Close-Grip Push-Up
ట్రైసెప్స్
What moves the load, and what it costs
8.0MET
Triceps is the prime mover, with the chest assisting. A step between the standard and the diamond push-up. Easier on the wrists than the diamond and almost as good for the triceps.
Cue: Hands directly under the shoulders, elbows tracking straight back past the ribs rather than out to the sides.
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·FILED UNDER CALISTHENICS, VIGOROUS·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files close-grip push-up under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 8.0, and at the top end of what a gym floor produces.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so close-grip push-up is filed under Calisthenics (e.g. push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups), vigorous effort.
- Take the category's MET value — 8.0. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 8.0 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Close-Grip Push-Up: 8.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal/min
మూలం·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| TricepsTriceps brachii | Prime mover | Straightens the elbow. The long head also crosses the shoulder, so it is stretched and loaded hardest with the arm overhead. |
| ChestPectoralis major | Synergist / stabiliser | Brings the upper arm across the body and forward (shoulder horizontal adduction and flexion). The clavicular head contributes more when the arm travels up and in; the sternal head when it travels down and in. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Bodyweight. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
నమూనా · పుష్
- Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, directly under or just below them, fingers spread and pointing forward.
- Set a straight line from ear to ankle: squeeze the glutes, brace the trunk as if about to take a light punch, and tuck the ribs down.
- Hands directly under the shoulders, elbows tracking straight back past the ribs rather than out to the sides.
- Lower under control with the elbows at roughly 45 degrees to the torso until your chest is a fist's height from the floor.
- Press back up in one piece — hips, chest and head arriving at the top together.
- Finish each rep with the shoulder blades allowed to spread slightly at the top rather than locked back.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Hips sagging or piking.
The push-up is a moving plank. If the hips drop, the lower back takes the load; if they pike, the range shortens. Squeeze the glutes and brace before the first rep, not during the fifth.
Head reaching for the floor before the chest does.
It makes a partial rep look complete. The chest should be the lowest point, and the neck should stay in line with the spine.
Elbows flared to 90 degrees.
Hard on the shoulder, no better for the chest. Keep them at about 45 degrees from the ribs.
Half reps to hit a number.
Ten full-range push-ups beat thirty short ones for every purpose. Reduce the difficulty — hands elevated — rather than the range.
Regress it, or progress it
Regress — earn it first
ఈ సైట్లో దీన్ని ఇంకా సులభతరం చేసేది ఏమీ లేదు: ఇది ఇప్పటికే ఈ పద్ధతిలో ప్రారంభ స్థాయికి దగ్గరగా ఉంది. బరువు తగ్గించండి, కదలిక పరిధిని కుదించండి, లేదా వేగాన్ని తగ్గించండి — ఇదే వరుసలో.
Prescription: load, reps, rest
లక్ష్యాన్ని చూసుకోండి, ఆ తర్వాత బరువు పెరుగుతున్నా టెక్నిక్ను మాత్రం స్థిరంగా ఉంచండి. ఇది ఈ పేజీ కోసం కల్పించినది కాదు, కదలిక యాంత్రికత నుంచే వచ్చింది: కాంపౌండ్ లిఫ్ట్ అనేక కీళ్లపై భారం వేస్తుంది, కాబట్టి ఇది ఎక్కువ బరువును తట్టుకుంటుంది, ఎక్కువ విశ్రాంతి అవసరం.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 3–5 | 3–6 | 3–5 నిమి | ఎక్కువ బరువులకు ఎక్కువ విశ్రాంతి అవసరం. విశ్రాంతిని రెండు నిమిషాలకు తగ్గిస్తే బలం సెట్ కాస్తా కండిషనింగ్ సెట్గా మారిపోతుంది. |
| Muscle size | 3–4 | 6–12 | 90–180 sec | చాలా సెట్లను ఫెయిల్యూర్కు ఒకటి నుంచి మూడు రెప్ల లోపు వరకు తీసుకెళ్లండి. కచ్చితమైన రెప్ సంఖ్య కంటే ఒక్కో కండరానికి వారానికి మొత్తం హార్డ్ సెట్ల సంఖ్యే ఎక్కువ ముఖ్యం. |
| Endurance / fat loss | 2–4 | 12–20 | 45–75 sec | తక్కువ బరువులు, తక్కువ విశ్రాంతి. కొవ్వు తగ్గడం ఆహారంతో నిర్ణయమవుతుంది; ఇది ఆ సమయంలో కండరాలను కాపాడుతుంది. |
| First month | 2–3 | 8–10 | 2 min | ఫెయిల్యూర్కు చాలా ముందే ఆపేస్తూ, ప్రతి సెట్కూ అదే బరువుతో, చివరి రెప్లో కూడా కదలిక మొదటి రెప్లాగే కనిపించే వరకు. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Calisthenics (e.g. push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups), vigorous effort — 8.0 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 8.0 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
This one needs no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in every travel and home programme. Every no-equipment movement is listed together.
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the close-grip push-up work?
Close-Grip Push-Up is a compound movement in which the triceps is the prime mover, assisted by the chest. Straightens the elbow. The long head also crosses the shoulder, so it is stretched and loaded hardest with the arm overhead.
Is the close-grip push-up good for beginners?
Yes. It rates 2 out of 5 for technical difficulty on this site — learnable in a session or two; low injury cost if it goes wrong. Start with the lightest sensible load and two or three sets of 8–10.
What can I do instead of the close-grip push-up at home?
Nothing is needed — the close-grip push-up already requires no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in any home programme.
How many sets and reps of the close-grip push-up should I do?
కండరాల పరిమాణం కోసం, 6–12 రెప్లతో 3–4 సెట్లు, 90–180 సెకన్ల విశ్రాంతి. బలం కోసం, 3–6 రెప్లతో 3–5 సెట్లు, 3–5 నిమిషాల విశ్రాంతి. మీ మొదటి నెలలో, 8–10 రెప్లతో 2–3 సెట్లు, ఫెయిల్యూర్కు చాలా ముందే ఆపేయాలి. ఈ పరిధుల్లో ఏదైనా సరే, కచ్చితమైన రెప్ సంఖ్య కంటే ఒక్కో కండర సమూహానికి వారానికి మొత్తం హార్డ్ సెట్ల సంఖ్యే ఎక్కువ ముఖ్యం.
Does the close-grip push-up burn fat from the triceps?
No. No exercise removes fat from the area it trains — spot reduction has been tested repeatedly and does not happen. Training the triceps builds the muscle underneath; where body fat is lost from is decided by an overall calorie deficit and by your genetics, not by which exercise you chose.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
మూలం·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
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