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If you haven’t done a push up in years, or ever, wall push-ups are exactly where you should start your push up journey. Why? Because this foundational exercise builds the strength and movement patterns you need before progressing to more challenging variations.
Wall Push-Ups Benefits
Wall push-ups have four main benefits:
- The wall push-up incorporates functional movements we use every day in our actvities of daily living such as pushing open heavy doors, getting up from a chair, or catching ourselves if we stumble.
- Wall push-ups are the starting point of building upper body strength and the foundation of more advanced push-ups.
- They teach you how to push correctly. This protects your body and builds practical strength.
- Wall push-ups let you focus on proper form without fighting gravity. You can work on alignment, breathing, and muscle engagement before adding more resistance. This is especially important if you’ve developed compensatory movement patterns like leading with your neck when you push, that can cause poor posture, neck and back pain.
Muscles Worked During Wall Push-Ups
Keep in mind that any muscle you strengthen will tend to get shorter and tighter. The wall push-ups exercise works your chest muscles (pectorals), arms, wrists and triceps.
If you’re working on wall push-ups regularly, make time to stretch your chest muscles. You can do this by lying on your back with your arms extended to the sides, or with your hands by your ears.
How to Do Wall Push-Ups for Seniors and Beginners
How to Do Wall Push-Ups: Set Up Instructions
Before you start the wall push-up, we need to make sure that you set yourself up for success. These two steps will establish the foundation.
What You Need
You’ll need a solid wall and a non-slip surface under your feet. If you’re on a wood floor, wear rubber-soled shoes. Better yet, stand barefoot on a yoga mat, this helps you feel your feet as they transition during the movement.
Starting Position
Stand at arm’s length from the wall. Place your hands on the wall at shoulder height. For a wall push-up that targets your chest muscles more effectively, position your hands about one and a half shoulder-widths apart.
If you feel tightness in your forearms in this position, spend a week stretching your forearm muscles before starting your wall push-ups practice.
How to Do Wall Push-Ups: Step by Step Instructions
Once you have set up the wall push-ups, you can execute the move. Follow these instructions.
Hand Position
Turn your hands in slightly. Here’s why: during the wall push-up, your elbows will naturally turn out slightly. When your hands are angled in, this rotation brings your forearms into better alignment with your hands. This is kinder on your wrist joints.
- Ensure that your hands are at the height of your shoulder through your wall push-up.
- If you stand arm-length distance away from the wall, point your hands in towards one another.
- Have them one and a half shoulder-width apart.
- If your shoulders are 14 inches, go to about a 21 inch width to get a more comfortable distance between your hands to focus on your pectoral muscles.
Wall Push-Ups Body Alignment
Imagine your body as one solid piece, like a plank of wood. From your feet to your ears, your entire body moves forward as a single unit. The movement comes from your body, not from your head and neck.
- Keep your head in line with your spine. If you feel any neck discomfort, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, this helps engage your deep neck muscles and supports better alignment.
- Use your abdominals to stop your body from sagging.
- Keep your ears, shoulder, hip and knee in alignment through your wall push-ups.
Breathing and Core
Inhale as you prepare, then exhale as you lower toward the wall. Inhale as you push back to the starting position. As you exhale and move forward, engage your pelvic floor gently and activate your deep abdominal muscles. This core engagement is what keeps your body in that strong plank position instead of sinking in the middle.
Wall Push Ups and Your Shoulder Blades
Once you’re comfortable with the basics, foot position, body alignment, arm placement, start paying attention to your shoulder blades.
When you move your arms, your shoulder blades move with them. This is normal and healthy. As you lower toward the wall, your shoulder blades come toward one another. But don’t let them collapse together, let them work on their own.
As you push away from the wall, encourage your shoulder blades to spread apart. This activates a whole different set of muscles around your shoulder blades and builds more complete upper body strength. As your wall push-ups become more challenging, this shoulder blade awareness becomes even more important.
Wall Push Up Progression
When the basic wall push-ups feels easy, your heels don’t lift and you don’t feel much challenge, it’s time to step back from the wall.
- Take one foot-length step back. As you step back, lower your hand position on the wall by the same distance. This keeps everything aligned.
- You’ll start to feel like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. That’s exactly right. This is where planks begin.
- With your feet hip-width apart, allow yourself to roll forward onto the balls of your feet as you lower toward the wall. If you feel calf tightness, you can use the initial position as a calf stretch, but during the wall push-ups, focus on your alignment rather than what’s happening in your calves.
- Your shoulders should end up directly over your hands at the bottom of the movement. Make small adjustments until this feels natural.
Knuckle Push Ups
Some people, especially those with arthritis, find the standard hand position uncomfortable even after stretching. If that’s you, try doing knuckle push ups on the wall instead.
How to Do Knuckle Push Ups
Remove any prominent rings, or at least turn them around.
To cushion your knuckles, use a folded hand towel, a piece of yoga mat, or even that thin rubber shelf liner you use inside cupboards. Roll it up and place it where your knuckles will be.
Position your knuckles just as you would your hands, one and a half shoulder-widths apart, turned slightly inward. The weight of your body will hold the towel in place.
Are Push Ups Good for Osteoporosis?
Some clients ask me if push ups are good fro osteoporosis. Read my blog on Planks and Pushups for Osteoporosis.
Margaret Martin
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