What muscles do one-arm push-ups work?

The chest and triceps of the working arm press, with the front of that shoulder assisting. Your midsection works hard holding your body against rotating, which is the demand this variation adds and the one that usually decides the set.

Is a one-arm push-up twice as hard as a normal one?

Not in a way you can calculate. Your feet spread wide and your hand sits under the center of your chest, so the load is not simply split in half and doubled. The extra difficulty comes mostly from resisting rotation.

How do I train for a one-arm push-up?

Archer push-ups, with both hands down and one arm nearly straight, then progressively less help from that arm. Doing one-arm attempts that rotate does not build the position.

How wide should my feet be?

Wide to start, and narrower over months. Foot width is the load setting: a broad stance gives you a big base and less rotation to hold, and bringing the feet together is the last progression rather than the starting point.

Why does my body twist during one-arm push-ups?

Because there is a turning force acting on you the whole time and your trunk is what resists it. When it gives out, you roll. That is the honest end of the set, and widening your feet is the way to make the next one holdable.

Where should my supporting hand go?

Under the center of your chest. Placing it out under your shoulder brings it closer to underneath your weight, which cuts the rotation demand and makes it a noticeably easier exercise.

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Bodyweight · advanced · chest

One arm push ups

Also called One arm pushup, Single arm push-up, One handed push-up.

The short answer

A one-arm push-up puts one hand under the middle of your chest, the other behind your back, your feet wide, and lowers and presses your body on that single arm. Your chest and triceps press, as in any push-up. The new job is your midsection: with the only support under the center of your body, your weight sits off to one side of it and something has to stop you rolling over. Most people who stall on this stall on the twisting, not on the pressing.

How to do it

Step oneBegin in a wide push-up stance with one hand placed in the center of your chest and the other placed behind your back.
Step twoEngage your core tightly and keep your body in a rigid plank position.
Step threeLower your chest toward the floor by bending the working arm, keeping your elbow close to your body.
Step fourPause briefly at the bottom, then press explosively back up to the starting position.
Step fiveComplete the desired number of repetitions, then switch arms.

What usually goes wrong

Each starts with what you would notice.

Your free shoulder opens up toward the ceiling as you descend.

WhyYour body has rotated. With one hand supporting a body that is not centered over it, there is a constant turning force, and rolling toward your free side is the path of least resistance.

FixKeep both shoulders facing the floor and hold your free arm pinned behind your back rather than letting it float. Film one set from the front; the roll is obvious on video and almost invisible from inside the movement.

Your hips twist, or the hip on your free side drops.

WhyThe same rotation, arriving at the other end of your body. The trunk stopped holding the line between your shoulders and your hips, so the two halves are now doing different things.

FixSqueeze your glutes hard and think of your hips and shoulders as one board that turns or does not turn together. If the hips give way before your arm does, the set is over.

Your supporting hand has crept out to the side.

WhyA hand further out sits closer to under your bodyweight, which reduces the turning force. It makes the rep easier without looking any different, which is why it happens without a decision.

FixPlace the hand under the center of your chest before each set and check it stays there. Under your shoulder is a different, easier exercise.

You brought your feet together because it looked better and now you cannot do one.

WhyFoot width is the load dial on this movement. A wide stance gives you a broad base and less rotation to resist. Narrowing it takes both away at once.

FixGo back to a wide stance and bring the feet in an inch at a time over weeks. The narrow-footed version is the end of the progression, not the entry to it.

One-arm push-up or weighted push-up

Both are what people reach for once floor push-ups stop being hard, and they are not two versions of the same idea.

A weight on your back adds load and changes nothing else. Your body stays symmetrical, both arms press, and you can add a small amount at a time for years. It is the direct way to get stronger at the push-up you already do.

One arm adds load to that arm and introduces a job that was not there before: your trunk resisting a rotation. The pressing muscles are not the only thing being asked more of, and for most people they are not even the limit.

If pressing strength is the goal, weight is the honest route. If you want the one-arm push-up because you want the one-arm push-up, that is a fine reason, and it is a skill with a trunk requirement rather than a heavier press.

One-arm push-up or archer push-up

The archer push-up keeps both hands on the floor, wide apart, and bends only one arm while the other stays almost straight out to the side.

It is the useful middle step, because it scales both of the things that make the one-arm version hard. The straight arm still carries some weight, so the working arm presses less than your whole bodyweight, and it also gives you something to brace against, so there is less rotation to resist.

The straight arm can then do less and less as you improve. Slide it further out, rest it on a ball you let roll, or take the fingertips off the floor. Each step hands more of both jobs to the working side.

Going straight from a standard push-up to a one-arm attempt usually produces a rep that rotates, and rotating reps do not train the thing you are trying to build.

It is not a push-up with double the weight

The obvious way to think about this exercise is that one arm now does what two used to do. It is a reasonable guess and it is not what happens.

Two things break the arithmetic. Your feet go wide, which spreads your base and changes how your weight is distributed between your hands and feet. And your supporting hand sits under the middle of your chest rather than under your shoulder, so it is not simply taking over one half of a symmetrical load.

We are not going to give you a number for what one arm actually carries, because we have not found one measured and we are not going to make it up. What we can tell you is where the difficulty comes from.

It comes from rotation. Your bodyweight is pulling down on a body whose only support is a single point, and the turning force that creates has to be held by your trunk for every second of every rep. That is why people who train this by pressing harder tend to stay stuck, and why narrowing your feet by an inch feels like such a large jump.

Read that as a description of what the exercise is rather than as a reason to avoid it. It is a press and an anti-rotation exercise at once, which makes it genuinely worth having and a poor substitute for simply pressing heavier if that is what you are after.

What it is for

One arm push ups are an advanced bodyweight exercise targeting the chest, with secondary engagement of the shoulders, upper arms, and abs. Performing the push-up on a single arm demands maximum chest and triceps strength, along with exceptional core stability to prevent rotation.

Questions people ask

What muscles do one-arm push-ups work?: The chest and triceps of the working arm press, with the front of that shoulder assisting. Your midsection works hard holding your body against rotating, which is the demand this variation adds and the one that usually decides the set.
Is a one-arm push-up twice as hard as a normal one?: Not in a way you can calculate. Your feet spread wide and your hand sits under the center of your chest, so the load is not simply split in half and doubled. The extra difficulty comes mostly from resisting rotation.
How do I train for a one-arm push-up?: Archer push-ups, with both hands down and one arm nearly straight, then progressively less help from that arm. Doing one-arm attempts that rotate does not build the position.
How wide should my feet be?: Wide to start, and narrower over months. Foot width is the load setting: a broad stance gives you a big base and less rotation to hold, and bringing the feet together is the last progression rather than the starting point.
Why does my body twist during one-arm push-ups?: Because there is a turning force acting on you the whole time and your trunk is what resists it. When it gives out, you roll. That is the honest end of the set, and widening your feet is the way to make the next one holdable.
Where should my supporting hand go?: Under the center of your chest. Placing it out under your shoulder brings it closer to underneath your weight, which cuts the rotation demand and makes it a noticeably easier exercise.