Archer Push Up
From a very wide push-up stance, you lower your chest toward one hand while the other arm stays straight, so one side does most of the pressing.
- Primary muscles
- Upper chest, Middle chest, Lower chest
- Secondary
- Front delts, Triceps
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Reps
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Why do it
The archer push-up sits between regular push-ups and the one-arm push-up. It suits you once standard push-ups are easy and you want more load without a weight vest. The straight arm helps a little, so you can scale it by how much you lean on that hand, and your hips stay square, which keeps the twisting challenge far lower than on a single arm. Do all reps on one side, then switch, and treat the straight arm as a guide rather than a second engine.
How to do it
Get into a push-up position with your hands much wider than shoulder-width and your fingers turned slightly out.
Shift your weight over one hand and bend that elbow to lower your chest toward it, keeping that elbow close to your side.
The other arm stays straight and takes only a little of the load.
Press back up to centre, then do all reps on one side before switching. It's a step toward the one-arm push-up, so keep the straight arm as passive as you can manage.
Common mistakes
Pushing hard with the straight arm
If the straight arm presses as much as the bent one, it's just a wide push-up. Let it rest lightly and keep your weight over the working hand.
Hips twisting toward the working side
Rotating your torso as you lower shortens the range and makes the rep easier. Keep your hips and shoulders level with the floor.
Working elbow drifting out
With your hands this wide, the bending elbow tends to flare away from your body. Keep it close to your side as you lower.
Stopping halfway down
Shifting sideways makes shallow reps easy to miss. Bring your chest close to the working hand on every rep.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
