Reverse Elbow Push-Up

Also known as: elbow lift, elbow lift reverse push-up, reverse elbow push ups, elbow push-up

In SetGrip: Reverse Push-Up (Elbow Lift)

Secondary muscles
Triceps, Delts
Body part
Back
Position
Prone
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Despite the name, this is closer to a prone posture drill than a press: lying face down, you lift the upper body while squeezing the shoulder blades, training the upper back to work against gravity. Use it as low-effort volume on pull days to balance all the pushing in this family.

How to do the Reverse Elbow Push-Up

  1. Start by lying face down on the ground with your legs extended and your hands placed directly under your shoulders.
  2. Engage your core and press through your palms to lift your upper body off the ground, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
  3. Pause at the top for a moment, squeezing your upper back muscles.
  4. Slowly lower your body back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Screw your hands into the floor as if turning the fingers outward to set the shoulders before each set.

Muscles worked

Primary

Upper Back · Back

The upper back controls the shoulder blades as they retract on the way down and protract at the top.

Secondary

  • Triceps — The triceps finish the rep by locking the elbows, and they do more work the narrower your hands are.
  • Delts — The front delts assist the chest, especially on decline variations where the feet are elevated.

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging or piked — the body should stay a straight line from head to heels; squeeze the glutes and brace the abs before each rep.
  • Elbows flared to 90 degrees — flaring the arms out wide loads the shoulder joint; keep the elbows tucked to about 45 degrees from the torso.
  • Cutting the bottom short — chest should come to within a fist of the floor; if that means fewer reps, do fewer reps.
  • Head dropping first — the chin reaching for the floor makes it look like a rep when it is not; keep the head neutral and lead with the chest.

Where it fits in a workout

Push-ups work as a warm-up before bench press, as a finisher after chest work or as the main push exercise when training with no equipment. Superset them with inverted rows or a band pull-apart for balance.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Alternatives

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.