Plyo Push-up
A plyo push-up is an explosive push-up where you push hard enough that your hands leave the floor at the top. It takes the strength you already have from a regular push-up and asks your chest, shoulders, and triceps to produce that force fast instead of slowly, building upper-body power instead of just upper-body strength.
Why it works
A regular push-up trains how much force your chest and arms can produce. A plyo push-up trains how fast you can produce it, since you have to accelerate your whole body upward hard enough to briefly leave the ground. That rate of force development carries over to anything that needs a quick, explosive push: a shove in a contact sport, catching yourself from a fall, or throwing a punch. It's also a landing drill: catching your body weight on bent elbows teaches your shoulders and core to absorb impact safely.
Set up
- Set up in a standard push-up position, hands under your shoulders and body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Make sure you have clear space around your hands to land, and a firm, non-slip surface.
- Brace your core so your hips don't sag before you move.
- Start with a regular push-up or two to warm your shoulders up before going explosive.
How to do it
- Lower into a push-up with control, same as a normal rep.
- Push explosively off the floor, driving hard enough that your hands leave the ground at the top.
- Let your elbows bend slightly to absorb the landing as your hands touch back down.
- Immediately sink back into the next push-up rather than resetting between reps.
- Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles on every rep.
- Stop the set once your reps start slowing down or your hands stop leaving the floor cleanly.
Form cues
- Push like you're trying to launch off the floor, not just complete a rep.
- Land soft with bent elbows, never locked out or flat-palmed.
- Keep your hips level with your shoulders throughout, no sagging or piking.
- Reset your brace for a split second between reps rather than chaining them sloppily.
Breathing: Exhale sharply as you push explosively off the floor and inhale as you lower back down into the next rep.
Common mistakes
Landing with straight, locked elbows.
Fix: Let your elbows bend slightly the instant your hands touch down, so your arms absorb the landing instead of your joints taking the full shock.
Letting the hips sag or pike up during the explosive push.
Fix: Keep bracing your core through the jump portion, not just the lowering phase, so your body stays one straight line in the air.
Grinding out extra reps once the hands stop leaving the floor.
Fix: End the set the moment the explosiveness fades; the whole point is power output, and slow, grinding reps at that point train something else entirely.
How to program it
- Because this trains explosive power, low reps done fresh work better than high reps done tired; three to five sets of three to six reps with full rest between sets is a solid starting range.
- Do plyo push-ups early in a session, right after your warm-up, while your nervous system is fresh enough to move fast.
- Master 15 to 20 clean, controlled regular push-ups before adding the explosive version, since the landing demands real shoulder and core stability.
Safety notes
- Train on a surface with some give, like a mat or a gym floor, rather than concrete, since you're absorbing real impact through your wrists and elbows on every landing.
- Stop immediately if you feel any sharp pain in your wrists on landing; a slightly bent-elbow, soft landing should feel like control, not a jolt.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- plyometrics
Frequently asked questions
How many plyo push-ups should I do?
Three to five sets of three to six explosive reps, resting fully between sets, builds power better than high-rep sets. Once the explosiveness fades, stop that set rather than pushing through tired reps.
Do I need to be strong to do plyo push-ups?
You need a solid base first. Being able to do 15 to 20 clean regular push-ups is a reasonable benchmark before adding the explosive, hands-off-the-floor version, since you'll be landing that same body weight through bent arms.
Plyo push-up vs clap push-up, what's the difference?
They're the same movement at heart. A clap push-up simply adds a clap during the airborne moment as a way to check that your hands genuinely left the ground and had time to do something extra.
Why do my wrists hurt after plyo push-ups?
That's usually a landing problem, not a strength problem: locking your elbows or landing flat-palmed sends the impact straight into your wrist joints. Focus on bending your elbows slightly the instant you touch down to let your arms absorb the shock instead.