How is this different from a Decline Push-Up?

The body position is the same, with the feet raised on a bench, but the Decline Push-Up is a controlled strength exercise. This version adds a jump up onto the steps and a drop back down to the floor on every repetition, which makes it a power drill with far more impact on the hands.

Is this harder than a Clap Push-Up?

They test different things. A study of 22 healthy, active men found that clap push-ups loaded and launched faster than box-drop push-ups from 3.8 to 11.4 cm boxes, while peak force on the hands was similar across all of them and box height did not change it. Raising the feet on a bench, as here, puts more body weight on the hands, so this version belongs after the Clap Push-Up is easy, not before.

How high should the step platforms be?

Start with the step at its lowest setting, usually about 4 inches (10 cm), and stay there until every landing is quiet. Coaches rarely go above about 6 inches (15 cm) for drop push-ups, because a taller step means a longer reach and a longer drop to control on every repetition.

How many sets and reps should I do?

Keep sets short, around 3 to 6 repetitions, for 3 to 5 sets with full rest so every repetition stays fast. Do it early in the session while you are fresh, and allow 48 to 72 hours before the next plyometric upper-body session.

Can I use something other than step platforms?

Yes, any two stable platforms of the same height work, such as low plyo boxes or bumper plates laid flat. Whatever you use must not slide or tip when you land on it, and the tops need to be wide enough to take the whole hand.

Feet-Elevated Depth Push-Up

What Is the Feet-Elevated Depth Push-Up?

Feet-Elevated Depth Push-Up is a compound exercise that primarily targets the chest and also engages the triceps, shoulders and core. It is an advanced-level movement: a plyometric push-up done with the toes on a flat bench and two aerobic step platforms set just outside the hands. Each repetition moves the hands from the floor up onto the steps and back down again, so the chest and arms have to catch a short drop and turn it around quickly.

The point of the exercise is upper-body power. Dropping onto the hands stretches the chest and triceps under load, and pushing straight back out of that stretch trains the muscles to absorb force and redirect it fast, the same quality that matters when an athlete fends off an opponent, throws a punch or makes a chest pass. Coaches use it with athletes in contact, combat and throwing sports, usually early in a session after a thorough warm-up, for a few short sets with full rest so every repetition stays fast.

Raising the feet changes the load. A study of 23 recreationally fit men and women found that ordinary push-ups with the feet on a box put more force through the hands than regular, kneeling or hands-elevated push-ups, so the bench makes every landing heavier than it would be with the feet on the floor. The downhill body angle also shifts more of the work toward the upper chest and the front of the shoulders, while the triceps take much of the landing and the lockout on the steps. The serratus anterior and the abdominals keep the shoulder blades and the trunk steady each time the hands touch down.

This is one of the last steps in a push-up progression, not a place to start. Build solid sets of the Push-Up and the Decline Push-Up first, then learn to leave and return to the floor with controlled plyometric push-ups such as the Clap Push-Up. Only once landings stay quiet and the body stays in one line is it worth adding the bench and the step platforms.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Pectoralis Major: Primary
Deltoid: High
Triceps Brachii (Lateral Head): High
Triceps Brachii (Medial Head): High
Rectus Abdominis: Medium
Serratus Anterior: Medium
Triceps Brachii (Long Head): Medium
External Oblique: Low
Gluteus Maximus: Low
Rectus Femoris: Low

Instructions

Place two aerobic step platforms side by side on a non-slip floor, a little more than shoulder-width apart, with a flat bench behind them.
Put your hands on the floor between the steps, about shoulder-width apart, and rest the tops of your toes or the balls of your feet on the bench.
Straighten your arms and set your body in one line from head to heels, with your abs braced and your glutes squeezed.
Lower your chest toward the floor between the steps, keeping your elbows at about 45 degrees from your body.
Push explosively out of the bottom so your hands leave the floor, and move them out onto the tops of the steps.
Land with your whole hand on each platform and your elbows slightly bent, absorb the landing, then press to straight arms.
Push off the steps, move your hands back in, and drop them to the floor between the steps.
Land with soft elbows, let the landing carry you down toward the bottom, and push straight back up into the next repetition without pausing.
Finish on the floor with straight arms, then step your feet down from the bench one at a time.

Common Mistakes

Landing with locked elbows
Catching the drop on straight arms sends the impact into the wrists, elbows and shoulders instead of letting the chest and triceps absorb it.
Letting the hips sag
Losing the plank as the hands land bends the lower back and leaks the force the push is meant to use.
Pausing on the floor
Resting at the bottom before pushing back up turns the drop into a regular push-up and loses the quick rebound the exercise is built around.
Landing on the edge of the step
Placing the hands on the rim of the platform can tip the step or let a hand slip off, so aim for the middle of each top.
Flaring the elbows
Letting the elbows point straight out at the bottom of the drop puts more strain on the front of the shoulders.
Raising the steps too soon
Adding risers before the landings are quiet makes each drop longer and harder to control without making the exercise more useful.

Injuries

Feet-Elevated Depth Push-Up is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Every repetition lands the upper body on the hands, and with the feet on a bench more body weight comes down on them. The wrists take the impact in an extended position, the elbows take it if they are locked, and the front of the shoulders is loaded at the bottom of each drop, especially when the elbows flare out. Hips that sag on landing shift the strain into the lower back. The setup adds its own hazard: a hand that lands on the edge of a step, or a step that slides, can drop the face toward the floor.

Set the steps on a non-slip floor, check that they cannot move before the first repetition, and land with the whole hand on the platform rather than its edge. Land with the elbows already slightly bent, keep the elbows at about 45 degrees from the body, and hold a braced plank from head to heels. Keep sets short, rest fully between them, and allow 48 to 72 hours before the next plyometric upper-body session.

To make it easier, take the feet off the bench and do the movement with the feet on the floor, use only the floor with a Clap Push-Up, or build strength first with the Decline Push-Up. To progress, raise the steps with risers one level at a time, and only when every landing at the current height is quiet and controlled.

Stop the set as soon as the landings get loud, the hips drop or the push back up slows noticeably. Stop the exercise altogether if you feel pain in the wrists, elbows or shoulders, and skip it while any of those joints is recovering from an injury.

Overview

Primary Focus: Chest
Equipment: Body weight, bench, and step platform
Modality: Plyometrics
Difficulty: Advanced

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is this different from a Decline Push-Up?: The body position is the same, with the feet raised on a bench, but the Decline Push-Up is a controlled strength exercise. This version adds a jump up onto the steps and a drop back down to the floor on every repetition, which makes it a power drill with far more impact on the hands.
Q: Is this harder than a Clap Push-Up?: They test different things. A study of 22 healthy, active men found that clap push-ups loaded and launched faster than box-drop push-ups from 3.8 to 11.4 cm boxes, while peak force on the hands was similar across all of them and box height did not change it. Raising the feet on a bench, as here, puts more body weight on the hands, so this version belongs after the Clap Push-Up is easy, not before.
Q: How high should the step platforms be?: Start with the step at its lowest setting, usually about 4 inches (10 cm), and stay there until every landing is quiet. Coaches rarely go above about 6 inches (15 cm) for drop push-ups, because a taller step means a longer reach and a longer drop to control on every repetition.
Q: How many sets and reps should I do?: Keep sets short, around 3 to 6 repetitions, for 3 to 5 sets with full rest so every repetition stays fast. Do it early in the session while you are fresh, and allow 48 to 72 hours before the next plyometric upper-body session.
Q: Can I use something other than step platforms?: Yes, any two stable platforms of the same height work, such as low plyo boxes or bumper plates laid flat. Whatever you use must not slide or tip when you land on it, and the tops need to be wide enough to take the whole hand.