Single-Arm Push-Up
The single-arm push-up is a bodyweight press done with one hand on the floor and the other tucked behind your back or braced on your hip. It demands significantly more chest and triceps strength than a standard push-up, since one arm now handles your full bodyweight. Because your body wants to rotate toward the working arm, it also builds real core and hip stability.
Why it works
A standard push-up already splits your bodyweight between two arms, with your chest, shoulders, and triceps driving the press together. Removing one arm roughly doubles the load on the working side, which is why this variation usually takes months of progression work to build toward. Your obliques and glutes have to fire hard to stop your hips from sagging or rotating toward the floor, turning what looks like an arm exercise into a whole-body anti-rotation drill.
Set up
- Set up in a push-up position, then walk your feet out wider than shoulder width for a stable base.
- Place one hand under your shoulder with fingers spread, and tuck the other hand behind your lower back.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your hips stay level.
- Position your working hand slightly wider than you would for a two-arm push-up.
How to do it
- Lower your chest toward the floor by bending your working elbow.
- Keep your hips and shoulders square as you descend, resisting the pull toward your working side.
- Touch your chest lightly to the floor, or as close as your current strength allows.
- Press through your palm to drive your body back up to the start.
- Lock your elbow out fully at the top before starting the next rep.
Form cues
- Keep your feet wide for a stable base, this isn't cheating.
- Point your working elbow back at roughly a 45 degree angle, not flared straight out.
- Brace hard enough to keep your hips from twisting toward the floor.
- Move slower than you think you need to on the way down.
Breathing: Inhale as you lower your chest toward the floor, and exhale as you press back up.
Common mistakes
Letting the hips rotate toward the working arm on the way down.
Fix: Widen your stance and actively brace your obliques to keep your hips square.
Flaring the working elbow straight out to the side.
Fix: Angle the elbow back toward your hip, closer to a diagonal push-up position.
Cutting the range short instead of touching the chest down.
Fix: Build range gradually with an elevated version until your strength catches up.
How to program it
- This is a demanding bodyweight compound press, so keep volume modest: 3 to 5 reps per side for 3 sets is plenty for most lifters.
- Once a week is enough at first, since the joint and connective tissue stress from one-arm loading takes longer to recover from than the muscle soreness alone suggests.
- If you can't yet complete a clean rep, build toward it with an elevated single-arm push-up against a bench or wall instead of grinding through bad reps at floor level.
Safety notes
- Stop the set the moment your hips start twisting hard toward the floor, that's your working arm telling you it's out of reps.
- Warm your wrist up with light weight-bearing circles first, since it now takes the full load of a press usually shared between two hands.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many single-arm push-ups should a beginner be able to do?
Most people who can do this move cleanly manage 3 to 5 reps per side before form breaks down. If you're at zero, that's normal, it usually takes months of progression work to earn the first rep.
What's a good way to build up to a single-arm push-up at home?
Elevate your hands on a bench or countertop and do single-arm push-ups from there, lowering the surface height as you get stronger until you can do them from the floor.
Single-arm push-up vs regular push-up, how much harder is it?
Removing one hand roughly doubles the load your working arm and chest handle, and adds a heavy anti-rotation demand through your core that a two-arm push-up doesn't require.
Why do my hips twist when I try a single-arm push-up?
Your body is rotating toward the working arm because your core and obliques aren't yet strong enough to resist it. Widen your foot stance and build anti-rotation strength with planks and side planks before chasing more reps.