Diamond Push-Up: Form Guide, Muscles and Mistakes
Load card
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Muscle group
- Triceps
- Main muscles
- triceps brachii, pectoralis major
- Also working
- anterior deltoid
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Pattern
- Horizontal push, narrow hands
- Level
- Intermediate
The diamond push-up is an intermediate bodyweight exercise that uses a narrow hand placement to change the leverage of a standard horizontal push. By bringing your hands together under your chest to form a diamond shape, you shift the primary demand of the movement.
This compound movement targets the triceps brachii and pectoralis major as the main working muscles. The anterior deltoid acts as a supporting muscle to help stabilize and drive your body upward throughout the range of motion.
How to do it
Get into a plank position on the floor and bring your hands close together directly under your chest. Form a diamond or triangle shape with your index fingers and thumbs touching.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes to maintain a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Lower your body under control by bending your elbows and keeping them tucked close to your ribs.
- Continue descending until your chest lightly touches the back of your hands.
- Press through your palms to extend your arms and return to the starting position.
Sets, reps and load
Start with 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. Rest for 60 to 90 seconds between sets to allow your triceps to recover.
Since this is a bodyweight movement, increase the difficulty by slowing down the eccentric lowering phase or wearing a weighted vest.
Common mistakes
- Flaring the elbows. Keep your elbows tucked tightly against your sides as you lower your body. This reduces stress on your shoulders and keeps the tension on your triceps.
- Sagging hips. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs before you start the descent. Your body must move as a single rigid unit.
- Incomplete range of motion. Lower yourself all the way down until your chest touches your hands. If you cannot do this, switch to an easier variation.
- Hand placement too far forward. Position your hands directly under your lower chest, not under your face or neck. This ensures proper leverage for the horizontal push.
Make it easier or harder
Easier
- Incline diamond push-ups with your hands on a bench or sturdy box.
- Kneeling diamond push-ups on a mat.
Harder
- Decline diamond push-ups with your feet elevated on a bench.
- Weighted diamond push-ups wearing a weight vest.
Before you load it up
- Wrist position matters here. Wrist pain is a reason to change the grip, use handles or fists, or choose another variation.
- Your arms and shoulders carry a large share of body weight. Shoulder or elbow pain is a reason to choose an easier variation.
Swaps and related triceps exercises
Same muscle group with different equipment:
- Dumbbell Skull Crusher Dumbbell
- Resistance Band Tricep Pushdown Resistance band
- Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension Dumbbell
- Dumbbell Tricep Kickback Dumbbell
More bodyweight options:
- Parallel Bar Dip Dip
- Bench Dip Dip
Browse all bodyweight exercises or every triceps exercise.
When to see a doctor or physio
- Sharp or stabbing pain in your shoulder joint during the descent.
- Persistent wrist pain that does not resolve by adjusting your hand position.
- Elbow joint pain that feels like grinding or clicking under load.
This page is general training information, not medical advice. If you are new to strength training, managing a health condition, pregnant or coming back from an injury, check with a doctor or physio first.
How this page was made. Exercise data (equipment, muscles, mechanics, level) compiled by the Unite Journal Crew as a general anatomy guide, cross-checked against the public-domain free-exercise-db list. Text drafted with AI assistance and edited by the crew; see our house rules. Last checked October 2026.