Clap push-ups are an explosive plyometric push-up variation where the pressing phase is performed with sufficient force to propel the upper body off the floor, allowing the hands to clap together before landing and immediately performing the next repetition. They are categorically different from all other push-up variations covered in this series because they develop upper body power rather than upper body strength or muscular endurance.
Why Clap Push-Ups Are Different From Other Push-Up Variations
As covered in the medicine ball chest throw article on this site in the context of upper body power development, power exercises require the load to be accelerated through the full range of motion at maximum velocity. Standard push-up variations — regardless of grip width, angle, or instability — are performed under controlled tempo. The load (body weight) cannot be accelerated to maximum velocity because the body remains in contact with the floor throughout.
The clap push-up removes this limitation: the pressing phase is performed with maximum explosive intent, and the body actually leaves the floor. This flight phase means the push-up is performed at the highest possible pressing velocity, specifically developing the rate of force development that transfers to athletic performance.
The plyometric principle:
Plyometric exercises use the stretch-shortening cycle — the rapid transition from an eccentric (lengthening) contraction to a concentric (shortening) contraction — to produce greater power output than either phase could produce in isolation. In the clap push-up, the landing and immediate reversal into the next press uses this stretch-shortening cycle of the chest, anterior deltoid, and triceps.
What this develops that standard push-ups cannot:
- Rate of force development (how quickly force can be produced)
- Elastic energy utilisation in the pushing muscles and tendons
- Reactive pushing power (the ability to produce force immediately after absorbing an impact)
These qualities are directly relevant to performance in sports involving pushing, striking, throwing, and blocking — and they require plyometric training to develop, not simply higher volumes of standard push-up training.
Prerequisites Before Attempting Clap Push-Ups
Clap push-ups require both adequate strength and adequate technical foundation before they can be performed safely and effectively.
Strength prerequisite:
Minimum 20 clean, full-range standard push-ups in a single set before attempting clap push-ups. This strength baseline ensures the pushing muscles can produce the force needed to propel the body off the floor AND absorb the landing forces safely.
Why the strength prerequisite matters:
The landing from a clap push-up places significant impact forces on the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. If the pushing muscles are not strong enough to adequately absorb and decelerate this landing force, injury risk (particularly to the wrist and medial elbow) increases significantly.
Technical prerequisite:
- Consistent standard push-up technique with hips neither sagging nor rising
- The ability to perform 5 to 8 explosive push-ups (pressing as fast as possible but without the hands leaving the floor) before attempting the airborne clap version
Who should not attempt clap push-ups:
- People with wrist, elbow, or shoulder injuries
- People who cannot perform 20 consecutive standard push-ups
- People who have not practiced explosive push-ups (hands remaining on floor) as a progression stage
Step-by-Step Technique
Setup
- Begin in the standard push-up starting position
- Hands at shoulder width or very slightly wider (a wider base provides more stability on landing)
- Body forms a straight line from the heels to the head
- Core braced, glutes engaged
The Lowering Phase
- Lower to the bottom position as in a standard push-up
- This phase is NOT performed slowly or with the controlled 2 to 3 second tempo of strength-focused push-ups
- The lowering should be controlled but relatively quick (1 to 1.5 seconds): slow lowering dissipates the elastic energy that will be used in the explosive press
- The chest reaches near the floor
- The body should feel coiled and ready to spring from the bottom position
The Explosive Press (The Critical Phase)
- From the bottom position, press with maximum explosive intent
- The goal is to produce the highest possible pressing force in the shortest possible time
- Drive through the hands and extend the elbows as fast as possible
- The force must be sufficient to propel the upper body off the floor so both hands become airborne simultaneously
- As the hands leave the floor, they are free to clap
The Clap
- As the hands leave the floor, bring them together quickly to clap
- The clap should be at approximately chest height (where the hands meet naturally as the arms come together)
- The clap should be brisk and efficient: the hands must return to the landing position immediately after clapping
- Over-reaching the clap or clapping too high wastes time and delays the return to landing position
The Landing
- Return the hands to the floor as quickly as possible after the clap
- Land with the hands at or very slightly wider than shoulder width (same as the starting position)
- The landing should be absorbed through a combination of the wrists, elbows, and shoulders — not rigid arms
- Think of the landing as the beginning of the next rep’s lowering phase: allow the arms to give slightly on landing to absorb the impact
The Rhythm
The most common error is treating each rep as a separate event. Clap push-ups are most effective when performed as a continuous, rhythmic sequence where each landing immediately transitions into the next explosive press. The rhythm is: land → lower → explode → clap → land → lower → explode → clap.
Key Technique Cues
Maximum intent on every rep: The explosive press must be performed with maximum intent on every single rep. Half-effort clap push-ups do not develop power — the training adaptation requires the nervous system to be fully recruited on each attempt. If the hands are barely leaving the floor, either the fatigue is too great (the set should end) or the effort is insufficient.
Body as one unit: The entire body must remain rigid throughout the flight phase. Any sagging at the hips during the airborne phase means the landing forces will not be distributed correctly through the pushing muscles.
Hands land in the right place: The hands must return to approximately the same position they left from. Landing with the hands too narrow (elbow valgus risk) or too wide (stability loss) creates injury risk on landing.
Controlled first lowering: The very first rep of each set can be lowered more carefully than subsequent reps, but once the rhythm is established, the lowering tempo should be relatively quick (not slow) to preserve elastic energy for the press.
Progressions
Stage 1: Explosive Push-Up (Hands Stay on Floor)
The prerequisite exercise before the hands-airborne clap push-up.
How to do it:
- Perform a standard push-up with the pressing phase as fast and explosive as possible
- The hands do not leave the floor but the effort is to press as hard and as fast as possible
- The pressing tempo should feel like attempting to launch off the floor even though the hands stay in contact
- Complete 3 sets of 5 with maximum explosive intent on every rep
Entry criteria for Stage 2: 5 reps where the press feels at maximum speed and the wrists feel comfortable absorbing the quick transition.
Stage 2: Airborne Push-Up (No Clap)
The hands leave the floor but do not clap. This stage develops the landing mechanics before the clap is added.
How to do it:
- Press explosively until the hands leave the floor
- Hold the hands in the push-up position (no clap) during the brief flight
- Return the hands to the floor and immediately lower
- Complete 3 sets of 3 to 5
Why this stage matters: Landing from an airborne push-up without the timing pressure of a clap allows the athlete to develop the wrist and elbow absorption mechanics before the clap adds the additional timing demand.
Stage 3: Single Clap Push-Up (Standard)
As described in the full technique section above.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps initially, building to 3 sets of 8 to 10 over weeks
Stage 4: Double Clap Push-Up
The hands clap twice during the flight phase (one in front of the body and one behind), requiring greater explosive force to generate sufficient airtime for both claps.
Entry criteria: Consistent 8 to 10 single clap push-ups per set with clean landings.
How to do it:
- Perform the explosive press with even greater force than the single clap
- Clap in front of the body first
- Quickly move the hands behind the back and clap a second time
- Return the hands to the floor landing position
- This requires significantly more flight time than the single clap
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 3 to 5
Stage 5: Behind-the-Back Clap Push-Up
The hands clap behind the back during the flight phase.
How to do it:
- Press explosively
- Swing both hands behind the lower back and clap
- Return to the landing position
Entry criteria: Consistent double clap push-ups and exceptional explosive pressing power.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 3
Common Errors and Fixes
Error 1: Insufficient Flight Height
What it looks like: The hands barely leave the floor — just enough for a half-hearted clap with no real airtime.
Why it matters: Insufficient flight height means the explosive press was not at maximum intent, reducing the power development stimulus. It also creates a rushed, panicked clap with poor landing mechanics.
Fix: Focus entirely on pressing as hard and as fast as possible. The clap is secondary to the explosive press. Think about pressing the floor away rather than about clapping.
Error 2: Arms Rigid on Landing
What it looks like: The elbows do not give at all on landing, producing a jarring impact through the wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
Why it matters: Rigid-arm landing concentrates all the impact forces at the joint structures rather than distributing them through the muscles. This is the primary injury mechanism for wrist and elbow injuries during clap push-ups.
Fix: Allow the elbows to give slightly on landing, absorbing the impact over 0.5 to 1 second. The landing is the beginning of the next lowering phase: think of catching the body weight gently rather than stopping it abruptly.
Error 3: Hips Rising or Sagging During the Flight Phase
What it looks like: The body forms a V shape (hips rising) or a U shape (hips sagging) during the airborne phase.
Why it happens: The core is not maintaining the rigid plank position during the explosive press and flight.
Fix: Brace the core maximally before the press begins and maintain the contraction through the flight phase. If hips consistently move during flight, return to Stage 1 (explosive push-up, hands on floor) to develop the core stability before reintroducing the flight phase.
Error 4: Clapping Too High
What it looks like: The hands are clapped at head or overhead height during the flight phase.
Why it matters: A high clap delays the return of the hands to the landing position, increasing the fall height and reducing the time available for landing preparation.
Fix: Clap at approximately chest to shoulder height — the natural height where the hands meet as the arms come together during the flight.
Error 5: Performing Too Many Reps in a Set
What it looks like: Sets of 15 to 20 clap push-ups where the explosive intent degrades significantly in later reps.
Why it matters: Clap push-ups are a power exercise. Power training is most effective when each rep is performed at or near maximum velocity and intent. Sets that extend into fatigue-compromised explosive output develop strength endurance rather than power.
Fix: Keep sets to 5 to 10 reps maximum and rest 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets to allow full neural recovery before the next set.
Sport-Specific Applications
Boxing and martial arts: The explosive pressing power of the clap push-up directly transfers to punch power and the ability to push opponents away during clinch situations. Martial artists who regularly perform clap push-up progressions develop the reactive pressing power that underlies effective striking.
Basketball and volleyball: The explosive pressing power developed by clap push-ups transfers to chest passes in basketball and attack approaches in volleyball, where power must be produced in a single explosive burst.
Contact sports (rugby, American football): Blocking and pushing mechanics in contact sports require the reactive pushing power that clap push-ups specifically develop. As covered in the medicine ball chest throw article on this site, developing power through multiple modalities (medicine ball throws and plyometric push-ups) produces more complete upper body power than either alone.
Swimming: The arm pull in swimming requires explosive extension force from the chest and triceps. Plyometric push-up training develops this quality alongside the standard push-up strength work.
Programming Clap Push-Ups
For power development:
Clap push-ups are a power exercise and should be programmed accordingly:
- Sets: 3 to 5
- Reps: 5 to 8 per set (maximum explosive intent on every rep)
- Rest: 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets
- Placement: At the beginning of the session when the nervous system is fresh
- Frequency: 2 to 3 times per week
Paired with heavy strength work (complex training):
As covered in the medicine ball chest throw article on this site, pairing a heavy strength exercise with an explosive power exercise (complex training) can produce acute potentiation effects:
- Close grip push-ups or wide push-ups: 5 reps (strength)
- Immediately followed by: 5 clap push-ups (power)
- Rest 2 minutes
- Repeat for 3 to 4 sets
As part of a push-up variation programme:
In the context of the 12 push-up variations covered in this series, clap push-ups represent the power development component alongside the strength (close grip, wide, decline) and skill (planche) components. A complete push-up session might include:
- Wide push-ups: 3 x 12 (chest strength)
- Close grip push-ups: 3 x 12 (triceps strength)
- Clap push-ups: 3 x 6 (upper body power)
Frequently Asked Questions
Are clap push-ups dangerous?
At the appropriate prerequisite strength level (20+ standard push-ups) and with proper landing mechanics (elbows absorbing on landing), clap push-ups are not inherently dangerous. The primary injury risk is performing them before adequate strength is established (wrist and elbow impact injuries) or landing with rigid arms (joint impact injuries). Following the progression stages reduces this risk substantially.
How do I get enough airtime to clap?
Airtime is entirely determined by the force of the explosive press. Athletes who cannot generate enough airtime to clap should return to Stage 1 (explosive push-ups, hands on floor) and develop greater pressing power before re-attempting the clap. Adding weight vest training to standard push-ups can develop the baseline pressing strength needed.
Can I do clap push-ups every day?
No. Plyometric exercises place significant demand on the neuromuscular system and require 48 hours minimum between sessions. Unlike standard push-ups, which can be performed daily at moderate volumes, clap push-ups should be limited to 2 to 3 sessions per week with full rest days between.
At what point should I progress from single clap to double clap?
When 3 sets of 8 to 10 single clap push-ups can be performed consistently with clean flight height, a clean clap at chest level, and a controlled landing. Do not progress to the double clap until the single clap is completely consistent.