Clock Push-Up
Clock Push-Up Exercise Description
The Clock Push-Up is a bodyweight horizontal press that challenges upper-body strength and whole‑body stability by changing hand positions around a “clock.” Primary movers are the pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, and triceps brachii. The serratus anterior, rotator cuff, rectus abdominis, and obliques work to stabilize the shoulder girdle and resist trunk rotation as the load shifts. By alternating staggered and angled hand placements (forward, back, and diagonal), you increase demands on scapular control, wrist alignment, and anti‑rotation while maintaining a rigid plank. The goal is smooth, controlled push-ups at each position without letting the ribs flare, the hips sag, or the shoulders shrug.
- Muscle Groups: Chest, Delts, Pecs, Shoulders, Triceps
- Target Muscles: Deltoid - Anterior, Pectoralis Major - Sternal Head, Triceps Brachii - Lateral Head
- Assisting Muscles: Pectoralis Major - Clavicular Head
- Stabilizing Muscles: External Obliques, Infraspinatus, Rectus Abdominis, Serratus Anterior, Subscapularis
- Body Area: Upper Body
- Body Parts: Arms, Chest, Shoulders, Upper Arms
- Body Surface: Back, Front
- Body Symmetry: Other
- Equipment: Bodyweight
- Exercise Patterns: Push
- Exercise Type: Strength
- Functional Grouping: Elbow Extensors, Horizontal Shoulder Adduction, Shoulder Flexors
- Joint Involvement: Multi-joint
- Muscle Location: Front Shoulder, Mid Chest, Outer Tricep
- Movement Direction: Horizontal
- Muscle Position: Anterior, Posterior
- Gender: Male
How To Do The Clock Push-Up Exercise
‘- Start in a high plank: hands under shoulders, fingers spread, wrists neutral, feet about hip-width, body in a straight line from head to heels.
– Brace your abdomen and glutes; keep your neck long and eyes on the floor slightly ahead of your hands.
– Screw your palms into the floor (gentle external rotation) to set the shoulders; avoid shrugging.
– Lower in one piece, keeping elbows roughly 30–45 degrees from your torso and forearms vertical over the wrists.
– Press straight back to the plank, maintaining a neutral spine and level hips.
– Step your right hand to 12 o’clock (slightly forward) and your left to 6 o’clock (slightly back). Square shoulders and hips to the floor.
– Perform a push-up in this staggered stance without shifting the ribs or rotating the pelvis.
– Return both hands to center.
– Move to new “times” (e.g., 1:30/7:30, 3:00/9:00, 4:30/10:30), performing one controlled push-up at each.
– Keep even pressure through the whole hand (base of index/thumb to pinky) and maintain shoulder–wrist alignment at the bottom.
– Use only ranges that let you keep a rigid plank and smooth control; if form breaks, reduce the reach.
Clock Push-Up Tips
‘- Start in a high plank with hands under shoulders, feet about hip-width, and a straight line from head to heels.
– Brace your abdomen and glutes before you move to help maintain a rigid plank and prevent ribs from flaring or hips sagging.
– Spread your fingers with wrists neutral and keep even pressure through the whole hand, from the base of the index/thumb to the pinky.
– Gently “screw” your palms into the floor to set your shoulders and avoid shrugging.
– Keep your neck long with eyes on the floor slightly ahead of your hands.
– Lower your body in one piece, keeping your spine neutral, elbows about 30–45 degrees from your torso, and forearms vertical over the wrists.
– Press straight back up to plank, maintaining level hips and a neutral spine.
– When you step to 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, square your shoulders and hips to the floor before doing the push-up.
– At each clock position, perform a controlled push-up without letting the ribs shift or the pelvis rotate.
– Use only clock positions that let you keep a rigid plank and smooth control; if your form breaks, reduce how far you reach.
Clock Push-Up Beginner Introduction
The Clock Push-Up is a bodyweight push-up variation that blends upper-body strength training with demanding full-body stability. It highlights the chest, front shoulders, and triceps while the core, sides of the waist, and muscles around the shoulders work to hold a strong plank shape. Throughout the movement, the body stays long and straight while tension spreads from the hands through the torso and into the legs.
Instead of staying in a standard hand position, this exercise rotates through different “times” on an imaginary clock face. One hand travels slightly forward while the other shifts back, then both move into angled and sideways placements. Each new setup shifts pressure across the chest and arms and challenges the shoulder blades and wrists to stay organized as the body resists twisting. The emphasis stays on smooth, controlled push-ups that look the same from the outside—no dipping hips, flaring ribs, or shrugging shoulders—even as the hands explore new locations around the clock.