Kick Through Push-Up
Kick Through Push-Up Exercise Description
The Kick Through Push-up blends a standard push-up with a rotational kick-through, creating a coordinated, whole-body bodyweight movement. In the push-up phase, the pectoralis major, triceps brachii, and anterior deltoids drive the press while the serratus anterior and other scapular stabilizers maintain shoulder position. The kick-through adds controlled trunk rotation and anti-rotation, engaging the obliques and deep core to keep a neutral spine under load. Hips move through flexion and extension as the leg threads under the body, requiring hip mobility and active control from the glutes and hamstrings while the planted foot and supporting shoulder manage weight transfer. This variation emphasizes shoulder stability, rotational control, and timing, rewarding smooth, deliberate technique over speed. It suits exercisers who already demonstrate solid plank and push-up mechanics and can maintain alignment while rotating.
- Muscle Groups: Chest, Pecs
- Target Muscles: Pectoralis Major - Sternal Head
- Assisting Muscles: Deltoid - Anterior, Triceps Brachii - Medial Head
- Stabilizing Muscles: External Obliques, Gluteus Maximus, Internal Obliques, Serratus Anterior, Subscapularis
- Body Area: Upper Body
- Body Parts: Chest
- Body Surface: Front
- Body Symmetry: Unilateral
- Equipment: Bodyweight
- Exercise Patterns: Other
- Exercise Type: Aerobic, Plyometrics
- Functional Grouping: Horizontal Shoulder Adduction
- Joint Involvement: Multi-joint
- Muscle Location: Mid Chest
- Movement Direction: Other
- Muscle Position: Anterior
- Gender: Male
How To Do The Kick Through Push-Up Exercise
‘- Start in a high plank: hands under shoulders, fingers spread; feet hip‑width; head‑to‑heels neutral.
– Brace your midsection; lightly squeeze glutes; press the floor away to stabilize the shoulder blades.
– Inhale; lower as one unit until the chest hovers above the floor, elbows roughly 45° to the torso.
– Exhale; press back to a strong plank without letting the hips sag or pike.
– Shift weight to your right hand and left foot; lift the left hand.
– Thread the right leg under toward the left side, rotating through hips and mid‑back; keep the supporting shoulder stacked; pivot on the ball of the left foot.
– Reach the right heel long without dropping the hips; pause briefly with control.
– Unwind: replant the left hand under the shoulder and return the right leg to plank.
– Perform another push-up, then mirror the kick‑through: shift to the left hand and right foot, lift the right hand, and sweep the left leg to the right.
– Keep gaze slightly ahead of the hands; breathe rhythmically (exhale on the press and thread, inhale back to plank); move smoothly—avoid elbow flare, hip sag, or using momentum.
Kick Through Push-Up Tips
‘- Set up in a straight line from head to heels with hands under shoulders, fingers spread, and feet hip‑width.
– Brace your midsection and lightly squeeze your glutes before you start moving.
– Press the floor away to stabilize your shoulder blades in both the plank and push‑up phases.
– Lower your chest as one unit until it hovers above the floor, keeping elbows roughly 45° from your torso.
– Press back to a strong plank without letting your hips sag or pike.
– During the kick‑through, keep the supporting shoulder stacked over the hand as you shift weight.
– Pivot on the ball of the planted foot to help rotate through the hips and mid‑back.
– Reach the kicking heel long without dropping the hips, and pause briefly with control.
– Keep your gaze slightly ahead of your hands to help maintain alignment.
– Breathe rhythmically—exhale on the press and leg thread, inhale as you return to plank—and move smoothly without using momentum.
Kick Through Push-Up Beginner Introduction
The Kick Through Push-up is a dynamic bodyweight push-up variation that blends upper-body pressing with a flowing rotational leg sweep. It begins from a plank-style position and moves through a regular push-up, where the chest, triceps, and front shoulders handle most of the pushing work while muscles around the shoulder blade area help keep the joint stable. From there, the body rotates as one leg passes underneath, creating a smooth transition from a straight, braced posture into a more open, twisting shape.
This sweeping motion challenges the abs and side abs to hold the spine steady as the hips bend and straighten. The moving leg and the standing leg work together with the glutes and back of the thighs to guide and support the turn, while one foot and the opposite shoulder carry much of the load. The movement places a strong emphasis on controlled rotation, precise body alignment, and coordinated timing, and is often chosen by people who are already confident with basic planks and standard push-ups and want a more complex full-body pattern.