How to Increase Your Pushups by Up to 30% (Instantly)
Summary
Jeff Cavaliere of ATHLEAN-X explains that most people leave significant pushup performance on the table by ignoring full-body tension during the movement. By treating the pushup as a total-body exercise rooted in the kinetic chain, you can dramatically increase your rep count immediately. A mechanical drop set technique is also introduced for building long-term pushup capacity.
Key Points
- The body is a kinetic chain: Force generated by the upper body can only be delivered effectively if the lower body provides a stable, grounded base — the same principle applies whether swinging a sledgehammer or performing a pushup.
- Energy leaks kill performance: Loose ankles, bent knees, a sagging lower back, and a disengaged core all act as “energy leaks” that dissipate the force you’re trying to direct into the ground.
- Tight ankles are the foundation: Rise onto your toes and lock the ankles firm — don’t allow them to rock or sink, as this creates the same instability as balancing on an unstable surface.
- Full lower-body engagement is required: Actively squeeze your quads, glutes, and core before and throughout every rep to eliminate energy leaks from the hips down.
- These cues work immediately: Applying proper full-body tension should produce a noticeable improvement in the very next set you perform.
- Reps beget more reps: To build pushup capacity over time, train to failure in the flat position, then immediately continue with a mechanical drop set by moving to an inclined surface to squeeze out additional reps.
- The incline drop set principle: Using a couch or any elevated surface reduces the load slightly, allowing continued volume after reaching flat-ground failure — progressively increasing your overall rep capacity.
Exercise Details
Pushup
Target Muscles
- Primary: Chest, triceps, anterior deltoids
- Secondary (stabilizers): Core, glutes, quadriceps
Proper Form Cues
- Rise onto the toes and lock the ankles — no sinking or rocking
- Straighten the knees by squeezing the quads as hard as possible
- Squeeze the glutes maximally before descending
- Brace the abs tightly throughout the entire set
- Maintain a rigid, plank-like body position from head to toe
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Allowing the lower back to sag
- Keeping the knees bent or soft during reps
- Loose, rocking ankles that bleed force out of the movement
- Treating the pushup as an upper-body-only exercise and ignoring the lower body entirely
Sets/Reps Recommendations
- Train the flat pushup to failure
- Immediately transition to an inclined pushup (e.g., hands on a couch) and rep out to failure again
- Repeat this mechanical drop set approach over time to progressively increase flat-ground rep capacity toward higher targets (e.g., 100 reps per set)