bodyweight exercise

What Muscles Do Push-Ups Work? Get More Out of This Timeless Exercise As one of the foundational movements of any workout program, the push-up is more than just a means to increase your upper body strength and endurance. Depending on your hand position, tempo, and body angle, this seemingly straightforward exercise can provide a sufficient stimulus to not only build a bigger chest but also increase your core stability and overall fitness. In fact, studies show that a higher baseline push-up capacity is associated with lower incidence of cardiovascular disease events. (1) Plus, perfecting your technique and expanding your push-up repertoire can put you in a more advantageous position to crush compound lifts like the bench press and overhead press. Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock While it may seem like second nature to drop to the ground and start pumping out reps like you did in middle school gym class, the first step to maximizing your strength- and muscle-building efforts is to make sure you understand the biomechanics of the good ole’ push-up. Once you’ve really mastered the basics, you can level-up your training by swapping out the standard form of this time-tested exercise with unique push-up variations that target specific muscles more directly. What Muscles Do Push-Ups Work? Push-Up Technique Muscle Recruitment How to Target Specific Muscles Push-Up Variations How to Perfect Your Push-Up Technique Luckily, the push-up is far less complicated than something like the clean & jerk. Still, it’s critical to perform any exercise with the correct technique for safety and efficiency — and it’s not different in this case. Because push-ups can place quite a bit of stress on your wrists, being aware about the alignment of your hands can go a long way in staying pain- and injury-free. In addition, knowing how to position your elbows can make a major difference in completing a clean rep or setting the stage for potential shoulder problems. If you want to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck, here’s what you need to do to perform the perfect push-up. Start in a “high plank” position with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your elbows just slightly bent. Maintain straight legs without dipping your hips toward the ground or hiking them upward. Engage your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine. Slowly lower yourself to the floor, making sure to keep your elbows tucked close to your sides as your arms bend toward a 90-degree angle. Once you reach the bottom of the movement, contract your chest and triceps muscles and push back through your hands until you reach the starting position. Muscles Worked During a Push-Up  Although many people look at the push-up as solely an upper body exercise, it’s actually a closed kinetic chain movement that involves multiple muscle groups from head-to-toe. Of course, since push-ups primarily involve the pectorals (major and minor) and triceps, it’s easy to see why they’re a popular choice for chest and arm day programming. Yet when you consider the full scope of what the movement entails, you could make the argument that a push-up is truly a full-body exercise. After all, not only do you need to utilize your pecs, triceps, and shoulders, but you also have to recruit your abdominal, lower back, and leg muscles to perform a proper rep. Here’s a breakdown of how and when the primary and secondary muscles are recruited during a push-up. Pectoralis Major  The largest of the chest muscles, your pectoralis major is a thick, fan-shaped muscle that acts as the agonist (primary mover) during a push-up. It consists of two heads: the clavicular (which originates from the front surface of your clavicles) and the sternocostal (which originates from your sternum and upper ribs). The pec major lengthens and stretches as you lower yourself down during the eccentric phase of a push-up and it contracts as you push back up to the starting position. Pectoralis Minor  Located under the pec major, the pectoralis minor is a small, triangular muscle that originates from the third to fifth ribs and inserts into your scapulae (shoulder blades). Although it pales in comparison to the size of its larger cousin, it still plays a critical role. As you perform a push-up, the pec minor keeps your scapulae in position. However, tightness in this muscle, or having relatively weak rotator cuff or scapular stabilizers, can lead to discomfort and imbalances. This makes upper body mobility work particularly important. Credit: MDV Edwards / Shutterstock Triceps  Besides the pec major, no muscle benefits more from the push-up than your triceps brachii. Located on the back of your upper arm, this three-headed monster includes the medial, lateral, and long heads — each of which has a unique origination point. During the initial phase of a push-up, the triceps helps stabilize your torso. Then, once the muscle is under tension, it takes over as the agonist when you extend your arms to lockout the top of the movement. Anterior Deltoids  Similar to the triceps, the deltoids are comprised of three heads (anterior, lateral, and posterior). These large, triangular muscles are located on top of your shoulder joints, with the anterior head playing the most active role during a push-up. Besides assisting with shoulder stability during the eccentric phase, your front delts also help bring your arms inward towards your chest during the concentric portion of a push-up. Core Your core will receive a wake-up call when you perform a push-up, too. Comprised of five main muscles — the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, and the relatively small pyramidalis — your abdominals work synergistically with your erector spinae to keep your torso straight throughout the movement. Failing to keep your core engaged from start to finish can affect your total-body position and alignment. Ultimately, poor core control may put you in a compromising position that could cause problems, or even pain, down the line. How to Target Particular Muscles During a Push-Up  The basic push-up