Incline Push Ups are the beginner variant of the basic Push Up. Incline Push Ups are performed with your hands placed on a higher surface than your feet. You can use a wide variety of surfaces such as a kitchen counter top, stairs, a tabletop, etc.

The stronger you get, try lower and lower surfaces until you can perform a Push Up on the floor.

There are two key factors when performing incline push ups:

1. Form
2. Range of motion

Regarding form, you want your elbows pointed backward towards your feet as you perform the incline push up. For standard incline push ups, your hands should be placed on the floor beneath your shoulders, and slightly wider than your shoulder width. Your core should be inline with your legs and your feet close together.

For range of motion (ROM), you want to start with your arms completely straight and push your shoulder blades apart (imagine pushing your chest away from the floor). At the bottom of the movement you want your chest to get as close to the floor as possible, even better touch the floor (not resting on the floor!). You always want tension in your arms as you perform push ups.

No need to rush your reps. Doing push ups this way will be much harder, but it will also get you much stronger!

Primary Muscles Targeted:

1. Chest

Secondary Muscles Targeted:

1. Triceps
2. Core
3. Shoulders
4. Scapular muscles