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Exercises

Push day warm-up: get chest, shoulders and triceps ready in 7 minutes

Published October 24, 2026

For push day, do 3 easy minutes on the ski erg or rower, 5 walkouts and 10 plank shoulder taps, then 15 band pull-aparts, 10 side-lying external rotations per arm and an easy set of 10 push-ups, and finish with 3 ramp-up sets of your first press. Later presses need one light set each; triceps work needs none.

  1. Ski Erg Shoulders, Upper Back
  2. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  3. Plank Shoulder Tap Abs
  4. Band Pull-Apart Shoulders, Upper Back
  5. Dumbbell Lying External Rotation Shoulders
  6. Push-Up Chest
  7. Incline Barbell Bench Press Chest
  8. Barbell Overhead Press Shoulders

Raise: the ski erg or rower

Use a machine that moves your arms. The ski erg pulls down with long arms and warms the lats and triceps; the rower is the alternative if your gym has no ski erg. Three minutes at an easy pace.

Raise: standing pull-down cardio for the lats and triceps

Ski Erg

Shoulders, Upper Back

The long pull-down warms the lats and triceps, so you arrive at the first press with warm arms instead of just warm legs.

How to do it

  1. Stand facing the machine with a handle in each hand above your head.
  2. Hinge slightly at the hips as you pull both handles down past your thighs with long arms.
  3. Let the handles rise back overhead as you stand tall, and keep the pace easy.

Cues

  • Long arms, small hinge
  • Stand tall at the top

Common mistakes

  • Squatting deep on every pull: a small hip hinge is enough to keep it a warm-up.

Swap for: Rowing Machine, Battle Rope Wave, Air Bike

Build a session with Ski Erg

Raise: easy rowing to warm the back, legs and arms together

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

An easy row does the same job when there is no ski erg, and adds a little upper-back work.

How to do it

  1. Strap your feet in, sit tall, and grab the handle with straight arms.
  2. Push with your legs first, then lean back slightly, then pull the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Return in the reverse order, arms, body, then knees, at an easy pace you could talk through.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms; arms, body, legs
  • Conversational effort

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms before the legs finish their push: it turns an easy row into an arm workout.

Swap for: Ski Erg, Air Bike, Stationary Bike

Build a session with Rowing Machine

Mobility with your shoulders under load

Push day loads the shoulders in every lift, so the mobility drills put weight on them too: walkouts move you from a hinge to a plank, and shoulder taps keep one arm holding you up while the trunk stays still.

Mobility: hinge, walk to a plank and back

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Ending in a plank puts weight through the shoulders and wrists that every push day lift will load.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, bend at the hips, and put your palms down by your feet.
  2. Walk your hands forward until you reach a high plank with your shoulders over your wrists.
  3. Walk your hands back toward your feet and roll up to standing.

Cues

  • Shoulders over wrists in the plank
  • Small hand steps

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag in the plank: squeeze your glutes before you walk back.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Spider Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Walkout

Mobility: high plank tapping each shoulder in turn

Plank Shoulder Tap

Abs

Holding the plank on one hand at a time steadies the shoulder while the trunk resists twisting, which helps on the overhead press.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a high plank with your feet wider than hip width.
  2. Lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder, then place the hand back down.
  3. Alternate sides slowly while your hips stay level.

Cues

  • Wide feet, still hips
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Rocking side to side with each tap: slow down or widen your feet.

Swap for: Plank IYTW, Bear Crawl, Push-Up Plus

Build a session with Plank Shoulder Tap

Activate the back of the shoulder, then press easy

Every push day lift squeezes the front of the shoulder, so first wake up the back of it with pull-aparts and side-lying rotations. Then one easy set of push-ups ties the chest, shoulders and triceps together.

Activation: upper back and rear delts with a band

Band Pull-Apart

Shoulders, Upper Back

Pressing is all front-of-shoulder work; a set of pull-aparts first balances it by waking up the back.

How to do it

  1. Hold a light band in front of your chest with straight arms and hands shoulder width apart.
  2. Pull the band apart until it touches your chest, pinching your shoulder blades.
  3. Let it come back slowly to the start without losing tension.

Cues

  • Lead with the hands, not the neck
  • Pause at the chest

Common mistakes

  • Arching the lower back to finish the rep: use a lighter band.

Swap for: Band Face Pull, Band Rear Delt Fly, Band Scapular Retraction

Build a session with Band Pull-Apart

Activation: side-lying rotator cuff turn

Dumbbell Lying External Rotation

Shoulders

Lying on your side isolates the outward turn of the shoulder, and very light dumbbells are enough to get it working.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side with your head resting on your lower arm and a light dumbbell held in the top hand.
  2. Keep your top elbow against your hip, bent 90 degrees, with the forearm across your stomach.
  3. Rotate the forearm up toward the ceiling, then lower it back slowly.

Cues

  • Elbow stays on the hip
  • Two seconds down

Common mistakes

  • Rolling your torso back to lift higher: stay stacked on your side.

Swap for: Dumbbell External Rotation, Band Face Pull, Face Pull

Build a session with Dumbbell Lying External Rotation

Activation: side delts with a band under your feet

Band Lateral Raise

Shoulders

A light set warms the side delts, useful if lateral raises or the overhead press come early in your push day.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the middle of a band and hold an end in each hand at your sides.
  2. Raise both arms sideways to shoulder height.
  3. Lower slowly against the band's pull.

Cues

  • Lead with the elbows
  • Stop at shoulder height

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging to start the raise: keep your shoulders down and use a lighter band.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lateral Raise, Cable Lateral Raise, Band Front Raise

Build a session with Band Lateral Raise

Primer: standard push-up for the whole pressing pattern

Push-Up

Chest

One easy set rehearses the whole pressing pattern: chest, shoulders and triceps working together.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands a little wider than your shoulders in a high plank.
  2. Lower your chest to just above the floor with the elbows angled about 45 degrees from your body.
  3. Press back up to straight arms in one line from heels to head.

Cues

  • Elbows at 45 degrees
  • Chest leads, hips follow

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out to the sides: tuck them a little toward your ribs.

Swap for: Incline Push-Up, Kneeling Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

Build a session with Push-Up

Ramp-up sets for your first press

Whichever press opens the day gets 2 to 4 ramp-up sets. The second press needs one light set, and lateral raises and triceps work start from working weight.

First lift: incline barbell press with ramp-up sets

Incline Barbell Bench Press

Chest

Many push days start on the incline; its ramp-up sets also warm the front delts for the overhead work that follows.

How to do it

  1. Set the bench to a low incline and lie with the bar over your eyes.
  2. Lower the bar to your upper chest, just below the collarbones.
  3. Press up to lockout over your shoulders.

Cues

  • Upper chest touch
  • Feet driving into the floor

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bench so steep it becomes a shoulder press: a low incline is enough.

Swap for: Incline Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Incline Press, Machine Incline Press

Build a session with Incline Barbell Bench Press

First lift: standing barbell press with ramp-up sets

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

When overhead pressing opens the day, it gets the full ramp and the bench gets one light set.

How to do it

  1. Hold the bar at your collarbones with your hands just outside your shoulders.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and press the bar straight up, moving your head back out of its path.
  3. Push your head through once the bar passes your forehead and lock out overhead.

Cues

  • Glutes and abs tight
  • Bar over mid-foot at lockout

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to press: if the light sets need a lean, the working weight is too heavy.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Landmine Press, Seated Barbell Overhead Press

Build a session with Barbell Overhead Press

First lift: seated chest press machine with ramp-up sets

Machine Chest Press

Chest

On a machine day the ramp is quick: two light sets on the stack, then working sets.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat so the handles line up with your mid-chest.
  2. Press the handles forward until your arms are straight without locking hard.
  3. Let them come back until you feel a stretch across the chest.

Cues

  • Shoulder blades on the pad
  • Smooth turnaround

Common mistakes

  • Seat set too low, so the press runs up toward your shoulders: raise it to chest height.

Swap for: Flat Dumbbell Press, Smith Machine Bench Press, Barbell Bench Press

Build a session with Machine Chest Press

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Push day that opens on the incline bench

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentSki Ergometer, Resistance Bands, Dumbbells, Barbells +1

Your push day starts with the incline barbell press, then overhead work, then triceps.

The incline gets three ramp-up sets because it is the heaviest lift of the day; the overhead press that follows needs only one, since the shoulders are already warm. Working sets stop 2 reps short of failure, so the later presses are not ruined by the first.

Push Day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Ski ErgSeconds. Easy. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 15 s
Plank Shoulder TapTotal. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Dumbbell Lying External RotationPer arm. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Push-Up 1 × 10 5 15 s
Incline Barbell Bench Press3 warm-up sets first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
Barbell Overhead Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 6–10 2 2:30 min
How to run it
Do the warm-up blocks straight through in about 7 minutes, then the incline ramp-up sets.
How to progress
Add weight to each press when all its sets reach the top of the range with 2 reps in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Push day that opens with the overhead press

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine, Resistance Bands, Dumbbells, Barbells +1

You put the standing press first so it gets your freshest effort.

The overhead press needs more shoulder range than the bench, so this plan adds the band lateral raise and keeps the shoulder taps, then gives the press three ramp-up sets. The incline that follows gets one light set.

Press First
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 45 4 0 s
Plank Shoulder TapTotal. 1 × 12 4 15 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 15 4 15 s
Band Lateral RaiseLight band. 1 × 15 4 15 s
Dumbbell Lying External RotationPer arm. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Barbell Overhead Press3 warm-up sets first 3 × 4–6 2 3 min
Incline Barbell Bench Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 8–10 2 2:30 min
How to run it
Do the drills, then ramp up on the overhead press. Rest 2 to 3 minutes before the first working set.
How to progress
Add weight when all press sets reach 6 with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Short machine push day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentSki Ergometer, Resistance Bands, Chest Press

You have 40 minutes and use machines so you can move quickly.

Machines need less setup and less ramping, so this warm-up cuts mobility to the walkout and goes from a single activation drill and a push-up set straight into two light sets on the chest press.

Machine Push
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Ski ErgSeconds. Easy. 2 rounds back to back. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 15 s
Band Pull-Apart 1 × 20 4 15 s
Push-Up 1 × 10 5 15 s
Machine Chest Press2 warm-up sets first 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
How to run it
Five minutes of warm-up blocks, then the chest press ramp, then the rest of your machine circuit.
How to progress
Add one plate on the stack when all sets reach 12 with 2 in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do I warm up for push day?

Three minutes on the ski erg or rower, walkouts and plank shoulder taps, a set of band pull-aparts and external rotations, an easy set of push-ups, then 2 to 4 ramp-up sets of your first press.

Are push-ups a good warm-up for push day?

One easy set of about 10, several reps short of failure, is a good bridge into the first press. More than that starts to tire the triceps you need later.

Do I need to warm up for every exercise on push day?

No. The first press gets full ramp-up sets, the second press one light set, and lateral raises and triceps work start right at working weight.

How long should a push day warm-up take?

About 7 minutes of drills plus the ramp-up sets of your first lift, so 10 to 15 minutes before your first working set.

What muscles should I warm up for push day?

Chest, front and side delts and triceps do the work, but the back of the shoulder and the upper back hold the joint steady, so the activation drills target them.