Push-ups are an example of which type of kinetic chain exercise?

• A. Open
• B. Both
• C. Neither
• D. Closed

Answer: (C)

In kinetic chain terms, what matters is whether the end of the limb is fixed to a surface during the movement. In a push-up, the hands stay planted on the floor throughout the exercise, so the distal segment is fixed. That makes it a closed kinetic chain exercise because the movement happens with fixed hand contact while the rest of the body moves around that contact point, increasingly engaging multiple joints in a coordinated way.

If the end of the limb were free to move through space, that would describe an open chain movement, where the distal segment isn’t fixed to a surface. The idea of “neither” doesn’t fit here, since there is a fixed point of contact.

So, push-ups are classified as a closed kinetic chain exercise.