Push Up to Side Plank — start position — Start

Push Up to Side Plank — end position — End

Chest / Beginner / Compound (multi-joint)

Push Up to Side Plank

A bodyweight exercise for the chest, with the obliques, abs and front delts assisting.

At a glance

Primary: Chest
Secondary: Obliques, Abs, Front delts, Triceps, Serratus anterior
Equipment: Bodyweight
Movement pattern: Horizontal push, Side bend, Anti-extension (brace)
Level: Beginner
Type: Chest, Compound (multi-joint)

Loads the wrist. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

Get into pushup position on the toes with your hands just outside of shoulder width.
Perform a pushup by allowing the elbows to flex. As you descend, keep your body straight.
Do one pushup and as you come up, shift your weight on the left side of the body, twist to the side while bringing the right arm up towards the ceiling in a side plank.
Lower the arm back to the floor for another pushup and then twist to the other side.
Repeat the series, alternating each side, for 10 or more reps.

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Muscles worked

FrontBack

Primary: Chest
Secondary: Obliques, Abs, Front delts, Triceps, Serratus anterior

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

General strength (full body)84%Upper body
Boxing & punching77%Arm extension
Yoga73%Chaturanga & down dog
Butterfly50%
Surf paddling & pop-up49%Pop-up
Kayaking44%Pull (bottom arm) / push (top arm)

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Photos and instructions: free-exercise-db (github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db), public domain.