On International Chest Day, the bench press normally gets the spotlight. On the flip sideIt’s rare that you find someone excited to bang out a ton of push-ups to highlight their chest workout. Body-weight exercises usually pushed to the wayside. However, pushups are more than a chest exercise; it’s a full-body push exercise that trains your triceps, shoulders, core, and stabilizing muscles. Standard push-ups are a challenge when performed well, but when done often, they’re a bit dull. The real magic happens when you move beyond the standard rep-out and start using advanced push-up variations.
These 10 variations crank up the difficulty, target the chest from multiple angles, and add elements like core stability, anti-rotation strength, and explosive power. From the Chaos Push-Up’s instability to the Atomic Push-Up’s suspension-based intensity, this lineup is built to sculpt your chest.
Let’s dive into why the push-up is still relevant, why these 10 variations were chosen, and the variations to get your sweet, sweet gains.
Workout Tips
Still having problems with pushups? Here’s why and what to do about it.
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Push-ups have been around forever for one reason: they work. But when you start using imaginative variations, they go from a warm-up move to a legit chest-building exercise.
The Push-up and its variations train your chest, shoulders, and triceps while giving you a break from the free weights. They also require your core and stabilizers to light up from rep one to rep done. This means better relative strength and improved muscle-building stimulus. Add the bonus of improved shoulder health, scapular stability, and mobility, and you’ve got a movement that checks many training boxes.
Repeating the same push-up variation won’t cut it if you’re serious about building upper body muscle. These 10 variations will challenge your chest for a more comprehensive upper-body workout.
Each variation brings something different to the table:
Whether after more muscle, performance, or variety, this list has your back (and chest).
Without any further ado, let’s tuck into these juicy push-up variations.
The Grasshopper Push-Up is a core-twisting and coordination-boosting beast. It combines a traditional push-up with a rotational leg sweep under your torso, lighting up your pecs, obliques, and hip flexors in one fluid move. The twist challenges your anti-rotational strength, requiring your core to stabilize while training your chest with a different level of tension.
Form Tips: Keep your hips low and spine neutral as you thread your leg underneath. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to avoid sagging your torso.
Sets & Reps: 3–4 sets of 8–10 reps per side.
The Archer Push-Up deserves a spot in your routine if you’re chasing bigger pecs and unilateral strength. This variation shifts most of your bodyweight to one arm while the other remains extended for balance, creating a unilateral challenge that strengthens imbalances between sides. By lowering side to side like you’re drawing a bow, the Archer Push-Up places a deep stretch on your working pec and emphasizes time under tension, two key factors for hypertrophy.
Form Tips: Keep your hips level and core tight, and move with control.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps per side.
The Chaos Push-Up is performed with your hands on an anchored resistance band, creating instability that fires up every stabilizer in your upper body, especially the shoulders and serratus anterior. But the payoff? Enhanced shoulder stability improved scapular control, resulting in a massive increase in time under tension for the chest and triceps. The instability forces you to slow, tighten, and earn every inch of your push-up.
Form Tips: Set the band at mid-shin to knee height on a squat rack, grip shoulder-width apart, and maintain a neutral spine throughout.
Sets & Reps: 2-4 sets of 10-20 reps.
Take the classic Spider-Man push-up, elevate your feet, and have a chest and core scorcher that hits hard. The Decline Spider-Man Push-Up shifts more load onto your upper chest and shoulders while combining a knee-to-elbow crunch that lights up your obliques, hip flexors, and anterior core. Each rep increases the time under tension and challenges your stability as your support base constantly shifts.
Form Tips: Keep your hips level and spine neutral, and avoid letting your knee or chest crash to the floor.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps per side.
The Incline Plyo Push-Up is a power and speed variation that reduces the load on your wrists and shoulders compared to the floor version while delivering similar results. Elevating your hands on a bench or box allows you to generate force more easily, leading to stronger pressing potential and enhanced athletic movement.
Form Tips: Use a stable bench, lower under control, and then explode with enough force for your hands to leave it. Land softly with bent elbows and go straight into the next rep.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 5–8 explosive reps.
The yoga push-up is part strength move and part yoga move. It combines the standard push-up with the Downward Dog position to deliver full-body muscle. The move starts like a standard push-up but transitions into an upper back stretch, giving your pecs, triceps, and core extra time under tension while improving thoracic mobility, hamstring flexibility, and shoulder health.
Form Tips: From the bottom of the push-up, drive your hips up and back while pressing your hands through the floor and tucking your head between your arms.
Sets & Reps: 3–4 sets of 8–10 controlled reps.
If you want a push-up that simultaneously hits your chest and lower body, the Atomic Push-Up brings the heat. Performed with your feet suspended in a suspension trainer, this variation combines a standard push-up with a powerful knee tuck, turning it into a full-body strength and stability challenge.
Form Tips: Maintain tension in your glutes and core throughout.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
The elevated pike push-up is your ticket to enhancing your overhead strength. This variation mimics an overhead press by placing your feet on a bench or box and keeping your hips high. It targets your upper chest, anterior delts, triceps, and traps. It’s a humbling variation that’ll have your shoulders and upper chest begging for mercy.
Form Tips: Keep your hips stacked above your shoulders, your head between them, and lower until your nose nearly touches the floor. Avoid letting your elbows flare wide; keep them at a 45-degree angle.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 8-12.
The Slider Push-Up improves unilateral strength by having one arm slide out during the push-up, increasing time under tension and requiring your working side to buck it up. This variation strengthens your chest, triceps, and serratus anterior while improving shoulder and stability. It’s a fantastic move for dialing in on muscle imbalances while taking your push-ups to the next level.
Form Tips: Keep your non-sliding arm at a 45-degree angle and only slide as far as your shoulder mobility and core strength allow.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 8-12 reps per side.
With one hand in the strap and the other suspended, the Unilateral Suspension Trainer Push-Up demands core engagement, rotational control, and pressing strength. It’s a full-body challenge that exposes imbalances and reinforces shoulder blade stability while giving your chest and triceps all they can handle. This variation is ideal for lifters who want to build unilateral strength while enhancing core strength and injury resilience.
Form Tips: Keep your hips square and your torso front on, brace your core, and avoid twisting during the push-up.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 8–10 reps per side.
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These 10 variations crank up the difficulty, target the chest from multiple angles, and add elements like core stability, anti-rotation strength, and explosive power. From the Chaos Push-Up’s instability to the Atomic Push-Up’s suspension-based intensity, this lineup is built to sculpt your chest.
Let’s dive into why the push-up is still relevant, why these 10 variations were chosen, and the variations to get your sweet, sweet gains.
Workout Tips
Try These Six Tweaks to Tune Up Your Pushup Techni...
Still having problems with pushups? Here’s why and what to do about it.
Read article
Why Push-Ups Are Still Relevant
Push-ups have been around forever for one reason: they work. But when you start using imaginative variations, they go from a warm-up move to a legit chest-building exercise.
The Push-up and its variations train your chest, shoulders, and triceps while giving you a break from the free weights. They also require your core and stabilizers to light up from rep one to rep done. This means better relative strength and improved muscle-building stimulus. Add the bonus of improved shoulder health, scapular stability, and mobility, and you’ve got a movement that checks many training boxes.
Why We Chose These 10 Push-Up Variations
Repeating the same push-up variation won’t cut it if you’re serious about building upper body muscle. These 10 variations will challenge your chest for a more comprehensive upper-body workout.
Each variation brings something different to the table:
- Grasshopper and Decline Spiderman Push-Ups light up your chest while dialing in core strength and hip mobility.
- Chaos and Slider Push-Ups introduce instability and tension for increased muscle recruitment.
- Archer and TRX Unilateral Push-Ups target imbalances and build unilateral strength.
- Yoga and Elevated Pike Push-Ups blend strength and mobility, making you move better while getting stronger.
- And when you need pure explosiveness? The Incline Plyo Push-Up brings the boom.
Whether after more muscle, performance, or variety, this list has your back (and chest).
10 Push-Up Variations For A Bigger & Stronger Chest
Without any further ado, let’s tuck into these juicy push-up variations.
Grasshopper Push-Up
The Grasshopper Push-Up is a core-twisting and coordination-boosting beast. It combines a traditional push-up with a rotational leg sweep under your torso, lighting up your pecs, obliques, and hip flexors in one fluid move. The twist challenges your anti-rotational strength, requiring your core to stabilize while training your chest with a different level of tension.
Form Tips: Keep your hips low and spine neutral as you thread your leg underneath. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to avoid sagging your torso.
Sets & Reps: 3–4 sets of 8–10 reps per side.
Archer Push-Up
The Archer Push-Up deserves a spot in your routine if you’re chasing bigger pecs and unilateral strength. This variation shifts most of your bodyweight to one arm while the other remains extended for balance, creating a unilateral challenge that strengthens imbalances between sides. By lowering side to side like you’re drawing a bow, the Archer Push-Up places a deep stretch on your working pec and emphasizes time under tension, two key factors for hypertrophy.
Form Tips: Keep your hips level and core tight, and move with control.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps per side.
Chaos Push-Up
The Chaos Push-Up is performed with your hands on an anchored resistance band, creating instability that fires up every stabilizer in your upper body, especially the shoulders and serratus anterior. But the payoff? Enhanced shoulder stability improved scapular control, resulting in a massive increase in time under tension for the chest and triceps. The instability forces you to slow, tighten, and earn every inch of your push-up.
Form Tips: Set the band at mid-shin to knee height on a squat rack, grip shoulder-width apart, and maintain a neutral spine throughout.
Sets & Reps: 2-4 sets of 10-20 reps.
Decline Spiderman Push-Up
Take the classic Spider-Man push-up, elevate your feet, and have a chest and core scorcher that hits hard. The Decline Spider-Man Push-Up shifts more load onto your upper chest and shoulders while combining a knee-to-elbow crunch that lights up your obliques, hip flexors, and anterior core. Each rep increases the time under tension and challenges your stability as your support base constantly shifts.
Form Tips: Keep your hips level and spine neutral, and avoid letting your knee or chest crash to the floor.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps per side.
Incline Plyo Push-Up
The Incline Plyo Push-Up is a power and speed variation that reduces the load on your wrists and shoulders compared to the floor version while delivering similar results. Elevating your hands on a bench or box allows you to generate force more easily, leading to stronger pressing potential and enhanced athletic movement.
Form Tips: Use a stable bench, lower under control, and then explode with enough force for your hands to leave it. Land softly with bent elbows and go straight into the next rep.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 5–8 explosive reps.
Yoga Push-Up
The yoga push-up is part strength move and part yoga move. It combines the standard push-up with the Downward Dog position to deliver full-body muscle. The move starts like a standard push-up but transitions into an upper back stretch, giving your pecs, triceps, and core extra time under tension while improving thoracic mobility, hamstring flexibility, and shoulder health.
Form Tips: From the bottom of the push-up, drive your hips up and back while pressing your hands through the floor and tucking your head between your arms.
Sets & Reps: 3–4 sets of 8–10 controlled reps.
Atomic Push-Up
If you want a push-up that simultaneously hits your chest and lower body, the Atomic Push-Up brings the heat. Performed with your feet suspended in a suspension trainer, this variation combines a standard push-up with a powerful knee tuck, turning it into a full-body strength and stability challenge.
Form Tips: Maintain tension in your glutes and core throughout.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
Elevated Pike Push-Up
The elevated pike push-up is your ticket to enhancing your overhead strength. This variation mimics an overhead press by placing your feet on a bench or box and keeping your hips high. It targets your upper chest, anterior delts, triceps, and traps. It’s a humbling variation that’ll have your shoulders and upper chest begging for mercy.
Form Tips: Keep your hips stacked above your shoulders, your head between them, and lower until your nose nearly touches the floor. Avoid letting your elbows flare wide; keep them at a 45-degree angle.
Sets & Reps: 3-4 sets of 8-12.
Slider Push-Up
The Slider Push-Up improves unilateral strength by having one arm slide out during the push-up, increasing time under tension and requiring your working side to buck it up. This variation strengthens your chest, triceps, and serratus anterior while improving shoulder and stability. It’s a fantastic move for dialing in on muscle imbalances while taking your push-ups to the next level.
Form Tips: Keep your non-sliding arm at a 45-degree angle and only slide as far as your shoulder mobility and core strength allow.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 8-12 reps per side.
Unilateral Suspension Trainer Push-Up
With one hand in the strap and the other suspended, the Unilateral Suspension Trainer Push-Up demands core engagement, rotational control, and pressing strength. It’s a full-body challenge that exposes imbalances and reinforces shoulder blade stability while giving your chest and triceps all they can handle. This variation is ideal for lifters who want to build unilateral strength while enhancing core strength and injury resilience.
Form Tips: Keep your hips square and your torso front on, brace your core, and avoid twisting during the push-up.
Sets & Reps: 3 sets of 8–10 reps per side.
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