Fundamentals
One-Arm Push-Up
A push-up on a single hand, with the body kept level and the other arm out of the way. It looks like a push-up and loads you very differently: you have to resist the body turning.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- editorial estimate
- Steps to it
- 3 steps
- Intermediate → Advanced
- Usually done on
- Floor
Prepared by Calisthenics Balkan. Not yet reviewed by a qualified coach. 5 sources
The road at a glance
A short overview with links. Every step is explained in full under Progressions.
Helps to have first
This skill
One-Arm Push-Up
Leads towards
No movement in the Atlas builds directly on this one yet.
01
What it is
In a one-arm push-up you start in a front support on one hand, lower the body and press back up, and finish in the one-arm support. The working hand sits directly under the shoulder. The feet are placed wider than in a normal push-up, so the body can stay level; the other arm is held out of the way and does not push.
The difficulty is less the pressing than the stability. Without the second hand the body wants to rotate towards the free side, and the trunk and hips have to stop it. A 2006 study of push-up styles in ten young, fit people found the highest spine compression in the one-arm push-up of the styles tested, which is a reason to respect the trunk work, not a number to aim for.
Coaching sources describe the standard in similar words: shoulders level, hips and shoulders moving down and up together, and the elbow of the working arm reaching up to the line of the shoulder at the bottom. The picture shows the side view only; what makes the movement different from a push-up is not visible from there.
One hand under the shoulder, the body level and moving as one piece, and as little turning as you can manage. If the body twists, the push-up is not under control yet.
History and origin
The origin of the one-arm push-up is not documented in the sources we read, so we name no first person and no year. A FIG aerobic gymnastics page lists it as an element, and a StrongFirst article lays out a standard for it.
02
How it is done
- 1
Place the hand
Put the working hand flat on the floor directly under the shoulder, so the arm stands under the load.
- 2
Set the feet and the free arm
Plant the feet wider than for a normal push-up and keep them flat on the floor. Put the free arm behind the back, in a guard or rack, or on the thigh, whichever keeps the shoulder level.
- 3
Brace
Tighten the glutes and the trunk, keep the pelvis level and the ribs down, and hold the whole body as one piece.
- 4
Lower
Lower the shoulders and the hips at the same rate until the elbow of the working arm reaches the line of the shoulder, with the body level and the shoulders square.
- 5
Press
Push the floor away and return to the one-arm support without twisting, hiking the hips or letting the feet roll onto their sides.
03
Progressions
These are common steps, not the only road. The sources we read agree on lowering the support height, on starting with a one-arm plank if the body is not stable yet, and on reducing the range. Band-assisted work, wide-stance and archer versions appear in other places, and we found no reputable source for a standard order. Move on when a step is controlled, not when you reach a number.
What to have first
A strong two-hand push-up
The one-arm push-up builds on the push-up. We found no source that names a number of push-ups to have first.
A stable plank
The body has to stay level in a plank. If the one-arm position wobbles badly, a plank hold is a place to start.
Shoulders that move freely
An arm behind the back asks for some shoulder rotation that many people do not have. A guard or rack position, or a hand on the thigh, asks less.
- 1
Step 1·Intermediate
One-arm plank
Hold the straight-arm position on one hand with the feet wide and the other arm out of the way. It teaches the body to stay level without the second hand. One article suggests plank holds when you are very unstable with one arm removed.
Technical note: The body stays level and does not turn towards the free side.
- 2
Step 2·Advanced
Hand on a raised surface
Do the push-up with the working hand on a wall, bench or other raised surface. The higher the surface, the less of your weight is on the arm. Lower the surface over time, only as far as the body stays level.
Technical note: If the hips twist or the feet roll to their sides, go back to a higher surface.
- 3
Step 3·AdvancedGoal
One-arm push-up
Floor, one hand under the shoulder, feet wide, body level, down until the elbow reaches the line of the shoulder and back up without twisting. A block under the chest is another way to shorten the range while the strength is built.
Technical note: A lower back that arches and abs that give way mean the movement is beyond your control today.
04
Community
No one is publicly working on this movement. Add it to your profile and be the first.
Tips from the community
Tips are personal experience, not medical advice or a training plan.
There are no tips for this movement yet.
05
Common mistakes
Twisting the body open
Turning the chest towards the free side is the most common fault. It is called excessive rotation in one article, which also says this is not a Rocky-style push-up.
Hips hiking, sagging or twisting
The hips and the shoulders should go down and up at the same rate. Hips that rise, drop or turn first mean the trunk is not holding.
Feet that roll onto their sides
The feet stay flat on the floor. Caving onto the side of a foot is listed as a loss of tension.
Shrugging and reaching with the chin
Shoulders that creep up towards the ears and a chin that reaches for the floor are both listed as signs that tension has been lost.
Free arm in the way
An arm held in a guard or rack can block depth near the bottom; an arm forced behind the back can twist the shoulder. Pick the position that keeps the shoulder level.
Arching the lower back
A lower back that arches with ribs that flare and abs that give way is described as a dead giveaway that you are outside your ability.
06
Variations and related skills
Free arm behind the back, in a guard, or on the thigh
Stance
One article says behind the back is the advanced option and can let the body open, a guard or rack is the easiest to bail out of, and a hand on the thigh gives a link between the arm, the trunk and the leg.
Block under the chest
Range
A yoga block under the chest brings the floor closer. Lower the block over time, as one article describes. The range is shorter, not the movement different.
One-arm, one-leg push-up
Stance
A harder version with one leg lifted as well. One of the StrongFirst articles we read is about it; we do not describe it further.
The two-hand version the one-arm push-up is built on.
Another straight-body hold on the hands that asks for strong shoulders and a stiff trunk.
On Calisthenics Balkan
- Read about Fundamentals in LearnThe movement family this skill belongs to, and how it fits into calisthenics.
- Athletes with One-Arm Push-Up on their profileSkill labels on profiles are set by the athletes themselves and are not verified.
- All movements in the AtlasCalisthenics movements, one at a time: what they are, how they are done and the steps that lead to them.
07
Sources
What this page relies on. Titles and publishers are written as published.
The small numbers in the text point to the entries below.
- 1A 6-Week Program to Master the OA/OAOL Push-upStrongFirst, Karen Smith (StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor); a coaching article that states a competition-style standard, not a study
- 2Placement of the Free Hand in the One-arm Push-upStrongFirst, Allan Phillips (SFG II, SFB, CSCS, TSAC-F); coaching article on where the other arm goes
- 3One-arm/One-leg Pushups and the Center of the UniverseStrongFirst, Chris Hook (StrongFirst Certified Elite Instructor); coaching article on hips, pelvis, ribs and the block regression
- 4Quantifying muscle patterns and spine load during various forms of the push-upFreeman, Karpowicz, Gray and McGill, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2006; 10 university-age participants, up to 12 push-up styles
- 5A 104: 1 Arm Push UpFIG aerobic gymnastics, element pool; a different discipline, used only for the definition and the elbow line
A note on safety. This page describes the movement in general. It is not a training plan and not medical advice. In the one study we found, the one-arm push-up gave the highest spine compression of the push-up styles tested, in ten young, fit people, so the trunk and lower back are worth respecting. A StrongFirst article says high repetitions are not advisable because they tire the muscles that stabilise the trunk. We found no source on wrist, elbow or shoulder load or on injury. Build up gradually, stop when the body starts to twist or the lower back arches, and ask a qualified coach, doctor or physiotherapist about pain in the wrist, elbow, shoulder or back.
Prepared by Calisthenics Balkan. Not yet reviewed by a qualified coach.
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