Bodyweight
Exercises where your own body is the load. No equipment is needed, and you make them easier or harder by changing the angle of your body, the leverage or the tempo.
- Standard push-up load
- About 69% of body mass at the top, 75% at the bottom
- Knee push-up load
- About 54% at the top, 62% at the bottom
- Useful extras
- A mat, push-up handles, a bench or box for incline versions, a weighted vest or resistance band
The push-up figures come from one study (listed under sources below), reported via a secondary source. Raising your hands makes a push-up easier; raising your feet makes it harder.
Exercises
Sources
- Suprak DN, Dawes J, Stephenson MD. The effect of position on the percentage of body mass supported during traditional and modified push-up variants. J Strength Cond Res. 2011;25(2):497–503. PubMed 20179649Finding checked via a secondary source · checked 22 Oct 2026