Wide Stance Push up

The wide stance push up is a bodyweight pressing exercise performed with the hands placed noticeably wider than shoulder width on the floor. The wider hand position shortens the range of motion at the shoulder and increases horizontal adduction demand on the pectoralis major, making it a chest-biased variation of the standard push up. It still requires full-body tension to keep the torso rigid, so the shoulders, triceps, and core all contribute to the movement. It is a useful option for lifters without access to a bench who want to bias chest activation using bodyweight alone.

Muscles Targeted

• Primary: Pectoralis major (sternal and clavicular heads)
• Secondary: Anterior deltoids, triceps brachii
• Tertiary: Core stabilizers (rectus abdominis, obliques), serratus anterior

Starting Position

Get into a high plank with your hands on the floor at roughly one and a half times shoulder width, fingers pointed forward or slightly outward. Stack your wrists under a point wider than your shoulders, extend your legs behind you with your feet hip-width apart, and brace your core so your body forms a straight line from head to heels.

Execution Steps

1. Brace before you move: Tighten your abs and glutes so your hips can't sag or pike before you start the rep
2. Lower under control: Bend your elbows out to roughly a 45-60 degree angle from your torso and lower your chest toward the floor
3. Descend to full depth: Continue until your chest is a few inches above the ground, keeping your elbows tracking over your wrists
4. Hold body alignment: Keep your head, hips, and heels in one line throughout the descent
5. Drive back up: Press through your palms and extend your elbows to return to the starting plank position
6. Finish without locking out hard: Stop just short of hyperextending your elbows at the top
7. Repeat for the desired number of reps, resetting your brace each time your form starts to break down

Form Cues

• Set the hand width once: Pick a hand width you can maintain rep after rep, roughly 1.5x shoulder width, rather than drifting wider as you fatigue
• Keep elbows at 45-60 degrees: Flaring elbows straight out to the sides stresses the shoulder joint; tucking them in shifts load to the triceps
• Squeeze the chest at the top: Think about pressing your palms together through the floor to increase pec activation
• Keep the neck neutral: Look at a spot on the floor slightly ahead of your hands rather than craning up
• Brace the core throughout: A rigid trunk transfers force efficiently and protects the lower back

Common Mistakes

• Letting the hips sag: A collapsed lower back shifts stress to the spine and reduces chest tension. Actively squeeze glutes and abs to keep the line straight.
• Flaring elbows to 90 degrees: This position increases shoulder impingement risk. Keep elbows closer to 45-60 degrees from the torso.
• Partial range of motion: Stopping high above the floor limits chest stretch and growth stimulus. Lower until your chest is close to the ground.
• Hand placement too wide: Excessive width overloads the shoulder joint and limits pressing power. Stay within about 1.5x shoulder width.
• Rushing the tempo: Fast, bouncy reps reduce muscle tension and control. Slow the descent and pause briefly at the bottom.

Variations

• Knee push up: Reduces the resistance by shortening the lever arm, useful for building initial strength
• Decline wide stance push up: improving the feet increases upper chest and shoulder demand
• Incline wide stance push up: improving the hands reduces load, good for beginners or high-rep endurance work
• Weighted wide stance push up: Adding a plate or vest increases resistance once bodyweight reps become easy
• Standard shoulder-width push up: Shifts emphasis more evenly between chest and triceps for comparison

Tips for Progression

• Add reps before adding difficulty: Build to 15-20 clean reps before progressing to a harder variation
• improve the feet: Move to a decline position to increase the load on the same movement pattern
• Add external load: Use a weighted vest or a plate placed on the upper back once bodyweight volume is high
• Slow the eccentric: Take 3-4 seconds to lower on each rep to increase time under tension

Training Notes

Program wide stance push ups 2-3 times per week as a chest-focused accessory or bodyweight finisher after heavier pressing work. Most lifters get good results with 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps, resting 60-90 seconds between sets. Because it requires no equipment, it also works well in circuit or superset formats paired with pulling movements to balance upper body training.