How to Use a Push Up Board: 15 Exercises by Muscle Group (Color-Coded Guide)

A push up board looks simple — a plastic plank with a few holes and removable handles. But it is one of the few pieces of home equipment that can replace four or five different chest and shoulder machines at a commercial gym, in a footprint smaller than a yoga mat.

The reason it works is the color-coded handle system. Each socket on the board sits at a different angle and width. Move the handle, and you change which muscle does most of the work — without changing the exercise itself. That is what makes a push up board genuinely versatile, instead of just being a "regular push-up with extra steps."

This guide covers how the color system works, 15 exercises split by muscle group, and a four-week routine you can start this week with no other equipment.

What is a push up board and why use one

A push up board is a rigid plastic platform — usually around 22 to 26 inches long — with multiple angled sockets along its length. You insert handles into the sockets to perform push-ups at a specific grip width and angle.

Three things make it more effective than floor push-ups for most people:

The handles raise your hands a few inches off the floor, which increases your range of motion. That extra depth means more muscle stretched under load, which is one of the main drivers of strength and muscle growth.

The handles let you grip neutral (palms facing each other), which is friendlier to the wrists than a flat-palm floor push-up. People who quit push-ups because of wrist pain usually have no issue on a board.

The color system enforces consistent angles. If you do a push-up "wide" one day and "medium" the next without measuring, you cannot tell whether you are getting stronger or just changing the exercise. Slotting handles into fixed positions removes that variable.

The color-coded handle system explained

Most push up boards on the market — including the LiftBase Push Up Board Pro — use four colors. The assignment is industry-standard:

• Red — shoulders (deltoids). Handles angled outward, wide grip.
• Blue — triceps. Handles narrow, parallel to the body.
• Yellow — back (latissimus dorsi). Handles angled inward.
• Green — chest (pectorals). Handles angled outward at a moderate width.

You do not need to memorize this. The board is printed with the colors and the muscle they target. The point is that you can hit four distinct muscle groups by moving two handles between exercises — no need for a bench, cables, or dumbbells.

Chest exercises (green handles)

The green sockets put your hands roughly shoulder-width with the handles angled outward about 30 degrees. This is the most "natural" push-up position and recruits the chest as the primary mover.

1. Standard chest push-up. Insert handles into the green sockets. Set up in a plank with arms straight, hands gripping the handles. Lower your chest until it nearly touches the board, then press back up. Keep elbows tucked at about 45 degrees from your torso — flaring them straight out shifts load to the shoulders.

2. Tempo chest push-up. Same setup. Lower for a count of 3 seconds, pause for 1 second at the bottom, press up for 1 second. Slowing the negative is one of the fastest ways to build strength without adding weight.

3. Decline chest push-up. Place your feet on a chair or low couch (12 to 18 inches up). Hands on the green handles. This shifts emphasis to the upper chest — the part that gives the chest its "shelf" look.

4. Plyometric push-up. Lower as normal, then press up explosively so your hands leave the handles for a split second. Land back on the handles, absorb the impact, and immediately go into the next rep. Only attempt this after you can do at least 15 clean standard push-ups.

Back exercises (yellow handles)

Push-ups are not normally a "back" exercise — your back is mostly along for the ride. But the yellow handle angle changes the geometry enough to recruit the lats noticeably.

5. Wide yellow push-up. Handles in the outermost yellow sockets. The wider grip and inward handle angle force your lats to assist on the press. You will feel it on the sides of your back the next day.

6. Archer push-up. Insert one handle into a green socket, one into a far yellow socket. Lower toward the green side, keeping the yellow-side arm mostly straight. This puts almost all the load on one side and bridges the gap between regular and one-arm push-ups.

7. Sliding push-up (with a towel). Hands on yellow handles, one foot on a small folded towel. As you lower, slide the towel-foot out to the side. As you press up, slide it back in. The added instability lights up the lats and obliques.

Shoulder exercises (red handles)

The red sockets sit narrow and angle the handles outward. This rotates the load away from the chest and onto the front and side delts.

8. Pike push-up. Walk your feet in toward your hands so your hips are stacked high — like a downward dog. Hands on red handles. Lower your head between your hands, then press back up. This is the closest you can get to a strict overhead press without any weights.

9. Standard shoulder push-up. Hands on red handles, body in normal plank. Lower slowly. This is harder than it looks — the narrow grip removes most of the chest's leverage.

10. Wall-walk pike. Start in plank with feet against a wall. Walk your feet up the wall a few inches while walking your hands closer to the wall. Once you are nearly inverted, do a slow pike push-up on the red handles. This is an advanced shoulder builder — work up to it over weeks.

Triceps exercises (blue handles)

Blue sockets put the handles narrow and parallel. The narrow grip removes most of the chest's contribution and forces the triceps to lock out the rep.

11. Diamond push-up (blue handles). Hands in the innermost blue sockets, almost touching. Keep elbows tucked tight against your ribs as you lower. This is the standard triceps push-up and is significantly harder than a regular one — start from your knees if needed.

12. Close-grip tempo push-up. Hands on blue handles. Lower over 4 seconds, pause 2 seconds at the bottom, press up. The slow tempo doubles the time your triceps are under tension and is one of the best raw strength builders on the board.

13. Triceps push-up with shoulder taps. Hands on blue handles. After each push-up, lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder. Alternate sides. This adds core and anti-rotation work to the triceps movement.

Full-body and core exercises

14. Renegade row. Hands on green or yellow handles, feet wide for stability. After each push-up, pull one handle up toward your hip (rowing motion). Lower, do another push-up, row the other side. Works back, biceps, core, and chest in one movement.

15. Push-up to plank twist. Standard push-up on green handles. At the top of each rep, lift one hand off the handle and rotate your body into a side plank, arm reaching toward the ceiling. Return to push-up, do another rep, rotate the other side. Burns the obliques.

4-week beginner program

This program is for someone who can currently do 5 to 10 strict floor push-ups. Train 3 days per week with at least one rest day between sessions.

Week 1 — building base volume

• Standard chest push-up (green): 4 sets of 6 reps
• Pike push-up (red): 3 sets of 5 reps
• Diamond push-up (blue) — from knees if needed: 3 sets of 6 reps
• Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets

Week 2 — adding tempo

• Tempo chest push-up (green): 4 sets of 5 reps with 3-second negative
• Standard shoulder push-up (red): 3 sets of 6 reps
• Close-grip tempo push-up (blue): 3 sets of 5 reps
• Rest 90 seconds between sets

Week 3 — adding complexity

• Decline chest push-up (green) — feet on a chair: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Pike push-up (red): 4 sets of 6 reps
• Archer push-up (one green, one yellow): 3 sets of 4 reps per side
• Rest 90 seconds between sets

Week 4 — testing progress

• Standard chest push-up (green): max reps in one set, then 3 sets of 8 reps
• Pike push-up (red): 4 sets of 8 reps
• Diamond push-up (blue): 3 sets of 8 reps
• Plyometric push-up (green) — optional: 3 sets of 3 reps

If you finish week 4 hitting all the reps clean, you are ready to start adding variations from the back and full-body sections on top of this base.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I use a push up board?
For beginners, 3 sessions per week with at least one rest day between them is the right starting point. Push-ups are demanding on the wrists, elbows and shoulders — daily training without recovery causes overuse injuries.

Is a push up board better than regular floor push-ups?
For most people, yes — for two reasons. The handles increase your range of motion (more muscle worked), and the neutral grip is easier on the wrists. The color system also forces variety, which prevents the plateau that comes from doing the same push-up for months.

Can a push up board build muscle, or just endurance?
It can build muscle. The principle that matters is progressive overload — making each session harder than the last. On a push up board, you do this by adding reps, slowing the tempo, switching to single-arm variations, or elevating your feet. As long as the exercise is getting harder, the muscle adapts.

Do I need any other equipment?
Not for the first three to six months. After that, a pair of resistance bands or a dip station opens up pulling movements (rows, dips) that a board cannot replicate. A push up board on its own builds a strong upper body push pattern but not a balanced one.

My wrists hurt during push-ups. Will a board help?
Almost always yes. The handles keep your wrist in a neutral position (straight, like a handshake) instead of bent backward at 90 degrees. If wrist pain is what stopped you from doing push-ups, this single change usually fixes it.

How long until I see results?
Strength gains start within 2 to 3 weeks. Visible muscle change takes 8 to 12 weeks of consistent training plus enough protein in your diet (roughly 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day for muscle growth).

Get the equipment

If you don't have a push up board yet, the LiftBase Push Up Board Pro is a 15-in-1 system with all four color-coded sockets, comfort-grip handles, and a portable design that stores under a couch.

Pair it with the Booty & Legs Resistance Band Set and you have a complete upper-and-lower-body home workout — no gym membership required.