Summary
- Diamond push-ups engage the triceps, chest, shoulders, and core, offering a powerful full upper-body workout using just bodyweight.
- This variation places greater emphasis on the triceps and pecs compared to traditional push-ups, making it a top choice for arm and chest development.
- By recruiting deltoids and core muscles, diamond push-ups support shoulder joint stability and promote better mobility.
- Incorrect form—like flared elbows, hands placed too far forward, or dropped hips—can cause strain and reduce effectiveness.
- Progress or regress the exercise with incline, decline, and wall diamond push-up variations, allowing for customization based on your fitness level.
Push ups target several muscle groups and you can easily increase or decrease the intensity of the workout by changing up the placement of your feet or hands.
Diamond push ups is one such variation of push ups that recruit your shoulder, chest, abdominals and chest muscles. They are a more advanced variation of the classic push up, and are also known as triangle push ups.
These push ups are a great way to build upper body strength and endurance. They also help to strengthen the core muscles, which can help with stability and balance.
Try this upper body workout at home to build strength!
How To Do Diamond Push-Ups?
Diamond push ups can easily be added to your workout regime. You can do 3 sets of 15 repetitions to get the maximum out of the exercise. It is also crucial that you follow the right technique throughout the sets.
Here is how it’s done:
- Start by placing your hands and knees on the floor. Your toes should be placed on the ground. Make sure your hand placement is narrow as well. Bring your hands together in front of you, connecting your index fingers and thumb. You will make a diamond shape with your hands.
- Lift your knees off the ground and extend your legs fully. You will be in a traditional push up position, except your shoulders will be narrower and you’ll be forming a diamond shape with your hands.
- Make sure your legs are shoulder-width apart, your back is neutral and core engaged.
- Keep your chin tucked in and squeeze your glutes.
- Slowly bend your elbows and lower your body into a push up. Make sure your elbows are tucked into your rib cage, pause for a couple of seconds, making sure your body is parallel to the floor.
- As you push up, your shoulder blades will protect your alignment and you’ll feel a squeeze in your chest and triceps.
- Do two to three sets of diamond push ups with 12-15 reps each.
Ladies, if you struggle to get this done then try banded pushups for women
Major Benefits of Diamond Push Ups
Push ups are a great exercise for the upper body. If you are someone who wants to add some spice to your regular exercise regime, start doing variations of the workouts you already do.
1. Tricep Activation
Diamond push ups are a variation of the traditional pushup that places more emphasis on the triceps and less on the chest. The position of your hands is closer together which will allow you to activate your triceps more than in a traditional push-up.
According to a study conducted by American Council on Exercise (ACE), diamond push ups are one of the most effective exercises for triceps. This variation is also great for people who have any kind of shoulder issues.
Get those power pythons with these triceps workouts on your next arm day!
2. Great For Chest
There is a myth that says that diamond push ups don’t activate the chest muscles compared to a traditional push up. The reality is that they do put more stress on your pec major and pec minor, compared to a regular push up.
Also, the wider your shoulders the more strain you are putting on your shoulder blades, making you susceptible to injury, if there is misalignment in the form.
6 strength and muscle-building chest exercises to build a chiseled chest!
3. Strong Shoulders
The push-ups target all your shoulder muscles, especially deltoid. Whereas, this variation of push ups target your shoulder joint, which is great for doing different variations. This variation also helps provide freedom of mobility for your shoulders.
Achieve those shoulder boulders with these 4 shoulder cable workouts.
Your Workout Gear Matters
You need men’s gym clothes for an effective sweat-session. Without the right kind of performance gear, you won’t be comfortable during your workouts. The worst part is – your range of motion will be limited as well! For the best upper body gains, you could consider wearing:
- Stringers
- Tanks
- Gym T-shirts
With your breathable gear picked out, it’s time to get those pecs working!
Common Mistakes
Diamond push ups are an advanced variation of the more common push-up exercise in which a single point of contact is maintained between the exerciser's hands and the floor.
This variation is more difficult than normal push ups because it requires greater strength, stability, and a strong core. These push ups are not for everyone but for those who can do them, they provide an excellent workout.
The hands should never extend past the shoulders when doing these types of exercises to prevent injury from happening. However, there are some common mistakes that should be avoided when performing diamond push ups.
1. Hands Going Forward
When doing this exercise make sure your hands aren’t placed too far above your shoulders. When your hands are above your shoulders, it can be a cause for injury. Excessive stress on your joints and muscles can lead to injury. The core and gluteal muscles are also not engaged making the hips appear higher in an odd angle.
Learn how to do hip thrusts to build stronger gluteal muscles!
2. Flared Out Elbows
Perhaps the most common mistake made by people doing diamond push ups is not tucking their elbows next to the rib cage when descending towards a push up. Your torso and arms should be at a 45 degree angle and your elbows should be tucked in and pointed towards your feet.
Strengthen your chest muscles and improve your form with these 4 resistance bands chest workouts.
3. Dropped Hips
When performing diamond push ups, it is important to keep your body aligned. Your hips should be on the same level as your shoulders in the starting position. If your hips are hanging too low, it will strain your lower back, if too high-up, it will strain your shoulders. Straight body will level out the pressure and target the muscles that should be targeted.
Discover some tips to really target your upper chest muscles.
Variations Of Diamond Push Ups
Once you have successfully mastered doing diamond push ups, you can try other variations to target different muscle groups.
1. Decline Push Ups
How to do decline push-ups. Source: Verywellfit
- Perform decline push ups by placing a chair or bench below your feet.
- Doing so will elevate your feet, targeting your upper pecs.
- Lower yourself down on the ground
- Push yourself back up, squeezing your chest muscles together
- This is one rep.
Ladies, don't ignore your upper body. Get sculpted with these 5 chest workouts for women.
2. Incline Push Ups
How to do incline push-ups. Source: Verywellfit
This variation of push up puts a lot less pressure on your biceps because your upper body is elevated.
- It mostly targets your core and chest muscles.
- Place your hands slightly farther than shoulder-width apart on an inclined surface.
- Keep your toes on the ground and your legs fully extended.
- With a neutral back, push yourself onto the ground.
- Lift while squeezing your lower chest muscles.
- This is one rep.
Build a well-rounded chest with these 8 lower chest exercises.
3. Wall Diamond Push Ups
How to do wall diamond pushups. Source: Verywellfit
- This particular variation is for those who have a hard time doing regular diamond push ups.
- You place your hands on the walls forming a diamond shape with your hands and push against the wall.
- Keep your elbows tucked in and core engaged through the movement.
- Then push yourself back onto the starting position, extending your arms and squeezing your chest.
- This is one rep.
Try this explosive chest workout at home to get your pecs fired up.
Key Takeaways
Performing diamond push ups properly can help you build stronger chest muscles a lot quicker. You don’t need any equipment to do this exercise, and it can be done anywhere and anytime.
Even if you are not doing any other variations, you will still benefit greatly from adding diamond push ups in your exercise regimen.
FAQs
What are diamond push-ups good for?
Diamond push-ups are excellent for targeting your triceps, chest (especially the inner pecs), and shoulders. They also engage your core and improve upper body endurance. Due to their narrow hand placement, they’re ideal for developing arm strength and enhancing muscle definition in the upper body.
Why are diamond push-ups so hard?
Diamond push-ups are more challenging than standard push-ups because they demand greater tricep activation and put more strain on stabilizing muscles. The narrow hand position increases the load on the triceps and core, requiring better balance, form, and upper body strength to perform them correctly.
Which push-up is best for the chest?
For chest development, the traditional wide-grip push-up is one of the most effective. It emphasizes the pectoral muscles more than narrower variations. Incline push-ups are great for the lower chest, while decline and diamond push-ups can target the upper and inner chest, respectively.
What is the hardest push-up?
One of the hardest push-up variations is the planche push-up, which requires immense strength, balance, and control. Other advanced variations include the one-arm push-up and the archer push-up, all of which test upper body power, core stability, and joint control to the max.
