Push-up (Decline)
The decline push-up is a bodyweight exercise where feet are elevated above hand level to increase resistance and target the upper chest and shoulders. This intermediate variation intensifies the traditional push-up by shifting more body weight onto the upper body muscles.
Since this exercise relies on your body weight, the AI coaching system integrates your current weight and body composition data to calculate the precise load you are lifting. By monitoring daily recovery metrics like HRV and sleep, the app can determine if your shoulders are ready for this more intense angle or if you should regress to a standard push-up. Additionally, tracking RPE allows the system to auto-regulate volume, ensuring you stimulate upper chest growth without overstressing the anterior deltoids or compromising form.
Form Cues
- Place your feet on a stable bench or box and hands slightly wider than shoulder-width on the floor
- Engage your core and squeeze your glutes to maintain a rigid, straight line from head to heels
- Lower your chest until your nose nearly touches the floor, keeping elbows tucked at a 45-degree angle
- Exhale and drive firmly through your palms to return to the starting position
- Don't let your lower back sag or hips dip toward the floor
- Don't flare your elbows out to 90 degrees, as this stresses the shoulder joints
- Don't look up or tuck your chin excessively; keep your neck neutral
- Don't perform partial reps; ensure you go through the full range of motion
Common Mistakes
- Sagging hips or hyperextending the lower back
- Flaring elbows too wide
- Reaching with the neck instead of lowering the chest
- Placing hands too far forward
- Using an elevation that is too high to maintain control
Muscles Worked
This variation shifts the emphasis to the clavicular head of the pectoralis major (upper chest) and the anterior deltoids due to the downward angle of the press. It also heavily recruits the triceps brachii for lockout strength and demands significant core engagement to prevent the hips from sagging against gravity.
Primary
Secondary
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