Pushups (Close and Wide Hand Positions)

What it is

This foundational bodyweight exercise strengthens your upper body, primarily targeting your chest, shoulders, and triceps. By varying your hand placement between wide and close positions, you can emphasize different muscle areas. The wide hand position focuses on the outer chest, while a closer grip increases triceps and inner chest activation.

Technique tips

• Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Lower your chest until it almost touches the ground.
• Exhale as you push up, inhale as you lower your body.
• Actively squeeze your chest at the top of each repetition.
• Try different hand widths to vary muscle activation.
• Avoid letting your hips sag or pike throughout the set.

How to track your progress

Log reps, and add the extra load if you wear a belt or a vest. Straddly counts your bodyweight in the estimated max, so added weight and extra reps both show up as progress, and new records are flagged during the session.