Exercise
One-Arm Push Up
One-Arm Push Up
How to Perform
- Begin in a plank position with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart for stability, and place your working hand directly beneath your shoulder while your free arm rests against your lower back.
- Engage your core and glutes to maintain a straight line from head to heels, ensuring your hips don't sag or pike upward during the movement.
- Lower your chest toward the floor by bending your working arm elbow, keeping it close to your body at approximately a 45-degree angle from your torso.
- Inhale as you descend, maintaining tension throughout your entire body and distributing weight evenly through your supporting hand.
- Descend until your chest is about 2-3 inches from the floor, or as low as you can while maintaining proper form and body alignment.
- Push through the palm of your supporting hand, exhaling as you extend your arm to return to the starting position.
- Keep your shoulder blades stable throughout the movement, avoiding any rotation or collapsing toward the supporting side.
- Complete all repetitions on one side before switching to the other arm, maintaining consistent breathing and tension throughout each repetition.
Important information
- Master standard push-ups and progress through intermediate variations like elevated feet and diamond push-ups before attempting the one-arm push-up.
- Keep your elbow tracking in the same direction as your middle finger to protect your shoulder joint during the movement.
- Prevent rotation by actively engaging your core and squeezing your glutes throughout the entire exercise.
- If you're struggling with the full movement, start with an elevated surface for your supporting hand to reduce the difficulty level.
One-Arm Push Up
Exercise Details
Primary Muscles
Muscle Groups
Mechanic
Risk Areas
Built for progress
Take the guesswork out of training
Create personalized AI-powered workout plans that evolve with you. Train smarter, track every rep and keep moving forward, one workout at a time.
The one-arm push-up stands as a formidable milestone in bodyweight training, representing the pinnacle of upper body strength development. This advanced movement dramatically intensifies the classic push-up by concentrating your entire body weight onto a single arm, creating an asymmetrical challenge that few fitness enthusiasts ever master. When executed properly, this exercise primarily targets the pectoral muscles with extraordinary intensity, forcing them to stabilize and generate power in a way that conventional push-ups simply cannot match. The triceps experience tremendous activation as they work to extend the elbow under significant load, while the anterior deltoids (front shoulders) undergo extreme stress as they stabilize the shoulder joint throughout the movement. What makes the one-arm push-up particularly valuable is its versatility across training methodologies. In HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) protocols, even just a few repetitions can spike your heart rate and metabolic response due to the full-body engagement required.
For bodybuilders seeking functional hypertrophy, the exercise creates muscle-building tension that can help break through plateaus when traditional weighted exercises have stalled progress. The strength demands of this movement extend far beyond the primary muscle groups. Your core transforms into a stabilization powerhouse as it fights rotational forces that threaten to collapse your form. The non-working arm side requires exceptional anti-rotational strength, teaching your body to maintain structural integrity under asymmetrical stress: a quality rarely developed in conventional gym training.
Despite its intimidating appearance, the one-arm push-up represents a worthy pursuit for serious fitness enthusiasts. Its mastery not only signifies exceptional strength-to-weight ratio but also demonstrates tremendous body control and proprioception. The functional carryover to athletic performance makes it particularly valuable for combat sports athletes, climbers, and anyone seeking to develop real-world upper body power without equipment dependencies.
FAQ - One-Arm Push Up
The one-arm push-up primarily targets the pectoral muscles with extraordinary intensity, while heavily engaging the triceps and anterior deltoids. Your core also works overtime as a stabilization powerhouse, fighting rotational forces that would otherwise collapse your form.
Start with elevated one-arm push-ups (hand on a bench or box), gradually lowering the height as you build strength. Incorporate archer push-ups and uneven push-ups (one hand on a medicine ball) into your routine, while strengthening your core with anti-rotational exercises like Pallof presses.
The most common mistakes include rotating the hips/torso toward the working side, flaring the elbow outward, and insufficient core bracing. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels, position your working hand at mid-chest level, and maintain a tight core throughout the entire movement.
Limit one-arm push-ups to 2-3 sessions per week with at least 48 hours between sessions to allow for proper recovery. Due to their intense nature, 2-4 sets of 3-5 reps per side is sufficient for most advanced trainees to stimulate growth without overtraining.
One-arm push-ups can be safe for healthy shoulders when performed with proper form, but they place significant stress on the shoulder joint. Ensure you've mastered regular push-ups, maintain a tight core to prevent shoulder destabilization, and stop immediately if you experience any joint pain rather than normal muscle fatigue.