Push-ups are a lot of people’s go-to exercise for building upper body strength, and they often appear in many chest day workouts because of how effective they are.
After all, it takes effort to push yourself up and down repeatedly. But not all push-ups are the same…
In fact, you can vary your push-ups to work different parts of the muscle. You've probably heard of or even tried these variations yourself! There are a ton when it comes to push-ups ... diamond push-ups, incline push-ups, weighted push-ups, and much more. Many of these movements are also staples in at-home chest workouts when equipment is limited.
One of my favorite variations is the decline push-up, and for good reason. The decline push-up is any push-up you perform when your feet are above your hands.
Keep reading, and I'll tell you everything you need to know about decline push-ups: The decline push-ups muscles worked, common mistakes, and even more variations.
Key Takeaways
Decline push-ups are a challenging push-up variation that emphasizes the upper chest muscles.
The primary muscles worked by decline push-ups include the upper chest (clavicular head of the pectoralis major), anterior deltoids, and triceps.
Elevating your feet increases resistance and shifts more body weight toward the upper body.
Decline push-ups can improve upper-body strength, core stability, and shoulder strength.
This exercise is a great progression if standard push-ups become too easy.
How to Do a Decline Push-Up
So how do you do a decline push-up?
To do a decline push-up, you’ll need a box, stand, bench, or something for you to raise your feet above your hands.
You have to start on your hands and knees. Just be careful not to spread your hands too far apart, or you'll limit your range of motion. This will make them much less effective!
Start by raising one foot at a time onto the bench, step, or box. Then, make sure your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your toes. Brace your quads, glutes, and core and lower your body toward the floor by bending your elbows ... exactly like a normal push-up. Resist the urge to bend your back or neck ... core strength and proper alignment will be crucial to prevent injury.
Once you’ve lowered yourself to a comfortable end range of motion, your chest should be close to the ground. At this point, push through your arms to put yourself back into your starting position.
As you get more comfortable with the decline push-up, you can raise the height you’re doing it from. The higher your feet are, the harder the push-up will be, and the more your shoulders will be engaged. This happens because elevating your feet shifts more body weight toward your upper body. I'll explain what I mean...
What Muscles Do Decline Push-Ups Work?
Understanding the decline push-ups muscles worked can help you use this exercise more effectively in your training program. Different variations of the push-up work different portions of the muscles used. Adding multiple variations can help create some of the best chest workouts for building strength and muscle.
With decline push-ups, though, you are still using the pectoralis major, the anterior portion of the deltoid, and the triceps brachii. Understanding how these muscle groups work together can help you structure better workouts.
I know these are pretty big and fancy words ... but really I'm just referring to your chest, the front of your shoulders, and your triceps.
Let's dive into them...
Pectoralis Major
This fan-shaped muscle is the larger of the two chest muscles, and is what most people think of when they talk about their chest.
There are 2 heads of this muscle. The decline push-up places greater emphasis on the clavicular head of the pectoralis major, which is the upper chest. They attach to the collarbone, sternum, and rib cage on the medial end, and to the upper arm on the lateral end.
The pectoralis major is responsible primarily for a few movements. One of them is called shoulder flexion. This is pulling your upper arm from resting by your side, to out in front of you, to above your head.
Another movement of the pectoralis major is called horizontal adduction. This is the movement which pulls your arms inward to give a hug or clap your hands.
Anterior Deltoid (Front)
The anterior deltoid is the front portion of this triangular-shaped shoulder muscle.
This muscle mainly helps your chest by raising your arm out in front of your body and overhead.
Triceps Brachii
This 3-headed muscle is the largest muscle group in the arm, and it is located on the back side of the upper arm. The triceps’ primary function is to extend the elbow when it's bent to straighten the arm.
On top of working these 3 muscles, decline push-ups can also be a great core exercise. Your core stabilizing muscles such as the abdominals, serratus anterior, glutes, and quads all engage to keep your body rigid during the movement. That's because you have to make sure your core is tight to prevent your hips and lower back from sinking.
Benefits of a Decline Push-Up
The main decline push ups benefits include building upper chest strength. This part of your chest typically gets less attention from traditional push-ups. It also increases the amount of resistance on those muscles without having to add any weight.
Think of it like this...
Every exercise is vertically pushing or pulling a resistance against gravity. With a traditional push-up, your body is parallel with the floor. Because of this, a majority of the weight lifted is just the upper portion of your body that lies above your hands.
With a decline push-up, you’re raising your feet, which puts slightly more of your body weight within that vertical path you have to push against.
If you keep raising your feet higher and higher, sooner or later you would be in a handstand position. In a handstand, you'd be pushing against 100% of your body weight, making it the most difficult!
Don’t believe me? Try it out and see for yourself ... It's super hard, even for very strong and fit people!
If you keep your hands low and continue raising your feet in this manner, it allows you to keep increasing the resistance on your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
The opposite is also true. If you keep your feet on the floor and put your hands on an elevated surface ... the exercise turns into an incline push-up, which gets easier.
So if you ever want to adjust the resistance on your push-up, elevate your feet to make it harder.
Common Decline Push-Up Mistakes
Changing your push-up style can really benefit your muscles.
However, the decline push-up can make it easier to make big mistakes with your form.
These are some common decline push-up mistakes to watch for and prevent:
- The sagging midsection. Keep your core braced and work your core until it’s strong enough for this movement.
- Improper neck alignment. You want your neck to remain neutrally aligned to avoid straining it.
- Locked elbows. Don't lock your elbows completely, and always keep a slight bend in your elbows to prevent injury.
- Hands too far out. Keep your hands under your shoulders to prevent joint strain.
- Not going low enough. You won't get the full benefits of the exercise if you don’t go low enough.
4 Decline Push-Up Variations to Try
Whether you want to make the decline push-up harder or easier, here are your options. Just make sure you perfect the regular push-up first.
1) Single Arm Decline Push-Ups
Use caution ... this one is very difficult! The one-arm variation will help you work your arms harder and really push your pecs.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Start in the high plank position with one of your arms behind your back, and your legs opened wider for balance. Keep your core and glutes engaged to maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your feet.
2. Bend the shoulder and elbow of the arm supporting your body to lower your chest to the ground.
3. When you hit a comfortable end range of motion, press into the ground, engaging your chest, shoulder, and triceps to return to the starting position.
4. Remember to repeat for the same number of reps on both sides.
2) Decline Clap Push-Ups
This is an advanced variation that you should try after perfecting your decline push-ups.
Perform this exercise the exact same way you'd do a decline push-up. But wait ... there's a catch! When you lower yourself to the ground, explode through your arms and chest to clap your hands in front of you. Be careful, because you have to be quick to catch yourself before crashing to the ground!
3) Stability Ball Decline Push-Ups
This variation is another way to make the decline push-up harder and to work your core more.
You'll perform this exercise by using a stability ball to hold your feet instead of a box, stand, bench, or step. The lack of stability forces your core to work harder to maintain balance.
Perfect the traditional decline push-up before attempting this variation.
4) Single-Leg Decline Push-Up
This variation also pushes your core harder by reducing your stability.
You'll perform this exercise by keeping one leg lifted while you lower and raise your body once. Don’t forget to exercise both sides of your body for the same number of reps.
Building Muscle As a Whole
Decline push-ups are a great way to increase your physical strength and help you build muscle in your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
However, muscles don’t come just from doing push-ups … or even decline push-ups for that matter.
Muscle growth happens from consistently forcing the muscles to work harder over time. On top of that, it takes eating a diet sufficient in protein, calories, and micronutrients.
Exercise is only one half of the equation … You can’t forget your diet! Without a good nutrition plan in place, the results will never come.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles do decline push-ups work?
The primary decline push ups muscles worked are the upper chest (clavicular head of the pectoralis major), anterior deltoids, and triceps. Core stabilizers like the abs and glutes also help maintain body alignment.
Are decline push-ups harder than regular push-ups?
Yes. Elevating your feet shifts more body weight onto your upper body, making the movement more challenging than standard push-ups.
Are decline push-ups good for the upper chest?
Yes. One of the biggest decline push-up benefits is increased activation of the upper chest compared to regular push-ups.
How high should your feet be for decline push-ups?
Beginners can start with a small step or bench. As you get stronger, raising your feet higher will increase resistance and difficulty.
