Close-Grip (Diamond) Push-Ups: How to Do It, Muscles Worked & Benefits

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Placing your hands close together under your chest turns the push-up into one of the best bodyweight triceps exercises. It also hits the inner chest and front shoulders, and it is a good way to build lockout strength for presses.

What is the close-grip (diamond) push-ups?

Placing your hands close together under your chest turns the push-up into one of the best bodyweight triceps exercises. It also hits the inner chest and front shoulders, and it is a good way to build lockout strength for presses.

The close-grip (diamond) push-ups is an intermediate exercise and a compound movement. Compound exercises use several joints and muscle groups at once, so they let you move more weight, burn more energy and build functional strength in less time. You can do it at home with no or minimal equipment, which makes it easy to fit into almost any routine.

Muscles worked

The main muscles trained by the close-grip (diamond) push-ups are the triceps, with help from the chest, shoulders.

Triceps (primary)

The triceps make up about two-thirds of the upper arm. They straighten the elbow and help in every pushing movement, from push-ups to the bench press.

Chest (secondary)

The chest muscles (pectoralis major and minor) push the arms forward and bring them across the body. The upper (clavicular) part works more in incline pressing, the lower part in flat and decline pressing.

Shoulders (secondary)

The shoulders (deltoids) have a front, side and rear part. They lift the arm in every direction. Well-developed side and rear delts make the upper body look wider and help keep the shoulder joint healthy.

How to do the close-grip (diamond) push-ups: step by step

1. Lie on the floor face down and place your hands closer than shoulder width for a close hand position. Make sure that you are holding your torso up at arms' length.
2. Lower yourself until your chest almost touches the floor as you inhale.
3. Using your triceps and some of your pectoral muscles, press your upper body back up to the starting position and squeeze your chest. Breathe out as you perform this step.
4. After a second pause at the contracted position, repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Benefits of the close-grip (diamond) push-ups

• Best no-equipment triceps builder
• Strengthens the inner chest and front delts
• Builds lockout strength for bench and overhead press
• Variety for push-up training

Like all resistance training, the close-grip (diamond) push-ups also contributes to the general health benefits of strength work: stronger bones, better blood-sugar control, improved mood and a higher resting metabolism over time. The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activities for all major muscle groups on two or more days per week for adults.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Hands too far forward in front of the face
• Elbows flaring out to the sides
• Hips sagging
• Wrists hurting from forcing a diamond shape

Most of these mistakes happen when the weight is too heavy or when you rush. Film one set from the side with your phone. It is the fastest way to spot form problems without a coach.

Form tips from a trainer

• Keep elbows tucked close to the ribs on the way down
• Hands about shoulder-width or closer, under the lower chest
• If the wrists hurt, use push-up handles or dumbbells
• Start on an incline if you cannot do 5 good reps

How to breathe

Breathe in as you lower the weight or your body (the easier phase) and breathe out as you push. For heavy sets, take a big breath into your belly before the rep, brace your core, and breathe out near the end of the push.

Sets and reps by fitness level

Choose a load or variation where the last 1–3 reps of each set feel hard but your form stays clean. When you can do the top of the rep range for every set, make it harder: add weight, add reps, slow the tempo or move to a harder variation. This is called progressive overload, and it is the main driver of strength and muscle gains.

Easier and harder variations

Close-Grip (Diamond) Push-Ups for men and women

The technique of the close-grip (diamond) push-ups is the same for men and women. The difference is in programming. Men often aim for more upper-body size and use heavier loads with lower reps, while many women prefer more lower-body and glute volume and moderate loads with higher reps. Both approaches work. Muscle responds to effort and progressive overload regardless of gender, and women typically recover a little faster between sets.

You will find this exercise in these HelloMyTrainer programs:

• Men's Intermediate Home Workout (Dumbbells + Pull-Up Bar)
• Advanced Home Workout for Men (Push / Pull / Legs + Conditioning)
• Advanced Home Workout for Women (Glute Builder + HIIT)

Safety tips

• Warm up for 5–10 minutes before your first working set: light cardio plus a few easy reps.
• Stop immediately if you feel sharp, stabbing or joint pain. Muscle burn is normal; pain is not.
• If you have an injury, are pregnant, or have a heart, blood-pressure or joint condition, ask your doctor or a physical therapist before doing this exercise.
• Make sure benches, chairs, steps and bars are stable and can hold your weight.

Frequently asked questions

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Exercise images: public-domain photos from the open-source Free Exercise DB project. Last reviewed: October 2026.