pushup

A pushup is a common exercise where you lower your body toward the ground and then press yourself back up with your arms. It helps build upper body strength, especially in the chest, shoulders, and triceps, and you do not need any equipment.

You might see soldiers doing pushups in training or hear someone talk about doing twenty pushups in a row. The word is usually a noun that names the exercise or counts how many times someone does it. It is a basic part of many workout routines because it is simple, useful, and easy to do almost anywhere.

A pushup is a bodyweight exercise performed by lowering your upper body towards the ground while keeping your back straight and then pushing back up to the starting position using primarily your arms and chest muscles. It's considered a fundamental exercise for building strength and endurance in the upper body—specifically targeting the pectoral muscles (chest), triceps, anterior deltoids (shoulders), and core.

The beauty of a pushup is its accessibility; it requires no equipment beyond your own bodyweight and can be performed virtually anywhere. There are many variations to increase or decrease difficulty, such as incline pushups (easier) or decline pushups (harder). You might hear someone say they're "getting their pushups in" as part of a daily workout routine.

People often use the word when talking about fitness tests, sports practice, military training, or home workouts. It can refer to a single repetition or to the exercise in general: someone might say they did fifty pushups this morning, or that pushups are part of their regular routine. Because it is simple, effective, and easy to change for different skill levels, the pushup remains one of the most widely used exercises for improving physical fitness.