Incline Push-Up Wide
Trains the Pecs.
- Equipment
- A flat bench, an adjustable bench, or a barbell in a rack
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set your hands on a bench or bar at about hip height, noticeably wider than your shoulders.
- Walk your feet back until your body is in one line from heels to head.
- Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
- Lower your chest toward the surface, letting the elbows travel out more than on a standard push-up.
- Stop when the chest is just above your hands.
- Press back up to straight arms.
Common mistakes
- Going wider than the shoulders are comfortable with. A wide hand position shortens the distance the body travels, which is why it tempts people, and it puts the shoulder into more horizontal abduction at the bottom.
- Letting the hips sag. The line from heels to head is held throughout, and a wide hand position makes it no easier.
- Expecting more chest than a standard width. A wider hand position reduces how far the elbow travels, so the triceps do less and the range is shorter — the chest is not getting proportionally more.
- Keeping the same surface height as a standard incline push-up. The wide version is usually a little easier at the same height, and the surface is what to change.