Incline vs Decline Pushups – Which is Best?
The pushup is the most popular of all bodyweight exercises, and has tons of variations, each with its own benefits. By simply adjusting the position of your body you can change the exercise entirely. So what is the difference between incline vs decline pushups? Which is best for you?
What are Incline Pushups?
An incline pushup is a variation of the pushup which places your hands at an elevated position. Because your body is at an incline, the variation gets its name.
How to do Incline Pushups?
- Place your hands on an elevated surface, shoulder width apart.
- Move your feet backwards.
- Tighten your abs and glutes in order to straighten your body.
- Bend your arms at the elbows in order to lower your chest to just above the elevated surface.
- Pause at the bottom.
- Extend your arms at the elbows in order to raise your chest back to the starting position. This is 1 repetition.
What are Decline Pushups?
A decline pushup is a variation of the pushup which places your feet at an elevated position. Because your body is at a decline, the variation gets its name.
How to do Decline Pushups?
- Place your hands, shoulder width apart, just in front of the elevated surface.
- Lift your feet, one at a time, onto the elevated surface.
- Tighten your abs and glutes in order to straighten your body.
- Bend your arms at the elbows in order to lower your chest to just above the floor.
- Pause at the bottom.
- Extend your arms at the elbows in order to lift your chest back into the starting position. This is 1 repetition.
Incline vs Decline Pushups – What is the Difference?
There are several differences between incline pushups and decline pushups that can determine whether either one is best for you.
1. Different Technique Involved
The most obvious difference here is that incline pushups and decline pushups have different techniques. One places your hands at an elevated position whereas the other places your feet at an elevated position.
This requires you to use different muscles to move your body in different ways.
2. Incline vs Decline Pushups – Lower vs Upper Chest
Because of the position of your hands in relation to your body, these variations of the pushup target different parts of the chest.
Because the incline pushup uses the pectoralis major to move the arm in a downwards direction, it targets the lower chest.
Whereas the decline pushup requires you to move your arm in an upwards, overhead direction. This targets the upper chest.
3. Decline Pushups Work Shoulders More
The shoulder muscles play a role in all forms of pushups. However, when comparing incline vs decline pushups it is clear that the shoulders play different roles.
In the incline pushup, the shoulder muscles mainly work to stabilize the shoulder joint. However, because the decline pushup requires you to move your hands overhead, the shoulder or deltoid muscles have a more active role.
The use of the shoulders in the movement increases as the level of elevation increases. As a result, you can use decline pushups to work shoulders.
4. Incline vs Decline Pushups – Core Engagement
The core muscles play a role in all pushup variations to keep your body in a straight position and prevent your hips from sagging. These muscles are mainly the abdominal muscles and the hip muscles.
During incline pushups, your body is in a more upright position. Therefore, your core muscles do not have to work as hard to raise your hips and keep your body straight.
However, because your body is in a declined position during decline pushups, more of your bodyweight acts to pull your hips downwards. This makes your core muscles have to work harder.
5. Incline vs Decline Pushups – Beginner vs Advanced
A regular pushup requires you to lift approximately 65% of your bodyweight. However, by manipulating your body position, you can manipulate the weight you have to lift and thus the resistance you experience.
For incline pushups, a 30cm or 1 foot elevation requires you to lift around 55% of your bodyweight. Whereas a 60cm or 2 foot elevation requires you to lift around 40% of your bodyweight. Hence, the higher you place your hands, the easier the exercise becomes.
In comparison, for decline pushups, a 30cm or 1 foot elevation requires you to lift around 70% of your bodyweight and a 60cm or 2 foot elevation requires you to lift around 75% of your bodyweight. Hence, the higher you place your feet the harder the exercise becomes.
Therefore, in comparison to regular pushups, the incline pushup is an easier variation whereas the decline pushup is a harder variation. This makes incline pushups more suited for beginners and decline pushups more suited for more advanced lifters.
Incline vs Decline Pushups – Which is Best?
There is no best exercise here. There is only the exercise that is best for you. You need to take into consideration your goals and level of training experience to decide whether incline or decline pushups are right for you.
If you’re just starting off and can’t do a pushup then maybe incline pushups are the best for you. However, if you’re a bit more advanced and your goal is to grow your upper chest then decline pushups would be best for you.
There isn’t one winner between incline vs decline pushups, and any sound workout program can take advantage of both variations to get the most benefits out of them.
