Chest · Bodyweight
Elbow Closed Arms Pulse
How to do the elbow closed arms pulse, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Isometric
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Bring both forearms together in front of your chest, elbows touching and palms pressed flat like a prayer position. Press the arms firmly together and pulse them upward in small controlled reps while keeping the contraction.
- 1Feel a constant squeeze across your inner chest
- 2Keep tension by pressing the forearms hard together
- 3Feel the small pulse driven from the chest, not the arms
Common mistakes
- Don't let the elbows drift apart and lose tension
- Avoid shrugging the shoulders up on each pulse
- Don't hold your breath; breathe through the pulses
Muscles worked
The elbow closed arms pulse mainly works the mid chest, with the upper chest, front delts, internal rotators, and forearms assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- Internal RotatorsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- TricepsMinor
- Lower ChestMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the elbow closed arms pulse 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.