how should your wrist bend when doing a pushup

To reduce wrist pain when performing pushups, modifications such as using pushup bars with a static hold, dumbbells or kettlebells under the shoulders, standing pushups against the wall, bench incline pushup, and dumbbell chest press 1 can be used. Alternatives such as flexing fingers and using a surface to engage the muscles on the palm-side of the wrist, or using dumbbells to hold the center bar with each hand 2 can also be used. Proper hand positioning, hip placement, elbow direction, and core engagement 3 4 are also important to reduce wrist pain. Push-up modifications such as knee push-ups, wall push-ups, push-ups on dumbbells or parallettes, and push-ups with closed fists 5 can also be used.