The Most Difficult Push-up, Ranked

Voting rules: Choose the push-up you think is the most difficult!

Updated on Apr 28, 2024 06:25

Push-ups are a cornerstone in the fitness regimes of many, a simple yet effective exercise that challenges various muscle groups. However, not all push-ups are created equal; some are significantly more challenging than others. Identifying the most difficult variations helps those looking to push their limits and enhance their strength training. By participating in voting for the toughest push-up, users provide insight into personal experiences and community consensus. This real-time voting system reflects community preferences and updates continuously as more fitness enthusiasts contribute their votes. It's a dynamic way to see which workouts are testing the limits of ability and endurance.

What Is the Most Difficult Push-up?

1

62
votes
One-armed push-up

This push-up is considered the most difficult because it requires a lot of strength and balance to perform. You need to support your body weight with just one arm while keeping your core stable.
The one-armed push-up is a challenging variation of the push-up exercise that requires a high level of upper body strength and stability. Unlike the traditional push-up that involves both arms, the one-armed push-up is performed with only one arm supporting the body weight while the other arm is positioned behind the back. This exercise primarily targets the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles.

Muscle groups targeted: Chest, shoulders, triceps, core

Difficulty level: Advanced

Balance required: High

Upper body strength: Essential

Stability: Crucial
2

39
votes
Photograph: Frank C. Müller, Baden-Baden · CC BY-SA 4.0

Planche push-up

This push-up requires a lot of upper body strength and balance. You need to lean forward until your body is parallel to the ground, then push up while keeping your body straight.
The Planche push-up is an extremely challenging exercise that requires significant upper body strength and balance. It involves holding the body parallel to the ground while performing a push-up motion. The exercise primarily targets the shoulders, chest, triceps, and core muscles.

Difficulty: Very Difficult

Upper Body Strength: High

Balance: Critical

Muscles Targeted: Shoulders, Chest, Triceps, Core

Equipment: No equipment needed
Planche push-up in other rankings
- Position 8 of 10 in Most difficult exercise
3

22
votes
Spiderman push-up

This push-up requires you to bring your knee up to your elbow while doing the push-up. It requires a lot of core and upper body strength to perform.
The Spiderman push-up is an advanced variation of the traditional push-up exercise. It involves bringing one knee towards the elbow of the same side as you lower your body down, mimicking the movement of Spiderman climbing a wall.

Difficulty level: Advanced

Targeted muscles: Chest, triceps, shoulders, core, and hip flexors

Execution: Start in a high plank position, as you lower your body towards the ground, bring your right knee towards your right elbow. As you push back up, return your leg to the starting position. Repeat on the other side for the desired number of repetitions.

Benefits: Strengthens the upper body, enhances core stability, improves flexibility in the hip flexors, and promotes balance and coordination.

Challenges: Requires significant upper body strength, core stability, and hip flexibility.
4

24
votes
Aztec push-up

This push-up requires you to go down into a squat position before pushing up. It requires a lot of leg and core strength, as well as upper body strength.
The Aztec push-up is a challenging variation of the traditional push-up that involves multiple movements and requires a high level of upper body strength and core stability. It is known for its dynamic and explosive nature.

Full Body Engagement: The Aztec push-up engages the chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and hips.

Lowering Phase: During the lowering phase, the torso is lowered close to the ground while keeping the elbows tucked in.

Upward Thrust: As the torso reaches the lowest point, an explosive upward thrust is performed, propelling the hands and upper body off the ground.

Hip Raise: Simultaneously with the upward thrust, the hips are raised high, creating a dynamic and arched body position.

Backbend: In the highest position, a deep backbend is performed, stretching the upper body and creating a bridge-like shape.
5

14
votes
Typewriter push-up

This push-up requires you to move your body from side to side while doing the push-up. It requires a lot of upper body and core strength, as well as balance.
The 'Typewriter push-up' is a challenging variation of the classic push-up exercise. As the name suggests, it involves moving laterally while performing the push-up motion, resembling the movement of a typewriter carriage. This exercise primarily targets the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles.

Difficulty level: Advanced

Movement: Horizontal

Muscles targeted: Chest, shoulders, triceps, core

Equipment required: None

Starting position: Assume a regular push-up position
6

3
votes
Staggered push-up

This push-up requires you to place one hand in front of the other while doing the push-up. It requires a lot of upper body and core strength, as well as balance.
The staggered push-up is a variation of the traditional push-up exercise. Instead of placing both hands shoulder-width apart, one hand is positioned slightly forward while the other hand is positioned slightly back. This creates an asymmetrical and unstable base, increasing the difficulty of the exercise.

Hand positioning: One hand slightly forward and the other hand slightly back

Difficulty level: Advanced

Muscles targeted: Chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and stabilizer muscles

Balance and stability: Requires greater balance and stability compared to traditional push-ups

Uneven workload: Places more load on one side of the body at a time, challenging the muscles differently
7

13
votes
T-push-up

This push-up requires you to rotate your body to one side while doing the push-up, then lift your arm up into the air. It requires a lot of upper body and core strength, as well as balance.
The T-push-up is a challenging variation of the traditional push-up exercise that incorporates rotation and asymmetrical arm movement. It is performed by starting in a push-up position, then as you push yourself up, extend one arm straight up towards the ceiling while rotating your body into a side plank position. The extended arm forms a 'T' shape with the body, hence the name T-push-up.

Difficulty Level: Advanced

Muscle Groups Targeted: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Core

Equipment Required: None

Body Position: Starting in a push-up position, rotating into a side plank

Arm Movement: Asymmetrical arm movement with one arm extended toward the ceiling
8

5
votes
Clapping push-up

This push-up requires you to push up explosively and clap your hands together before landing back down. It requires a lot of upper body strength and explosiveness.
The clapping push-up is an advanced variation of the traditional push-up exercise that requires explosive upper body strength. It involves forcefully pushing off the ground with enough power to propel the body off the ground, allowing enough airtime to perform a clap before landing back in the starting push-up position.

Muscle groups targeted: Chest, arms, and shoulders

Difficulty level: Advanced

Explosive power needed: High

Range of motion: Full extension of arms

Upper body activation: Intense
9

8
votes
Diamond push-up

This push-up requires you to place your hands close together in a diamond shape while doing the push-up. It requires a lot of tricep and chest strength.
The diamond push-up is a variant of the push-up exercise that targets the triceps muscles. It is performed by placing the hands close together under the middle of the chest, forming a diamond shape with the thumbs and index fingers.

Difficulty Level: Advanced

Muscle Focus: Triceps

Hand Placement: Close together in a diamond shape

Body Position: Elbows tucked close to the body

Shoulder Stability: Challenged due to narrow hand placement
10

6
votes
Wide-grip push-up

This push-up requires you to place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart while doing the push-up. It requires a lot of chest and shoulder strength.
The wide-grip push-up is a variation of the traditional push-up exercise that focuses on targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. In this variation, the hands are placed wider than shoulder-width apart, creating a larger distance between the hands.

Muscles targeted: Chest, shoulders, triceps

Hand placement: Wider than shoulder-width apart

Difficulty level: Moderate to high

Equipment needed: None

Body position: Start in a plank position with hands wider than shoulders, arms extended, and core engaged

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Discussion

Ranking factors for difficult push-up

Level of skill required

How advanced or specialized a technique is needed to perform the push-up correctly and with control.
Strength and endurance demands

How much physical strength and stamina are required to complete the push-up, particularly in terms of muscle groups engaged and the level of contraction necessary.
Stability and balance

The level of balance and core stability needed to maintain proper form while executing the push-up.
Range of motion

The extent to which the various joints and muscles involved need to move and stretch to perform the push-up correctly.
Involvement of multiple muscle groups

The larger the number of muscles and muscle groups engaged or challenged during the push-up, the more difficult it typically is.
Degree of coordination

Some push-up variations require complex movements or a high level of coordination, making them more challenging than standard push-ups.
Speed and explosiveness

Some push-up exercises incorporate powerful and fast movements that add to the difficulty level.
Progression and scalability

A push-up variation that has multiple levels of difficulty or can be scaled for different skill levels can be considered more challenging overall.
Risk of injury

The higher the risk of injury while performing a push-up, particularly if poor form is used, may indicate a more difficult push-up variation.
Subjective experience

Finally, it is essential to consider individual differences in strength, fitness levels, flexibility, and experience, as the difficulty of a push-up will vary from person to person based on these factors.

About this ranking

This is a community-based ranking of the most difficult push-up. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or Push-up is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!

Statistics

2104 views
194 votes
10 ranked items

Voting Rules

A participant may cast an up or down vote for each Push-up once every 24 hours. The rank of each Push-up is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.

More information on most difficult push-up

Push-ups are a staple exercise in any fitness routine. They target multiple muscle groups in the upper body, including the chest, shoulders, and triceps. However, not all push-ups are created equal. Some variations are more challenging than others, requiring greater strength, stability, and coordination. In this article, we explore the most difficult push-up variations and provide tips on how to perform them safely and effectively. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced athlete, these push-ups will challenge your limits and help you achieve your fitness goals.