CalisthenicsIn review

Shoulder-Tap Push-Up

A push-up with one shoulder tap from each hand at the top of the rep.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Horizontal push
Modality: Calisthenics
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Bilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Place the hands under the shoulders.
Set the feet a little wider than the hips, with the body in one line.

Do the rep

Lower until the chest is a fist's height above the floor, then press up to straight arms.
Lift one hand, tap the opposite shoulder, and place the hand back.
Tap with the other hand, then start the next rep.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the push-up reaches full depth and straight arms, and each hand taps the opposite shoulder with the hips level.

One rep is one full push-up followed by one tap with each hand on the opposite shoulder, with the hips level.

Breathing

Inhale as you lower; exhale as you press up; breathe normally during the taps.

Cues

Keep the hips level during the taps.
Set the feet wider for more balance.
Bring the feet closer together when the reps get easy.

Common mistakes

Rocking the hips
What you seeThe hips shift from side to side during the taps.
FixSet the feet wider and tap more slowly.
Level hips train the trunk to resist rotation.
Half-depth reps
What you seeThe chest stops well above the floor.
FixLower until the chest is a fist's height above the floor on every rep.
Full depth makes the rep count.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the support shoulder feels unstable.
End the set when you cannot meet the stated range under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Chest · moderate confidence
Triceps · moderate confidence
Front deltoids · moderate confidence

Assisting

Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence
Serratus anterior · moderate confidence

Equipment

Bodyweight

Optional: Floor mat, Bench

A mat is optional. Hands on a stable bench raise the incline and reduce the load.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 2, written from the blueprint CSV row and the Wave 2 rules page of 2026-10-12. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the rules page; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_push_up, the closest Wave 1 record.
The CSV says bilateral. Each rep taps with both hands, so the record keeps bilateral counting.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

Train it in Allena

Allena plans your week around the days you can train, logs every set, and coaches your form from the camera.

Get the app