What muscles does push up plus work?

Push Up Plus mainly works your chest. It also works your shoulders, triceps and abs.

What equipment do you need for push up plus?

You do not need any equipment for push up plus. You can do it with just your body.

How do you do push up plus?

Here is how to do push up plus. Start in a standard push-up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your hips do not sag. Set your shoulder blades and grip the floor with your fingers. Take a breath before your first rep. Lower your chest toward the floor under control, keeping your body straight and your elbows tucked to about 45 degrees. Do not let your hips drop or pike. Descend until your chest is an inch or two off the floor, feeling a stretch across your chest and shoulders. Press back up to the standard push-up top position using your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Here is the key part. At the very top, keep your arms straight and push your shoulders forward, rounding your upper back and spreading your shoulder blades apart. This is the plus that trains the serratus. Feel your shoulder blades wrap around your ribcage as you protract. This extra motion is what strengthens the serratus anterior, the muscle that stabilizes your scapula. Return to a neutral top position by letting your shoulder blades come back together, staying in control. Lower into the next rep and repeat the full sequence. Aim for 10 to 15 controlled reps for 3 sets, focusing on a strong protraction at the top of each.

What are common mistakes to avoid with push up plus?

When you do push up plus, avoid these common mistakes: skipping the plus entirely; letting your hips sag or pike; bending your elbows during the plus.

Is push up plus good for beginners?

Push Up Plus is an intermediate exercise. It works best once you know the basics.

Push Up Plus Exercise - How To Video & Tips

Push Up Plus Overview

The push up plus is a push-up with an extra move at the top. It works your chest, shoulders, and triceps. It also works a muscle that holds your shoulder blade in place. You do a push-up, then push your upper back up high. You need no equipment. Just your body and floor space. The push up plus builds a strong chest and healthy shoulders. The extra push at the top works your shoulder blades. This helps them move well and stay strong. It suits people who can do normal push-ups. It fits on push day or in a warm-up. Move with control the whole time.

What Is The Point of the Push Up Plus?

The push up plus exercise builds chest strength while adding extra core work. It targets your chest, shoulders, and abs in one move.

How To Do The Push Up Plus

Start in a standard push-up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and your body in a straight line from head to heels. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your hips do not sag.
Set your shoulder blades and grip the floor with your fingers. Take a breath before your first rep.
Lower your chest toward the floor under control, keeping your body straight and your elbows tucked to about 45 degrees. Do not let your hips drop or pike.
Descend until your chest is an inch or two off the floor, feeling a stretch across your chest and shoulders.
Press back up to the standard push-up top position using your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
Here is the key part. At the very top, keep your arms straight and push your shoulders forward, rounding your upper back and spreading your shoulder blades apart. This is the plus that trains the serratus.
Feel your shoulder blades wrap around your ribcage as you protract. This extra motion is what strengthens the serratus anterior, the muscle that stabilizes your scapula.
Return to a neutral top position by letting your shoulder blades come back together, staying in control.
Lower into the next rep and repeat the full sequence. Aim for 10 to 15 controlled reps for 3 sets, focusing on a strong protraction at the top of each.

Push Up Plus Form Tips

Keep your body in one straight line. Do not let your hips sag.
Tighten your core and glutes the whole time.
Lower with control to the floor.
Keep your elbows at about 45 degrees.
Do the push first. Then add the plus at the top.
Push your upper back up high for the plus.
Spread your shoulder blades wide at the top.
Keep your neck long. Look just ahead of your hands.
Breathe in as you lower. Breathe out as you push.

Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Push Up Plus

Skipping the plus entirely. Doing a normal push-up and forgetting the protraction at the top misses the whole point, which is training the serratus anterior. At the top of every rep, push your shoulders forward and spread your shoulder blades apart.
Letting your hips sag or pike. When your core gives out, your spine takes the load and your plank falls apart. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs so your body stays a straight, strong line from head to heels.
Bending your elbows during the plus. Rounding your upper back by dipping your elbows instead of protracting the shoulder blades fakes the movement. Keep your arms straight and drive the motion from your shoulder blades wrapping around your ribs.
Rushing through the protraction. Blasting the plus too fast means the serratus barely works. Move into the protraction deliberately and feel your shoulder blades spread at the top.
Only doing the plus without a full push-up. Turning it into a tiny shoulder shrug with no real push-up shortchanges the chest and triceps. Perform a complete push-up, then add the protraction at the top.
Flaring your elbows straight out. A hard elbow flare stresses the shoulders during the push-up portion. Keep the elbows tucked to about 45 degrees on the way down and up.
Cutting the push-up range short. Stopping high off the floor skips the chest stretch and reduces the pressing work. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor on each rep.
Shrugging your neck and traps during the plus. Letting your shoulders hike toward your ears turns the protraction into a trap shrug. Keep your neck long and push forward through the shoulder blades, not up.
Dropping fast on the eccentric. Letting yourself fall to the floor wastes the lowering phase and jars the shoulders. Control a steady descent on every rep.
Losing the straight-line body position on the plus. Letting your midsection sag as you round your upper back mixes up the movement. Keep your core braced so only your shoulder blades move during the plus.
Doing them so fast the serratus never engages. Speeding through both parts means neither the chest nor the serratus gets quality work. Slow down and make each protraction deliberate and felt.

Push Up Plus Workout Tips

Understand what the plus is for. The extra protraction at the top trains the serratus anterior, the muscle that pulls your shoulder blade around your ribcage and keeps it stable, which is huge for healthy shoulders and overhead pressing.
Drive the plus from your shoulder blades, not your elbows. Keeping your arms straight and pushing your upper back toward the ceiling is what actually engages the serratus.
Move into the protraction deliberately. A slow, felt spread of the shoulder blades at the top does far more for the serratus than a quick shrug, so take your time on the plus.
Use it to fix a winging scapula. If your shoulder blade sticks out from your back, the push-up plus is one of the best exercises to strengthen the serratus and pull it flat.
Keep the reps controlled, around 10 to 15. This is a quality-of-movement exercise, so clean protraction on each rep beats grinding out a high count.
Program it as a warm-up or an accessory. It primes the shoulders and serratus before pressing and also works as scapular-health accessory work on push or upper days.
Keep your core braced like a plank. A stable trunk means only your shoulder blades move during the plus, which keeps the focus on the serratus.
Regress it to a wall or an incline if needed. Doing push-up pluses against a wall or on a bench lets you learn the protraction before doing them on the floor.
Progress by elevating your feet. Raising your feet increases the load and the serratus demand once floor reps feel easy.
Chase the mind-muscle connection with the serratus. Feeling the muscle along your ribs work as you protract makes the exercise far more effective than just going through the motion.
Pair it with overhead pressing work. A strong serratus stabilizes the shoulder blade during pressing, so this move directly supports your overhead lifts.
Keep your elbows tucked on the push-up portion. A 45 degree elbow angle keeps the pressing part shoulder-friendly and loads the chest and triceps well.
Use it to bulletproof your shoulders. Along with face pulls and pull aparts, the push-up plus rounds out the scapular stability work that keeps your shoulders healthy under heavy pressing.
Do not rush the top position. Pausing briefly at full protraction reinforces the serratus contraction and teaches better scapular control.
Keep your neck relaxed and long. Preventing your traps from taking over ensures the serratus, not your neck, does the protraction.
Be consistent for shoulder health. Serratus strength and scapular control build gradually, so regular push-up pluses over time pay off in healthier, more stable shoulders.