Chest · Bodyweight
Chest Fly and Press-up
How to do the chest fly and press-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall holding your arms out wide at shoulder height with a slight bend in the elbows. Bring your hands together in front of your chest in a fly motion, then turn the hands and press straight up overhead before returning to the wide fly position.
- 1Feel your chest squeeze as your hands meet on the fly
- 2Feel the shoulders and triceps take over on the press up
- 3Keep your shoulder blades set and ribs down
Common mistakes
- Don't let your elbows drop below your wrists on the fly
- Avoid arching your back as you press overhead
- Don't lock the elbows hard at the top
Muscles worked
The chest fly and press-up mainly works the mid chest, with the upper chest, front delts, triceps, lower chest, and internal rotators assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- TricepsSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Internal RotatorsSupport
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the chest fly and press-up for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More chest exercises
- How to do the archer push-up
- How to do the assisted dip
- How to do the resistance band chest flyes
- How to do the resistance band push-up
- How to do the barbell bench press
- How to do the paused bench press
Last reviewed June 2026.