The shoulder tap push-up is an excellent bodyweight exercise for building muscle and strength in the upper body. Now, the chest is the main muscle group targeted but the shoulders, triceps, and core also get worked heavily. By touching your shoulder after a rep, you allow for a bigger chest contraction but you also engage your core which has to balance and stabilize your body since you’re holding your body up with one hand.
So, beginners may have a difficult time performing this exercise especially if you cannot yet perform a regular push-up. But… lucky for you, the exercise can be performed on your knees or even on a wall is physical strength is limited. So with that being said, try it out for yourself as it’s a great functional exercise.
In This Exercise
- Target Muscle Group: Pectoralis Major, Rectus Abdominus, Obliques
- Type: Strength
- Mechanics: Compound
- Equipment: Floor Mat
- Difficulty: Intermediate
Exercise Instructions
- Get into a push-up position on the floor and spread your feet out wide.
- Then, lower your body down with your arms until your chest stops a few inches from the floor. Inhale during this portion of the exercise.
- Now, push yourself back until your arms are straight. Exhale during this portion of the exercise.
- Touch your left shoulder with your right hand.
- Then, perform another push-up but touch your right shoulder with your left hand this time.
- Repeat for the desired number of reps while alternating touching your shoulders with the opposite hand.
Variations & Tips:
- You can perform this exercise on your knees if you don’t have enough upper body strength.
- Spreading your feet out wide helps you to maintain balance while touching your shoulders.
- The shoulder tap push-up engages your core and requires full body balance since you have to use your core to stabilize your body while you’re tapping your shoulders.
- Your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core are muscles which get stimulated during this exercise.
