Typewriter Push-up

How to perform it

1. 1Preparation and positioning. Use a non-slip surface or stable handles. Place the hands and feet so the prescribed body line and range can be repeated without the equipment shifting. Use a wide hand position and a depth where the shoulders remain controlled during lateral travel.
2. 2Starting position. Set the hands and feet in the prescribed relationship, extend the elbows, and stack the ribcage over the pelvis. Begin in a stable top position with the feet wide enough to resist rotation.
3. 3Eccentric phase. Lower the body as one coordinated unit through the defined elbow and shoulder path. Allow normal scapular movement without collapsing or creating depth through the lower back.
4. 4Bottom position. Reach the fixed depth marker without bouncing, twisting, or losing hand contact. Use only the range that can be reversed under control.
5. 5Concentric phase / lockout. Press the support away and return to the prescribed lockout or top position. Lower into the working side, then move laterally across the low position while keeping one arm more extended.
6. 6Breathing and bracing. Inhale during the descent as appropriate, maintain moderate trunk and glute tension, and exhale through the press or landing preparation.
7. 7Valid rep. A valid repetition uses the stated hand position, depth, body line, and assistance standard from start to finish. The low lateral travel is completed under control; a normal archer push-up is not counted as the same variant.

Common mistakes

• Sagging or piking

  Fix: Stack the ribcage over the pelvis and reduce the difficulty before the trunk becomes the limiter.

• Elbows escaping

  Fix: Choose a repeatable elbow path that keeps the shoulders controlled rather than forcing a universal angle.

• Bouncing the bottom

  Fix: Lower to a fixed marker and reverse without rebound.

• Travelling too high

  Fix: Use a smaller lateral distance or an archer regression until the low position is stable.

Safety

• The low lateral transition creates high unilateral and trunk-control demands; evidence is primarily biomechanical and coaching-based.
• Choose a setup, load, assistance level, and exit strategy that allow the defined standard to be maintained; do not train through acute, sharp, electric, or worsening symptoms.

Progressions & alternatives

• regressionArcher Push-up— Use a simpler unilateral-biased path.
• progressionOne-arm Push-up— Treat one-arm pressing as a separate target requiring its own entry criteria.
• alternativeUneven Push-up— Use a stable hand-height asymmetry without low lateral travel.
• prerequisiteOne-arm Push-up— A stable typewriter can contribute to unilateral pressing preparation but is not mandatory.