Full pushups are an effective, challenging exercise for your chest, shoulders, triceps and core. But as with any other strength-training exercise, doing pushups with improper technique can contribute to muscle imbalances or even cause injuries. If you're not strong enough to do full pushups properly, you can get almost all of the same benefits by doing pushups on your knees instead. Knee pushups will also help you build the strength you need to eventually work up to doing full pushups.
Step 1
Kneel on your hands and knees. If you're working out on a hard floor, you might want to kneel on a thin mat.
Step 2
Walk your hands forward until your body is straight from knees to head. Double-check that your hips don't rise or sag out of line with your body.
Step 3
Position your hands directly beneath your chest, slightly wider than your shoulders.
Step 4
Squeeze your abs to keep your body straight from knees to head as you bend your arms, lowering your chest toward the floor.
Step 5
Stop when your shoulders are approximately level with your elbows.
Step 6
Straighten your arms, pressing your chest away from the floor. Stop when your arms are straight, but not locked.
Step 7
Continue doing pushups until you've completed your target number of repetitions. If you're working out for general fitness, a single set of 12 is sufficient; but you could aim as high as 15 repetitions without hitting a point of diminishing returns.
Tips and Warnings
- Once you can easily complete a full set of knee pushups with good form, consider working up to doing full pushups. Try doing one or two full pushups at the beginning of your pushup set, then switch back to knee pushups once you can no longer maintain proper form with the full pushups. As you get stronger, you'll be able to do more full pushups, until they make up the entire set.
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