The slide push-up is a bodyweight chest press performed with each hand on asliding disc, spreading the hands outward as you lower and dragging them back in as you press. A standard push-up fixes the hands, so the pecs only press; here they also pull the arms back under the shoulders, which loads adduction and gives the chest a wider stretch at the bottom. The discs take away the friction that normally hides a weak side. Lifters use it as a chest and trunk accessory on push days.
What Muscles Does the Slide Push-Up Work?
- Primary: Pectoralis major (chest)
- Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps brachii
- Tertiary: Serratus anterior, rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus
How Do You Set Up for the Slide Push-Up?
Put a sliding disc on a smooth floor under each hand, slick side down, spaced at shoulder width. Take a high plank with your hands on the discs directly under your shoulders and your feet a hip width apart. Push the floor away so your upper back is broad, squeeze your glutes, tuck your ribs, and look at the floor just ahead of your hands.
How Do You Perform the Slide Push-Up?
- Press the discs into the floor with the arms straight and the shoulders stacked over your hands.
- Bend your elbows and let both discs slide outward as your chest lowers toward the floor.
- Stop an inch off the floor with the arms spread wide and the hips still level with the shoulders.
- Hold that stretched position for one count without letting the discs drift any further apart.
- Drag the discs back toward your ribs as you press, so the hands come home under the shoulders.
- Finish with straight arms and the discs back at shoulder width, ready for the next rep.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Pull the floor toward you: the press is as much a drag inward as a push up, so think about squeezing the discs together.
- Ribs down, glutes tight: the hips sag the moment the hands leave shoulder width, so brace before anything slides.
- Let the discs travel out only as far as you can drag them back under control.
- Keep the elbows angled back toward your hips rather than flaring level with the shoulders.
- Feel the chest, not the front of the shoulder, taking the stretch at the bottom.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Sliding out further than you can return: the arms end up where the chest cannot press from, so shorten the slide until every rep comes back on its own.
- Letting the hips drop as the hands spread: the lumbar spine extends under your whole body weight, so hold the plank before you move.
- Flaring the elbows level with the shoulders: the wide arm puts the front of the shoulder at end range where it gets pinched, so angle the elbows back.
- Using discs on carpet, or shoes on tile: the slide catches mid-rep and the shoulder takes the jolt, so match the disc to the surface.
- Dropping the chest fast to bounce out of the bottom: the stretch is the point of the movement, so lower under control.
What Are the Best Slide Push-Up Variations?
- Knee slide push-up: knees on the floor shorten the lever while you learn the slide.
- Push-Up: fixed hands and no slide, the base movement to own first.
- Single-arm slide push-up: one hand slides while the other stays planted, so the trunk resists the twist.
- Feet-elevated slide push-up: feet on a bench shift weight forward and lengthen the slide.
- Towel slide push-up: two folded towels on a smooth floor stand in for the discs.
How Do You Progress the Slide Push-Up?
- Add a light vest or a plate on your upper back once every rep returns without stalling.
- Work 6 reps up to 12 at the same slide distance before you widen it.
- Build from 3 sets to 4 once the last set matches the first.
- Slide two inches further, or hold the bottom for three counts, when reps stop being the limit.
How Should You Program the Slide Push-Up?
Program the slide push-up as an accessory after your main press on a chest or push day, or as the pressing station of a bodyweight circuit. Once or twice a week is enough. Do 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps with 60 to 90 seconds of rest. Pair it with a row so the shoulder blades pull as well as spread.
