In all my years of training, I have to say that the push-up is oftentimes the exercise that clients struggle with the most. It is one of the basic upper-body exercises, one that everyone knows and has tried to do at some point, so there’s an expectation we can all just … do it.

That’s probably why people get so upset at themselves when they struggle so much to perform one. The fact is that most people use terrible form when they try to do a push-up, and with a few key steps almost anyone can learn to do one perfectly. That includes you.

Nick Tini, one of my coaches at Fusion Cross-training, gives a step-by-step tutorial in the video below.

Gavin McKay is the owner and creator of Fusion Cross-training with locations in Center City and Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.