime mover, pressing your body away from the bench as your arms extend. Because your hands are elevated, a smaller share of your bodyweight loads the chest than in a standard floor push-up, which makes this a good entry point for building pressing strength.
Your shoulders, mainly the front delts, assist with the pressing motion, and your triceps finish the movement by straightening your elbows at the top of each rep.
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How to do it
- Stand facing bench or sturdy elevated platform. Place hands on edge of bench or platform, slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Position forefoot back from bench or platform with arms and body straight. Arms should be perpendicular to body. Keeping body straight, lower chest to edge of box or platform by bending arms.
- Push body up until arms are extended. Repeat.
Form tips
- Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels. Don't let your hips sag or pike up.
- Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width on the bench or step.
- Lower your chest to the edge of the surface under control before pressing back up.
- Pick a lower surface as you get stronger to gradually work toward a standard push-up.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Bodyweight |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
| Mechanic | Compound |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are incline push-ups easier than regular push-ups?
Yes. Raising your hands shifts more of your bodyweight onto your legs and away from your chest and arms, which reduces the load on the chest, shoulders, and triceps compared to a push-up done on the floor.
How many incline push-ups should I do?
As a bodyweight exercise, most lifters build up toward 12 or more reps per set for muscular endurance before progressing to a flatter surface or a standard floor push-up.
What's the next step up from incline push-ups?
A dumbbell bench press trains the same chest, shoulder, and triceps muscles with added resistance once bodyweight push-ups feel too easy.
More chest exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
