Push-ups are a workout that fits any routine, at any level, for anybody. They’re the simplest to do and master, which means less time spent focusing on form and more time spent on gains. But what exactly are you gaining with a push up? Is this a full-body exercise, or can you direct the pressure directly to the right muscle groups to compliment a workout day? Here’s the muscles push ups work.
Compound Body weight Exercise
A Push-up is considered a compound body weight exercise. “Compound” means it works more than one muscle group and “body weight” implies that you aren’t adding any additional weight while doing it. You can, by fixing a weight to the back or stomach with a belt, or wearing a weighted backpack, but that’s not the norm. The anytime, anywhere, do-it-because-you’re-bored push-up is best done with body weight only to focus on the normal muscle groups.
What Isn’t Supported
It might be easier to start with what a push-up won’t train. The body has a ton of muscles, each divided into groups relating to where they connect and to what. While the push-up does use the legs, it doesn’t really work them. The legs are just used to support the form of the push-up. Knee push-ups further reduce strain on the legs and reduce the overall body weight.
Another supporting muscle group is the core muscles. This is your abdomen. They’re important because they are what keeps your body straight for the exercise, with some assistance from the back. Planking, as in the exercise, uses a modified push-up form to train the core muscles by forcing them to fix the body’s form under duress. If you stay in one part of the push-up too long, you’ll feel your ab tighten, but it’s not as effective as a sit-up or crunch.
Chest Muscles
Push-ups do a lot of work on the chest. The pectoralis major – the chest muscle – is the biggest and most effectively used part of the chest muscles. This muscle controls the majority of the pushing force. When you do a push-up correctly, you’re pushing with your chest more than your arms.
The chest muscles are responsible for most of the force that gets put into your arms. They connect to the shoulder and collar bone which is where most of your body weight gets distributed when you start a push-up. They bear the highest load, and make the strongest lift. The pectoralis minor, which is located underneath the major and connects from the outer ribs to the scapula, helps keep shoulders and shoulder blades lined up in proper position. You can feel those parts tensing when you push back up on your back.
Arm Muscles
Everyone always looks at the bicep when showing off how strong their arms are, but the bicep does very little in terms of lifting. Most of the daily force and power we exert through our arms comes from the network of complimentary muscles throughout the body like the chest and back, but within the arm itself all our lifting and pushing power is in our triceps. The Triceps brachii muscles are on the back of your arms, the sturdy base that holds the biceps up.
Triceps work the hardest when pushing something away, and that’s all the push-up is. When you feel your arms quaking trying to do just one more in a set that’s already past your limit, it’s not your strength giving out. Your arms provide balance when you go down low and the initial burst of pushing power you need to push back up again. They keep your form nice and even so your torso doesn’t go lopsided and work one half harder than the other.
Shoulders
The shoulders, mainly comprised of the Deltoids, carry the weight from the “up” position mostly. Going up is a combined effort of the chest and arms pushing against the floor and carrying your bodyweight with them. Lowering down for another push is likewise a factor of the chest contracting and arms stabilizing, but it’s the shoulders which keep the body in check until it’s inches from the ground again.
Be sure to use correct form to fully integrate each part of the shoulder in a healthy fashion. You want your arms spread out and arms perpendicular, not at an angle, to the floor. This gives your shoulder the most efficient position to lower the body down carefully for the next push.
The Rest of the Body
The three major muscle groups that are worked out with push-ups are the chest, arms and shoulders. This makes them a predominantly upper-body exercise with the other body parts providing some smaller role to keep the body moving. The abdomen gets a special mention as well, as it is required for maintaining perfect posture and straightening the spine for each maneuver.
A relaxed or unworking abdomen will cause you to arch your back and move the center of gravity, which reduces the benefits of the push-up by making it harder for less gains. The same concern goes for the glutes. Yes, you need a fairly healthy butt muscle to maintain the right form as well. It’s not quite a squat, but push-ups will make you aware of just how much lifting your rear can do.
While it’s not as easy to show off, push-ups also do wonders for the heart. It’s a simple exercise which means it can be done quickly. It’s not quite cardio, but the cardiovascular system gets a good pump with every push. Men who can do at least 40 push-ups are significantly less likely to develop any heart disease later in life. More than 40 is just showing off, but still good for health.
Push-ups, like any good exercise, work as a destressor, helping to clear and relax your most vital organ of all: your brain. It’s a full exercise for the entire upper body, including the thinking muscle located at the uppermost spot.