Training guide
A clap push-up is a push-up done so explosively that your hands leave the floor long enough to clap once before you catch yourself on soft, bent elbows. It's a power exercise for people who already have solid push-ups: it trains your chest, triceps and shoulders to produce force fast. It isn't a better way to build a bigger chest.
In lab studies, the clap loads your hands faster than other plyometric push-ups, and nobody has collected injury data for plyometric push-ups, so it's best built in steps: wall bounces, fast incline push-ups, plyometric push-ups from your knees and toes, then the clap.
This guide covers each step on the 3D figure, what explosive push-ups build, how many to do and how often, your wrists, elbows and shoulders, and the warning signs.
From a strong push-up position on a mat, lower under control, then press so hard that your hands leave the floor. Clap once, bring your hands back under your shoulders and land with soft, bent elbows. Reset before the next rep while you learn.
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The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) rates the plyometric push-up advanced and asks for strength and push-up form first. Our move pages ask for solid push-ups for several sets, or about 15 steady ones: coaching practice, not a tested number.
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Wall bounces, fast incline push-ups on a worktop, plyometric push-ups from your knees, then from your toes with your hands just leaving the floor, then the clap. A plyometrics review lists clap push-ups at a wall, from the knees and in the full position as beginner, intermediate and advanced steps; the order on this page is our editorial ladder.
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Upper-body plyometric training improved medicine ball throws reliably and strength a little, with only a small, low-certainty gain in arm muscle. For a bigger chest, hard sets of ordinary or harder push-ups, about 10 or more a week, do more.
3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5, with full rest, early in your session while you're fresh (NASM), twice a week with 48 hours between. End the set when your hands stop leaving the floor cleanly or your landings get heavy.
You land on bent-back wrists at speed, a position that raised pressure in the wrist joint in a lab study. Nobody has collected injury data for clap or plyometric push-ups, so we can't tell you how often they hurt people; earn them, keep the reps low and land softly.
A plyometric push-up: from a strong plank, lower under control, press explosively so your hands leave the floor, clap once in the air, and land with your hands back under your shoulders on soft, bent elbows.
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Clap push-up, clapping push-up, plyometric or plyo push-up and explosive push-up overlap. On our site the plyometric push-up is the version where your hands leave the floor with no clap, and the clap push-up adds the clap. Drop push-ups from low boxes and feet-raised plyometric push-ups come later; double, triple and behind-the-back claps, and the superman push-up, where hands and feet leave the floor, are tricks. The superman exercise is something else (our supermans guide).
Your chest and triceps drive it, with your front shoulders, the muscle that holds your shoulder blades to your ribs (serratus anterior) and your trunk. The trunk works harder than in a standard push-up: in 10 adults, ballistic (explosive) push-ups needed more muscle activity and loaded the lower spine more.
NASM rates the plyometric push-up advanced, and a plyometrics review puts clap push-ups in the full position at the advanced level. The clap version loaded the hands faster than other plyometric push-ups in one study, and had the highest peak force under the dominant hand in another.
Your hands carry most of your weight in a push-up, about two-thirds at the bottom, as our push-up guide reports, so heavier people land with more force; kneeling versions put less force through the hands. In one trial, men gained more power than women from the same programme, though both gained strength. Stiff or sore wrists need a higher incline first.
The force studies are small groups of active young people, mostly men, doing a few reps in a lab. No trial has tested clap push-ups on their own, and nobody has recorded injuries from them. We say so where a point rests on them.
From our clap push-up move page and NASM's plyometric push-up page; the pause between reps and the point to end a set are editorial.
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The movement on the figure: Clap push-up
From our plyometric push-up move page, which asks for 15 or more steady push-ups first and suggests learning it from the knees. NASM's dose is 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 with complete rest.
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The movement on the figure: Plyometric push-up
This order is our editorial ladder, in line with the plyometrics review's wall, kneeling and full clap push-ups. Move on when every landing is soft and quiet. Push-ups, 3 sets of 8 to 15, moving on at 3 sets of 15 (our push-up progression); wall bounces, 2 sets of 8 to 12 (the move page's editorial starting point); fast incline push-ups with your hands on a worktop or bench, 3 sets of 5, pushing so fast your hands leave it (editorial); plyometric push-ups from your knees, then a clap from your knees, 3 sets of 3 to 5 (editorial; the knee push-up demo shows the position); plyometric push-ups from your toes, then clap push-ups, 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 with full rest (NASM). The medicine-ball chest push, 3 sets of 5 (our power and balance workout), trains the same quick push without a landing. Harder: drop push-ups from low boxes, then feet-raised plyometric push-ups onto steps, 1 set of 5 to 10, or 3 sets once you train for a sport, with a minute's rest, twice a week (their move pages' dose, from the plyometrics review); neither has a 3D demo.
3D demoPush-upIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoElastic wall bounceBeginner · A wall
3D demoIncline push-upBeginner · A bench or box
3D demoKnee push-upBeginner · No equipment
3D demoPlyometric push-upAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoClap push-upAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoMedicine-ball chest pushBeginner · Medicine ball
Drop push-up from boxesIntermediate · A stepFeet-raised plyometric push-up onto stepsAdvanced · A bench or box + A stepIn 22 active men, the clap push-up loaded the hands faster than push-ups dropped from boxes 3.8, 7.6 and 11.4 cm high, with a shorter contact and similar peak force; the dominant arm loaded faster. In 21 men, it had the highest peak force under the dominant hand of four versions, the most elbow bend on landing and a flight as high as the 11.4 cm drop: the authors call it the most intense of the versions tested.
In 27 active men, fast push-ups that didn't leave the floor produced the highest force and rate of force development with no impact, and push-ups dropped from kneeling the highest impact. Kneeling plyometric push-ups put less force through the hands than full ones in 37 commandos, and produced the least force and power in 35 young adults, in whom a weight vest didn't raise peak power. Hand widths of 120 to 170% of shoulder width gave similar power in 10 men.
In 15 male rugby players, the plyometric push-up produced more force than a standard push-up through most of the push.
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In 10 adults, ballistic (explosive) push-ups needed more muscle activity and loaded the lower spine more than standard push-ups.
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In 57 women, knee push-ups raised the pressure inside the tummy to a median of 15.3 cmH2O (centimetres of water, a pressure unit), below walking (24.6) and far below jumping (91.2), and push-ups provoked leaking in 1.3% of 452 women CrossFit competitors. Clap push-ups weren't measured, but our reading is that they suit people who can't jump yet.
Across 35 studies of upper-body plyometric training with 1,412 young people (30 of them pooled), mostly lasting 8 weeks at a median of 2 sessions a week, it improved medicine ball throws (an effect size of 0.64), sport throwing (0.55) and maximal strength a little (0.39, very low certainty). One injury, an ankle sprain, was reported.
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Arm muscle size grew a little (an effect size of 0.64), but in only 3 studies of 78 people, with low certainty.
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An earlier review of 11 randomised trials called the results inconclusive, so treat the gains as likely but modest.
In 40 students, 6 weeks of upper-body plyometrics, three times a week, including plyometric push-ups from the knees, raised the bench press by about 10% in both men and women, with larger power gains in the men and no injuries.
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In 18 men, push-ups set to a load matched to 40% of the bench press built as much chest and triceps muscle and strength as bench pressing over 8 weeks, but didn't improve medicine ball throws. In 23 men, progressive push-ups raised bench strength like bench pressing over 4 weeks.
Muscle grows with light or heavy loads when sets are hard, with about 10 or more sets a week; training to failure adds no clear extra growth. Power improves with moderate loads, low to moderate volume and a fast lifting phase, which is where clap push-ups fit.
We found no trial of clap push-ups on their own, no injury data for clap or plyometric push-ups, no study of how many push-ups you need first, and no norms for how many clap push-ups people can do.
NASM lists straight-elbow landings as a mistake: catch on soft, bent elbows.
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Keep your trunk rigid from head to heels at take-off and landing, as NASM and our move page say.
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Bring your hands back under your shoulders after the clap (our cue).
Clapping before you've pushed high enough brings your hands back late. Skip the clap and just let your hands leave the floor until the landing is quiet, as our move page says.
NASM says to stop before fatigue spoils the landing; our move page says do them fresh, never at the end of a hard set.
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Keep your fingers forwards: our push-up guide notes that turning the hands inward raised shearing forces at the elbow.
Wall bounces, 2 sets of 8 to 12: the move page's editorial starting point.
3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5, with complete rest between sets: NASM's plyometric push-up dose.
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5 to 10 reps a set, 1 set of each exercise for active people and 3 for athletes, 60 seconds between exercises, twice a week with 48 hours between, for 6 to 8 weeks.
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A review suggests 50 to 100 upper-body plyometric reps a session; while you learn, about 20 to 30 is plenty (our editorial starting point).
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First, after your warm-up and before strength work, while you're fresh.
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Every rep fast, with a soft landing. End the set when your hands stop leaving the floor cleanly or your hips sag, rather than counting reps in reserve (editorial).
More sets of crisp single claps, then drop push-ups from low boxes, as the plyometrics review progresses them. Move up when 4 or 5 sets of 5 feel crisp in two sessions running (our editorial rule).
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In 8 donated wrists, a push-up with the wrist bent back raised peak pressure in part of the wrist joint against a straight-wrist knuckle position. Clap push-ups land on that position at speed (our reading).
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Warm your wrists up first, land on soft elbows, and practise on an incline until your catch is reliable. While your wrists are sore, do the power steps on a bench or worktop, or swap them for the medicine-ball chest push. Our wrist pain from push-ups guide's rule: about 5 out of 10 or less, settling within about half an hour, no worse the next morning.
Practise on a mat, and from an incline, until your landings are reliable, so a miss doesn't drop your face to the floor (our suggestion).
Leave clap push-ups out with wrist, elbow or shoulder pain, as our plyometric push-up move page says, and with a shoulder that slips or gives way, as our archer push-up guide says.
Ballistic (explosive) push-ups loaded the lower spine more than standard ones in a lab study. With back pain, keep to standard push-ups.
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Nobody has recorded injuries from clap or plyometric push-ups, so this advice is caution, not evidence of harm.
The wrist and forearm flow, 60 seconds (our gymnastics conditioning and push-up challenge workouts); quadruped wrist rocks, 10 rocks in each hand position (our wrist and forearm routine); scapular push-ups, 2 × 10 (our push-up progression); the straight-arm plank, 3 holds of 15 to 30 seconds (its move page's dose); feet-elevated push-ups, 3 sets of 8 to 12, and archer push-ups, 3 sets of 5 each side, for pressing strength (our push-up progression); and band rows to balance the pushing, 3 sets of 10 to 15, stopping 2 to 3 reps short, with 60 to 90 seconds' rest (its move page's dose).
3D demoWrist & forearm flowBeginner · No equipment
3D demoQuadruped wrist rocksBeginner · No equipment
3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoStraight-arm plank (high plank)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoFeet-elevated push-upAdvanced · A bench or box
3D demoArcher push-upAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor pointThe clap push-up progression takes you from wall bounces to the clap; the push-up progression builds the push-ups you need first; the power and balance workout uses the medicine-ball chest push and fast incline push-ups; the upper body workout at home builds pressing strength; and the surf strength workout uses plyometric push-ups.
A 25-minute power ladder to the clap push-up: a wrist and shoulder warm-up, wall bounces, fast incline push-ups, plyometric and clap push-ups, then strength work.
25 minIntermediate12 movesA wall, A bench or boxWork up to full push-ups: wall, incline and knee push-ups, then the floor push-up and harder variations.
15 minBeginner8 movesA wall, A bench or boxA 40-minute session of fast sit-to-stands, step-ups and medicine-ball pushes for power, then balance holds and steps beside a counter.
40 minBeginner17 movesA wall, A bench or boxAn upper body workout at home with no gym: push-ups, band rows, pike push-ups, face pulls, close-grip push-ups and Y-T-W raises, with dumbbell options.
30 minIntermediate13 movesA band, An anchor pointA 50-minute gym session for surfers: pull-ups and dips for paddling, plyo push-ups and pop-ups, rotator cuff and upper-back work, landings and side planks.
50 minIntermediate17 movesA band, Pull-up barThe 30-day push-up challenge builds your push-ups; the calisthenics plan builds bodyweight strength across the week.
A free 30-day push-up challenge, from wall to archer push-ups: 3 short sessions a week, optional practice days and a push-up test at each end.
3 training days15 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week calisthenics plan for beginners: three bodyweight sessions a week with push-up, pull-up, squat and dip ladders, and a bar if you have one.
3 training days40 minBeginnerThe British Heart Foundation advises avoiding exercises that use your whole body as the weight, such as press-ups, as our push-up guide reports. Explosive push-ups aren't for you without your heart team's advice.
With controlled high blood pressure, low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing is safe: breathe out on every push. With blood pressure that isn't controlled, ask your GP first.
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The NHS advises against starting a new vigorous activity in pregnancy, and against activities with a risk of falling. Keep to the push-ups you already do, on an incline as your bump grows (our suggestion).
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Leave them out, and use the medicine-ball chest push or fast incline push-ups while you see a GP or physiotherapist.
Push-ups put little pressure on the pelvic floor in lab and survey data, so clap push-ups can be a power option if you're avoiding jumps (our reading).
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that doesn't go away, feels tight, heavy or like squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
If you haven't exercised for some time or have a medical condition, speak to your GP first, as the NHS advises. Get advice before explosive work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
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See a GP after any faint, and for dizziness that won't go away or keeps coming back.
Contact NHS 111 for severe wrist pain, a snap, grinding or popping noise at the time of an injury, a wrist you can't move or hold things with, or one that has changed shape or colour. After a fall onto your hand, pain at the base of the thumb on the back of the wrist needs checking the same day, even if it moves well, as our wrist pain from push-ups guide says. See a GP if wrist pain hasn't improved after 2 weeks, keeps coming back, or comes with tingling or loss of feeling.
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Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E for severe arm pain that makes it hard to move your arm, a snapping noise or a change of shape after an injury, or an arm that tingles or feels numb. A pop at the back of the elbow during a push, then pain, swelling or weakness straightening your arm, needs the same, as our archer push-up guide says. Call 999 if arm pain comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest.
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Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, or pain that started after a fall or injury. See a GP if it's getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
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If you land on your face or head and feel unwell, drowsy or confused afterwards, get help: call 999 if someone has fallen and may have injured their head.
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After a big or unusual session, such as a push-up challenge, severe muscle pain, swelling or weakness with dark urine needs same-day help: NHS 111, or A&E if you feel very unwell. Severe exertion, including calisthenics, is among the causes of muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis).
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Across 35 studies, upper-body plyometrics improved throwing power reliably but arm muscle size only a little, in 3 studies of 78 people with low certainty. Push-ups set to a moderate load built as much chest muscle as a light bench press, and growth rose with about 10 or more hard sets a week. Use clap push-ups for speed and ordinary or harder push-ups for size.
They train something useful: upper-body plyometrics improved medicine ball throws and strength a little, and a 6-week programme with knee plyometric push-ups raised the bench press about 10%. But nobody has collected injury data for clap push-ups, and the clap loads the hands fastest, so earn it and keep the reps low.
They need more flight time, so you land from higher and faster (our reading of the force studies); no study has tested them. More sets of crisp single claps, or drop push-ups from low boxes, are the progression.
Power work needs low reps with full rest, twice a week, and muscle grows from hard sets, about 10 or more a week, not from daily totals.
Muscle activity in one session isn't a validated predictor of growth.
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From a strong push-up position on a mat, lower under control, then press so hard that your hands leave the floor. Clap once, bring your hands back under your shoulders and land on soft, bent elbows. Reset before the next one while you learn.
No study has set a number. Our move pages ask for solid push-ups for several sets, or about 15 steady ones, and NASM asks for a strength base and good push-up form first. Treat that as coaching practice, not a test.
Work up in steps: wall bounces, fast incline push-ups on a worktop, plyometric push-ups from your knees, then from your toes with your hands just leaving the floor, then the clap. Move on when every landing is soft.
Your chest and triceps drive them, with your front shoulders, the muscle that holds your shoulder blades to your ribs, and your trunk holding you straight. They train how fast those muscles produce force.
A little, but they're not the best way: across upper-body plyometric trials, arm muscle size grew slightly in 3 small studies, with low certainty. Hard sets of push-ups or presses build muscle reliably.
Different, not better. Clap push-ups train power, such as throwing and pushing fast; regular and harder push-ups build strength and size. A sensible week can have both.
3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5, with full rest, at the start of your session, twice a week with 48 hours between. End the set when your hands stop leaving the floor cleanly.
They land on bent-back wrists at speed, a position that raised pressure in the wrist joint in a lab study, and nobody has collected injury data for them. Warm your wrists up, land on soft elbows, and use a bench or worktop, or a medicine-ball chest push, while your wrists are sore.
Push-ups done so fast that your hands leave the floor. The no-clap version is the step before the clap push-up; drop push-ups and feet-raised versions come after.
Upper-body plyometric training improved medicine ball and sport throws in trials. We found no trial on punching.
Yes. Kneeling plyometric push-ups put less force through your hands, and a plyometrics review lists the kneeling clap push-up as the middle step. Move to your toes when every kneeling landing is soft.
They're tricks: you need more flight time, so you land harder, and no study has tested them. More crisp single claps, or drop push-ups from low boxes, are better progressions.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
