The Muscles You're Actually Working When You Do a Pushup
ON THE QUEST FOR the for the perfect workout routine, people far too often overlook and even downplay the basics. One of the most effective strength training movements is as simple as getting down on the floor and pressing up: the pushup. Most probably got their first experience with the king of all bodyweight moves in grade school gym class without even realizing the value of the exercise.
They weren’t flashy—or even particularly fun—back in fifth grade, and today pushups are sometimes still given the short shrift as a last resort move when you find yourself outside of a gym. There's little doubt, however, about the benefits of the pushup, from the move's versatility to accessibility to the number of muscle groups you'll be able to hit with just one simple exercise.
That's our focus here. While your gym teacher back in the day was pushing you to pump through reps, they may have failed to follow up with the finer details of the pushup—specifically which muscles are being worked when you do the movement with proper form.
Knowing exactly what you're targeting can help you to understand what your focus should be when you're performing the pushup—and when you'll include it in your workout program. It's obvious that the exercise can be a brutal upper-body blaster, but you'll benefit from a more exact understanding.
What Muscles Pushups Work
Chest
Triceps
Shoulders
Core
Upper back
Ever notice a great upper body pump after banging out a few sets of traditional pushups? Performed with a full range of motion, your pecs are getting a ton of work, making pushups a great addition to any chest day workout, according to trainer Eric Sung, C.S.C.S.
At the same time, as you lower your body to the floor, then press back to a full high plank position, several muscle groups are getting a fair share of activation. These are your shoulders, triceps (variations such as close-grip pushups target your tris even more directly). A slow and controlled pushup requires plenty of core stability too, since maintaining full-body tension is an essential aspect of the movement.
"It definitely works your chest—I would say you’ll get a good upper-body pump in your chest and arms,” says Sung. “Then, based on the variation you use, you could argue it hits your triceps, while getting some front delt work as well."
The more you play around with other pushup variations, such as the unique blast-off pushup, you’ll also be able to work in your upper back muscles too, Sung continues. “You’re also hitting your secondary muscles, depending on how you do it.”
Benefits of Pushups
Versatile
Accessible
Scalable
The pushup is incredibly versatile. There are many different variations of pushups, which allow you to challenge your muscles in a variety of ways.
The movement is also incredibly accessible. You don't need any equipment to do pushups, and as long as you have enough space to stretch out, you can drop down and bang out reps.
Pushups can be scaled to anyone’s strength or skill level, too. The beauty of the pushup versatility is that you can set the bar low—or in the case of incline pushups, set it higher—and progress continuously at your own pace, Sung notes.
"I think pushups are great because they're scalable,” he says. “If you are just getting into pushups or trying to get your first pushup you can always start with a modified pushup on an elevated surface like an incline. And then you can always progress into a regular pushup and/or some tempo work, a decline [or deficit] pushup possibly. So working in mechanical progressions will also help a lot in terms of scaling that workout throughout the program.”
How to Do the Pushup
Start in a high plank position, with your palms flat on the floor, stacked directly below your shoulders.
Squeeze your shoulders, glutes, and core to create full-body tension. Your spine should form a straight line, with a neutral spine.
Bend your elbows to descend to the floor, stopping with your chest just above the ground. Your elbows should be at a 45 degree angle relative to the torso.
Press back up off the floor, raising up to the top position with your elbows fully extended.
While higher reps are normally the goal for the pushup, knocking them out in a recklessly haphazard manner is not. Quick and sloppy can lead to excess shoulder stress and even injury.
Using a controlled tempo is a great way to add additional time under tension to your pushups—and also allows you to increase the focus on secondary muscle groups.
"You can definitely get the best bang for your buck when it comes to adding tempo,” Sung says. “Tempo work is definitely used in other modalities like yoga and Pilates. So adding that element into a pushup can definitely strengthen your core work at the same time."
In addition to being aware of tempo, there are a few other elements of performing good pushup reps your gym teacher might not have highlighted when you first learned to do the exercise.
Own the Plank
A good pushup begins with a solid plank foundation. Arms shoulder-width apart over your shoulders, hands locked to the floor. You want your core nice and tight, glutes squeezed, and shoulders engaged, not loose and sloppy.
Eliminate Half-Reps
There are benefits to half pushups, but when you’re working on conquering the traditional version, you must first master the entire top to bottom range of motion, that means no little pump outs. Full range starts from the full plank position, lowering slowly till your chest almost touches the floor, then push yourself back to the top of the plank position, keeping your glutes, core, and shoulder blades engaged.
Modify the Right Way
If a regular pushup is still too difficult, work on some of the other pushup option—in this case, the incline pushup is still your best bet. Try as hard as possible to avoid the easy but less effective pushup from your knees position. With the incline version, although it’s easier, the movement allows you to continue working on maintaining a straight line posture from head to toe.
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