Diamond Push-ups
The diamond push-up is a close-hand push-up with your thumbs and index fingers touching under your chest. The narrow hand position shifts the work toward your triceps while your chest still contributes, with your shoulders assisting. Pick it when you want more triceps from bodyweight work. Do it from your knees to make it easier.
Muscles worked
The diamond push-ups trains the triceps and chest, with shoulders helping.
Weekly sets for triceps
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for triceps, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the diamond push-ups
- 01Kneel and place your hands under your chest, touching thumbs and index fingers to form a diamond shape.
- 02Step your feet back into a plank, with your shoulders stacked slightly in front of your hands.
- 03Lower your chest toward your hands, letting your elbows travel back along your ribs instead of out wide.
- 04Stop when your chest is just above the backs of your hands.
- 05Press back up by straightening your elbows hard, keeping your body in one straight line.
Coaching cues
- Elbows brush your ribs
- Chest to the diamond
- Lock out and squeeze the triceps
Common mistakes
- Letting your elbows flare wide turns it into a sloppy regular push-up; keep them tight to your sides on the way down.
- Placing your hands under your face instead of your chest strains the wrists; slide them down to sternum level.
- Dropping only your head toward the floor fakes the depth; lower your whole body until your chest nears your hands.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Once the top of the range is easy, Swole.fit suggests a harder variation or added load.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Diamond Push-ups alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your diamond push-ups free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.