5 Exercises That Will Help You Get Better at Push-Ups
Push-ups are one of the most fundamental upper-body exercises in existence, yet a significant number of people either can’t perform them correctly or plateau after a certain point and stop progressing. The instinct is usually to just do more Push-Ups, but that only gets you so far.
If you want to get better at Push-Ups, you need to address the specific muscles and movement patterns that drive the exercise. That means spending time under the bar, on the bench, and on the floor, building the strength that transfers directly to Push-Up performance.
Here are five exercises that will help you do exactly that.
1. Close-Grip Bench Press
The Close-Grip Bench Press is one of the most effective tricep builders in the weight room, and strong triceps are critical to locking out a Push-Up. While the chest gets a lot of the credit for the Push-Up, the triceps are doing significant work, particularly in the top half of the movement.
Set your grip at shoulder-width or slightly inside. Keeping your elbows tucked tight to your lats, lower the bar to your chest under control and press it to full extension.
Program this as a primary accessory movement. 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps works well for most training phases.
2. Incline Push-Ups
Incline Push-Ups are a direct regression of the standard Push-Up. By elevating your hands, you reduce the percentage of your bodyweight you’re pressing, which makes the movement more manageable for someone who isn’t yet able to perform full ground-level Push-Ups.
The key here is that you’re maintaining the exact same movement pattern. The motor pattern is identical; the load is just scaled back. This makes Incline Push-Ups far more specific than a lot of other accessory options. As strength improves, you gradually lower the surface height until you’re working at floor level.
Don’t skip this one because it looks too simple. Specificity matters, and there’s real value in accumulating quality reps through the proper range of motion.
3. Bench Dips
Bench Dips are an underrated bodyweight tricep exercise that can be trained effectively at almost any experience level. Place your hands on a bench behind you with your feet flat on the floor, and lower yourself until your upper arms are approximately parallel to the ground before pressing back up.
Unlike regular Dips, which require a high level of upper body strength and present a high barrier to entry for less-trained athletes, Bench Dips are immediately accessible and put a significant demand on the triceps and anterior shoulder. They also require no equipment beyond a bench or stable surface.
Aim for 3 sets of 10-15 reps. Once that becomes easy, elevate your feet to increase the load.
4. Plank Variations
Most people think of Push-Ups as a chest and tricep exercise and stop there. What they miss is that a Push-Up is also a core stability exercise. If your hips are sagging or your lumbar is in excessive extension during a Push-Up, you’re not performing the movement correctly and you’ll eventually hit a ceiling because of it.
Planks and their variations directly address this. The standard Forearm Plank builds static anterior core endurance. Plank Pull Throughs, Plank Reach-Outs, and Body Saw variations increase the demand further. The goal is to develop the ability to maintain a rigid, neutral torso throughout every rep of every set.
Start with 3 sets of 30-45 second holds and progress from there based on your current baseline.
5. Dumbbell Floor Press
The Dumbbell Floor Press is a frequently overlooked exercise that has high carryover to the Push-Up, and it’s one of the better tricep builders you can add to an upper body day.
Because the floor limits your range of motion at the bottom, you never get the stretch-reflex benefit that a full ROM press provides. The triceps have to do the work to initiate and complete the press from a dead stop.
That tricep demand is exactly what makes it useful here. Strong triceps through the lockout portion of a press translate directly to finishing reps when Push-Up fatigue sets in.
Use a pair of dumbbells, keep your upper arms at roughly 45 degrees from your torso, and focus on driving to full elbow extension at the top. Program this for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
How to Program These Exercises
You don’t need to run all five of these in a single session. Two to three of them added to an existing upper body training day is more than enough. Prioritize the Close-Grip Bench Press and whichever regression or core variation matches your current weak link the closest.
Frequency matters more than volume here. Two exposures per week to this type of accessory work will produce better results than trying to cram it all into one day.
Final Thoughts
There are ways to improve your Push-ups other than just doing more Push-ups. They can be built by strengthening the specific muscles and movement qualities the Push-Up demands: the triceps, the pecs, and core.
Add these exercises to your training, stay consistent, and the Push-Up numbers will follow.
