Close-grip push-ups: how to do it
Main muscles: Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head. Helpers: Middle chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid), Upper abs. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Bodyweight
Reps
8–16
Rest
90 s
Muscle group
Arms
How to do it
- Hands under the chest, slightly narrower than the shoulders, body in one line.
- Lower with the elbows tight to the torso until the chest touches the hands.
- Press up to fully straight arms.
Common mistakes
Elbows flaring out, hips sagging, hands so close together that the wrists hurt.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
- Secondary
- Middle chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid), Upper abs
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Programs that use it
- Home, 3 days3 × 8–16
Alternatives: similar exercises
Dips
Bodyweight · Lower chest, Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Bench dips
Bodyweight · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Cable pushdown
Cable · Triceps lateral head, Triceps medial head
Push-ups
Bodyweight · Middle chest
Bench press
Barbell · Middle chest, Lower chest
Incline bench press
Barbell · Upper chest, Front delts (anterior deltoid)
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
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