Scapular Push-Up

Also known as: push up plus, scapula push-up

In SetGrip: Scapula Push-Up

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

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Elbows stay locked the whole time; the only motion is your shoulder blades pinching together and spreading apart, which is why this files under mobility rather than strength. Sets of 10-15 slow reps work best, and the incline version offers an easier entry if a full plank feels heavy.

How to do the Scapular Push-Up

  1. Start in a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line.
  2. Lower your chest towards the ground, keeping your elbows close to your body.
  3. As you lower, squeeze your shoulder blades together and push your chest forward.
  4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push back up 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

Serratus Anterior · Core

The serratus pushes the shoulder blades forward at the top of each rep; adding a small push-up plus at lockout targets it directly.

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

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.