How to Protect Your Shoulders When Doing Push Ups

That sharp, pinching pain in the front of your shoulder every time you do a push-up is not normal, and it's not something you have to live with. It’s a sign that your form is off, not that your shoulders are “bad.” You can learn how to protect your shoulders when doing push ups by fixing one single thing: your elbow position. Forget everything else for a moment. If you stop flaring your elbows out to the side and instead tuck them to a 45-degree angle, you will solve most of the problem instantly.

Key Takeaways

• The number one cause of shoulder pain is flaring your elbows out to 90 degrees, creating a “T” shape with your body. This pinches the tendons in your shoulder joint.
• The correct form is an “arrow” shape, where your elbows are tucked at a 45-degree angle to your torso. This gives the shoulder joint space to move freely.
• Before you even start, actively pull your shoulder blades back and down, away from your ears. This is called “packing the shoulders” and it creates a stable base for the movement.
• If you cannot do at least 10 push-ups with perfect form, do not switch to knee push-ups. Instead, perform incline push-ups on a bench or box to build strength with the correct mechanics.
• A simple cue to stabilize your shoulder is to imagine “screwing your hands into the floor.” This creates external rotation and locks the joint in a safer position.

Why Your Shoulders Hurt During Push-Ups (The Real Reason)

Let’s get straight to it. If your shoulders hurt during push-ups, you are almost certainly making a “T” shape with your body. From a bird’s-eye view, your arms are flared straight out to the sides at a 90-degree angle from your torso. This is the single most common mistake I see, and it’s a direct path to shoulder impingement.

Shoulder impingement sounds technical, but the concept is simple. When you flare your elbows out like that, you dramatically reduce the space inside your shoulder joint. As you lower your body, the bone at the top of your arm (humerus) jams upward into the bone at the top of your shoulder blade (acromion). Trapped between them are your rotator cuff tendons.

Think of it like pinching a soft cable between two sharp pieces of metal. Every single rep grinds those tendons. At first, it’s just a pinch. Then it becomes inflammation (tendinitis). Over time, it can lead to fraying and serious, chronic injury. That nagging pain is your body screaming at you that something is mechanically wrong.

The fix is to change your body from a “T” shape into an “arrow” shape. By tucking your elbows to roughly a 45-degree angle, you create the necessary space for the joint to move without anything getting pinched. This position shifts the emphasis from your vulnerable shoulder joint to your powerful chest and triceps muscles-which is the entire point of a push-up in the first place.

This isn't a suggestion; it's a non-negotiable rule for shoulder health. If you want to do push-ups for years without pain, you must stop the T-flare. Period.

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The 3 Common "Fixes" That Don't Work

You’ve probably felt that shoulder pinch and tried to fix it. Most people try one of three things, and all of them miss the point. They are band-aids on a mechanical problem that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

1. Just Changing Your Hand Width

Many people think, “My shoulders hurt, so I’ll just put my hands wider.” Or they go narrower. While hand position does change muscle emphasis (wider hits the chest more, narrower hits the triceps more), it doesn’t solve the root problem if your elbows are still flaring.

You can do a wide-grip push-up with tucked elbows or a flared-elbow disaster. You can do a narrow-grip push-up with tucked elbows or a flared-elbow disaster. The variable that protects your shoulder is the elbow path, not the hand placement. Focusing on hand width alone is like changing the tires on a car that has a broken axle. It's not addressing the fundamental issue.

2. Doing Partial Reps

This is the most common avoidance strategy. You lower yourself down until you feel the pinch, and then you push back up. You never achieve a full range of motion because your body is preventing you from entering the painful, damaging position.

While this might save you from acute pain on that one rep, it does nothing to fix the underlying form. You're just practicing and reinforcing a flawed movement pattern. Furthermore, you're robbing yourself of the benefits of a full-range-of-motion push-up, limiting muscle growth and strength development. You're essentially training your body to be weak in the bottom position.

3. Pushing Through the Pain

This is the worst offender. The “no pain, no gain” mindset is poison when it comes to joint pain. Sharp, pinching pain is not the same as muscle burn. Muscle burn is productive; it’s a sign of metabolic stress that leads to growth. Joint pain is destructive; it’s a signal of damage to connective tissues.

Every time you push through that pinch, you are actively making the inflammation worse. You’re turning a small, fixable issue into a chronic condition that could take you out of the gym for months. Your body is giving you a clear signal. Ignoring it is a choice that will always end badly.

The 3-Step Method for a Pain-Free Push-Up

Forget the bad habits. We're going to rebuild your push-up from the ground up. This three-step process ensures your shoulders are in a safe, stable, and powerful position on every single rep. Do these steps in order, every time.

Step 1: Set Your Hand Position and Angle

Get into a plank position. Place your hands directly under your shoulders, then move them slightly wider. For most people, this is just outside shoulder-width. Your fingers should point straight ahead or be turned out slightly, up to about 15 degrees.

Now for the most important cue: imagine you are trying to screw your hands into the floor. Your right hand turns clockwise, your left hand turns counter-clockwise. Your hands won't actually move, but you will feel your biceps turn forward and your shoulder joints feel tight and stable. This creates external rotation torque, which is the foundation of a stable shoulder.

Step 2: Pack Your Shoulders

Before you lower your body, set your shoulder blades. Think about pulling your shoulders down and away from your ears. Then, gently squeeze your shoulder blades together. This is called “packing the shoulder” or “scapular depression and retraction.”

This action creates a solid platform for your arms to press from. An unpacked, shrugging shoulder is unstable and weak. A packed shoulder is a strong shoulder. You must hold this packed position throughout the entire movement-on the way down and on the way up. If you feel your shoulders creeping up toward your ears, reset.

Step 3: Execute the 45-Degree Elbow Tuck

With your hands set and shoulders packed, you can now begin the push-up. As you lower your body, your elbows should not flare out to the sides. They should track backward at roughly a 45-degree angle relative to your torso.

Your body should form a distinct “arrow” shape when viewed from above. Your chest should lead the way, not your head. Lower yourself until your chest is about 1-2 inches from the floor, then press back up powerfully, maintaining that same 45-degree elbow path. Don't let your elbows flare out at the top.

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What to Do If You're Not Strong Enough (Progressions)

It’s one thing to know the perfect form, but it’s another to have the strength to execute it. If you can't do at least 10 perfect, full-range-of-motion push-ups with your shoulders packed and elbows tucked, you are not ready for floor push-ups. And that is completely fine. Here’s how you build the required strength correctly.

Start with Incline Push-Ups

The best way to build push-up strength is with incline push-ups. Find a sturdy, elevated surface like a kitchen counter, a park bench, or a barbell set up in a squat rack. The higher the surface, the easier the exercise will be because you're lifting less of your body weight.

Perform your push-ups on this incline using the exact same 3-step form we just covered: hands set, shoulders packed, elbows at 45 degrees. The movement pattern is identical. Your goal should be to complete 3 sets of 15 perfect reps on your chosen surface. Once you can do that, find a slightly lower surface (e.g., move from the counter to a chair, or from a chair to a low step). This is progressive overload in action.

Why You Should Avoid Knee Push-Ups

I'm going to take a firm stance here: skip the knee push-ups. While they feel easier, they teach a flawed motor pattern. When you pivot from your knees instead of your toes, you disengage your core and change your body's center of gravity. Your hips tend to sag, and the alignment from your head to your pivot point is completely different from a real push-up.

People often get stuck on knee push-ups for months or years because they don't effectively build the full-body tension and core stability required for a proper push-up. Incline push-ups, on the other hand, are a perfect replica of the real movement. They build strength in the exact pattern you need to succeed on the floor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far apart should my hands be for push-ups?

Your hands should be placed slightly wider than your shoulders. A good starting point is to place them directly under your shoulder joints and then move each hand out by about one hand's width. This position allows for the correct 45-degree elbow tuck without straining the wrists or shoulders.

Should I feel push-ups in my shoulders?

You will feel your front deltoids (the front part of your shoulder muscle) working, which is normal. However, you should never feel a sharp, pinching, or grinding pain inside the joint. The primary muscles you should feel are your chest (pectorals) and the back of your arms (triceps).

Are diamond push-ups bad for shoulders?

Diamond push-ups are not inherently bad, but they are an advanced variation that requires significant shoulder stability and tricep strength. The narrow hand position forces the elbows to stay very close to the body, which can stress the joint if you lack the strength or mobility. Master the standard 45-degree push-up first.

What warm-up should I do before push-ups?

Focus on dynamic movements to prepare the joint. A good 5-minute warm-up includes 15 arm circles in each direction (small circles then big circles), 10-15 band pull-aparts to activate your upper back, and 10 wall slides to practice scapular control. This increases blood flow and preps the muscles for the movement pattern.