The floor has an excellent memory. The moment you attempt your first proper push-up, it takes stock of every strength exercise your workouts have conveniently skipped until then. You might hit 10,000 steps before lunch, know your protein target by heart and can hold a warrior pose without blinking. Yet, for all the markers we associate with being fit, a surprising number of women still can’t perform a single textbook push-up.
I realised this halfway through what I assumed would be a fairly ordinary workout. Lowering myself wasn’t the problem. Getting back up was. My elbows wobbled, my hips surrendered and gravity won with embarrassing ease. How could someone who exercised regularly be defeated by one movement? If you’re wondering how to do a push-up, the answer has far less to do with physical capacity than most of us think.
“A standard push-up requires you to press around 60 to 70 per cent of your body weight,” explains Dr Arunima Verma, orthopaedic and sports rehabilitation specialist. “Women generally have lower relative upper-body muscle mass than men, with smaller muscles across the chest, shoulders, back and arms alongside lower testosterone levels that contribute to this difference. It’s not an indication of poor athletic capability; it’s simply a reflection of the specific physical demands of the movement.” Celebrity fitness coach Namrata Purohit agrees. “It simply means women need to work their upper body with more intention. It’s something that has to be practised consistently, both to achieve it and maintain it.”
We often interpret failing a push-up as a personal shortcoming when it’s actually a highly specific strength test. Unlike walking, cycling or many Pilates movements, it demands multiple muscle groups produce and transfer force while keeping the body rigid. Or as Meghana Jayesh Sheth, senior clinical physiotherapist, puts it, “A good push-up is really a measure of strength and stability”. Weakness in the chest, shoulders, triceps or core doesn’t just make the movement harder; it changes your alignment, placing unnecessary stress on the shoulders, wrists and lower back.
Part of the problem is that many women have never really been encouraged to train that way. “We’ve historically placed much more emphasis on lower-body training,” notes Sheth. “Women are often marketed stronger glutes and toned legs, while upper-body training is unfairly associated with becoming ‘bulky’ or ‘manly’.” The irony, she adds, is that stronger shoulders, chest and back don’t make women look masculine – they make women more capable.
That function extends far beyond the gym. A stronger upper body makes everyday tasks – from carrying groceries to lifting a child – feel easier while supporting shoulder health, preserving bone density and maintaining independence with age. “When you train upper-body strength, you’re preserving muscle mass, supporting metabolic health and maintaining function as you get older,” explains Sheth. “Those benefits become even more important through menopause and healthy ageing.”
So how do you actually build that kind of strength? The fastest way to learn how to do a push-up isn’t by repeatedly face-planting into your yoga mat. “I always think about teaching quality movement over quantity,” explains Purohit. Instead of jumping straight to the floor, she starts with a solid plank. Can you maintain a neutral spine, brace your core and stabilise your shoulders? Only then does she introduce incline push-ups using a wall, bench or bar before gradually lowering the height.
Dr Verma agrees. Incline push-ups, controlled eccentric (lowering) repetitions and plank variations closely mimic the mechanics of a full push-up while reducing the load. “The closer the progression resembles a standard push-up, the better the transfer,” she explains.
