Different ways to Push-Up, from level 1 to 10 by Fitness Coach Yuvraj Salvi

After observing and teaching so many people from different sports and professions I want to share
my top 10 picks of push ups that will level up your fitness and performance. We will look from the
easiest to the toughest variations of push ups. The readers will become well aware of how to master
all these variations by the end of this article.

Please Note:- “Before moving to the difficult level make sure that you are able to do 10-15 clean repetitions of your current level exercise”

1) Incline push up

Are you just a beginner in fitness?

The Incline push up is the best way to start with. As the name suggests while doing this exercise your hands will be placed on incline surface or holding a parallel bar. Once this position is acquired come on your toes keeping the whole body intact in a straight line without any arching in the lower back & perform the push up. The less incline surface is the more difficult exercise would get.

2) Push up on Knees

Once you get decent amount of repetitions on the previous push up level you can start trying push ups on your knees. See to it that your shoulder is in the line with your wrist and there is no arch in your back while performing this push up .

3) The Standard push up

Once you have got 10-15 clean repetitions with a clean form and technique it is time for you to move to level 3 which is what we all know is the regular push up. Here, you finally get off your knees and perform the push up. This is the level where your push up game would start getting interesting. If a beginner is reading this make sure to work hard at least till this level because from here on push ups start to become a lot more fun.

4) Clap push up/ Superman push up- These are explosive variations of push up where the upper body and in other case the whole

body is pushed in the air off the floor. In clap push up you have to explosively push off the ground and perform a clap before the body starts descending towards the floor. Whereas, in superman push up you would need to push off your whole body extending your arms and legs straight and parallel to the floor making sure that you come back to the normal position as body starts to descend.

5) Triple clap push-up

One of the coolest way of performing explosive push up is the triple clap. Here, one has to push up their hips so that the body gets sufficient amount of time to perform 2 claps in front and one clap behind the body in a alternating fashion. If you are around level 3-4 you should start practicing these first on the incline surface and then on the ground.

6) Archer/ Typewriter push up

This is another exercise which looks cool and can help you a lot to achieve the single hand push up. In both these exercises one arm remains fully extended whereas the other arm does most of the pushing work. It is a good exercise to cure muscular imbalance. For instance if a normal push up loads both hands equally i.e. 50%-50% load on both hands, the archer/typewriter push up would load the bent arm with 80% whereas the straight hand takes only 20% load.

7) Pike push up

This is a easier version of the handstand push up. A lot of shoulder strength is required to perform this exercise. While being on toes and forming a triangular shape with your body is the right starting position for this exercise.

8) Two finger push up

We have seen Bruce Lee perform this exercise in movies and used to get amused with it. Now even you can do it with proper guidance and right amount of practice. The exercise is very difficult and challenging as the whole bodyweight of a person is on just two fingers. To progress you can start off by doing knuckle push ups and then progress further by lifting your palm off the floor from the centre and eventually at the end using just your thumb, index & middle dinger to perform this exercise.

9) Single hand push up

Now we are at level 9 and just about to become the god in performing push ups. The single hand push up is the most difficult variation after our level 10 contender. Once you master the single hand push up you can eventually try doing single hand push up on your fingers.

Remember:- “Once you achieve the first 5-6 levels of this exercise it will be a good idea to mix some exercises up. So
don’t be shy”

10) Handstand Push up

This is the toughest push up one can master although there are some other variations which come close to this exercise. To do a handstand push up you have to first master the handstand and learn how to balance it. But this exercise can also be performed by just placing your feet on the wall while being in a upside down position which would provide enough stability to perform this exercise.

So, these are my to 10 picks of push ups from level 1 to 10. I am at a personal level still on level 7 and looking forward to reach level 8,9 & 10 soon. The mantra would be to keep practicing and doing it the right way all the time with discipline. A knowledgeable trainer is always a plus point to have by your side while learning such variations to accelerate progress and avoid injuries. I wish you all the best.