The biggest mistakes: sagging or raised hips, flared elbows, hands too far forward, shortened range, leading with the head and continuing after form breaks.
1. Letting the hips sag
Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes before the first rep. Use an incline if you cannot maintain the plank.
2. Raising the hips
A pike reduces the load on the chest. Film from the side and keep shoulders, hips and heels aligned.
3. Flaring elbows sideways
Aim the elbows diagonally back at roughly 30–45 degrees. Your exact comfortable angle may vary.
4. Placing hands too far forward
Begin with shoulders roughly above wrists. Hands far ahead make the movement awkward and shorten range.
5. Reaching with the head
Keep your neck neutral and lower your chest. The nose arriving first does not mean the torso completed a full rep.
Count reps worth counting
RepSaga turns your push-ups into RPG attacks so the goal becomes consistent, controlled movement—not distracted counting.
6. Cutting depth as you tire
Choose a repeatable depth and end the set when you can no longer reach it. Use an easier variation for additional volume.
7. Bouncing at the bottom
Slow the descent and pause briefly. Muscular control should reverse the movement.
8. Holding your breath
Inhale while lowering and exhale through the press. For harder reps, brace first and breathe deliberately between repetitions.
9. Moving chest and hips separately
Think of your body as a plank. Both should rise and lower at the same rate.
10. Training every set to failure
Leave one to three clean reps available during most training. This preserves technique and lets you accumulate more useful work.
How to audit your form
Record five reps from the side and front. Compare them with the perfect push-up form checklist. Fix one issue at a time, starting with body alignment and range.