Push-ups are one of your best bets as far as a total body workout in a single movement. While not a tremendous amount of stress is placed on the lower body, the legs and back are definitely involved. The core, back, hamstrings, quads, and even calves are all called into play in order just to hold the body rigid. Obviously, the chest, arms, and shoulders will get a tremendous workout, as well as the lats and upper back.
There’s a reason that push-ups are so famous for being a part of military training regiments. That is because they offer more ‘bang for your buck’ than possibly any other exercise (except maybe swimming or running) with zero equipment. Those guys do 100s of push-ups daily, or nearly daily.
How Do Push-ups Change Your Body?
As I mentioned before, the military requires a massive number of push-ups from enlistees. Boot camp is the cocoon in which new recruits are sculpted into soldiers. Given the number that they perform, I would suspect that push-ups definitely play a role in the physical aspect of that transformation.
Push-ups are proven to build muscle, strength, and stamina, and help burn fat. This means you will increase your chest, arm, and shoulder measurements. As you burn fat you will also decrease your waist and possibly neck measurements. These two effects combined will cause a dramatic change in your body shape and appearance.
Who Can Do Push-ups?
Virtually anyone can do some form of push-ups. There are a number of ways to modify the exercise to make it less challenging. These involve reducing the range of motion, improving leverage, and assistance. Read on, and we will talk about these.
Young, healthy people can certainly do push-ups for exercise. Even daily. There comes a point of diminishing returns with pushups unless you add resistance. I believe this number is around 200 a day. After this number, it seems to me as though doing any more doesn’t really make a lot of difference as far as gaining muscle and almost ventures into cardio territory.
However, you are still burning calories so do as many as you like. When you get to the point where you are doing 500, 1000, or whatever giant number you can reach, push-ups have become so easy for you that one would think that overtraining is not really possible.
Children are not usually strong enough (or interested enough!) to do proper push-ups with the correct form until about age 8-9. Sometimes children who are training in gymnastics will be very strong at an even younger age due to their conditioning training. But most children with regular habits and activity levels will probably not be able to until this age.
Older, very unfit, or weaker (let’s be honest) trainees may need to start with some of the easier variations. Read on for some ideas about entry-level push-ups.
What Muscles Do Push-ups Work?
Push-ups work most of your muscle groups to greatly varying degrees. Chest, shoulders, and arms will be the primary movers in this exercise. Your back will probably come in second, then abs/core, last legs. The legs are stressed only by holding the body rigid, but this is no small amount of stress. The tibialis and hamstrings and quads will be worked by holding you stable in push-up position.
The push-up is in an exclusive group of upper-body dominant exercise that can be said to be a near-total body workout. Another is the clean and press.
If you have not done push-ups in a while, and are fairly out of shape, do 3 or 4 sets to failure. The next day, the muscle soreness will tell you which muscles go worked! You may be surprised to find that your abs or hip flexors are sore. Even your lats and back will probably be sore. This will demonstrate the truly compound nature of this exercise. It forces all your muscles to come together and work in synergy.
What Is The Easiest Type Of Push-up?
So if you are a beginner and cannot do a single push-up, or maybe you can do a handful but not enough for a whole workout, there are ways to make the exercise easier to do.
Here are 3 suggestions for some entry-level push-up variation:
1. Do knee push-ups. These are great for beginners. The point of leverage is much closer to your arms, you will do these with your knees against the floor, instead of balanced on your toes. This will make the exercise approximately 50% easier.
2. Put a block or a couple of phone books under your chest. This will reduce the range of motion to keep you in the upper zone of the movement, where you are strongest. While counter-intuitive, it has become a well-known fact that training within your stronger zone will lead to strength gains over the entire range of motion for a given exercise.
3. Do Butt-ups. (Maybe this isn’t standard terminology, but that’s what I call them). A lot of beginners will cheat by bending forward at the waist and raising their butt up high. This means that the exercise no longer strictly qualifies as a push-up, but can be useful to build strength. This will put more of the stress on your shoulders and less on your chest. It eases the load on your core because you no longer have to hold your body straight and rigid. If you are not ready for regular push-ups, perform this “cheat” maneuver for a while. Soon, you will get to where you are strong enough to do regular push-ups.
How Much Weight Are You Actually Lifting When You Do Push-ups?
I once took 2 bathroom scales and put one under each hand and did a push-up. I weighed 200 lb at the time, and each scale read 75 lb. This meant that I was lifting about 75% of my body weight. Clearly this is anecdotal, and not perfect, but if you are experienced with lifting weights, and know what 100 lb,150 lb, 200 lb etc. feels like, you will probably agree that this feels like a good estimate. Now, the push up is not a direct equivalent to a bench press, so an individual that weighs 200 lb may well not be able to bench press 150 lb for the same number of reps as they can do push-ups. This is because the push-up employs synergy between muscle groups and is less isolated than the bench press.
You may be thinking “But the bench press is a compound movement!” This is correct, but the bench press doesn’t involve the back, core, and legs like the push-ups do.
Are Push-ups Good For Chest?
Probably the easiest and best way to shape up your chest and pack on some slabs of muscle is to hit the deck and crank out some push-ups. After just a few weeks, definitely within a month of doing a few sets of push-ups a day, you will see a pronounced difference in your pectoral muscles. If you get to where you do 200+ push-ups in a single workout, you will have gained some serious chest muscle.
What Push-ups Work Chest?
Any type of push up will work your chest, some more than others. A narrow hand stance will have less effect on the chest.
A wider hand position will work the pecs more. maybe 4-6 inches wider than shoulder width will be perfect. This will be similar to a wide grip bench press. You should be able to summon a lot of strength doing this type of push-up. You will probably find that you will be able to do these for a greater number than other variations.
One push-up variation that I enjoy is what I call a “floor fly.” Simply get in push-up position but with your hands much wider apart, maybe twice your shoulder width. Palms down, fingers pointing outward. Simply push up to where your chest is 5-6” off the floor. This almost totally removes the triceps’ involvement in the movement and allows for a very isolated chest exercise. The limited range of motion means that you may choose to take this one into isometric/isotonic territory and just hold for 20+ seconds instead of trying to do this for reps.
Are Push-ups Good For Your Back?
Compared to bench press, push-ups work your back to a far greater extent. When you are laying on a bench, your chest still pushes, but your back doesn’t need to do anything much because it is stabilized by the bench. Whereas when you are doing a push-up, your love back has to hold yourself rigid, and your upper back has to pull against the opposing muscles to provide something for them to push against.
Essentially the back is holding the weight, and your hands are against the fixed surface. In the bench press, your hands hold the weight, and your back is against the fixed surface. So there is a big difference in how the weight is borne on your body.
If you have never done push-ups before, you will probably find that the day after doing a few sets you will be sore in your lats and inner back muscles, even your traps. This will be your proof that push-ups work your back muscles.
Are Push-ups Good For Triceps?
Your triceps will definitely be very thoroughly worked by push-ups. In fact, most people think of push-ups as a triceps and chest exercise. Indeed, the triceps are one of the foremost muscles used in a push-up.
There are variations you can do which will place a greater emphasis on the triceps, or put it through a longer range of motion. Keep a narrower hand spacing, around shoulder width, and keep your elbows close to your sides. This is especially important of you want to isolate the triceps, even with a wider stance.
Another way to alter the exercise in order to focus on the triceps is to increase the range of motion. This is achieved by performing push-ups on your fists instead of flat palms.
Alternatively, you can put your hands on blocks, phone books (if you’re stuck in the 1990s), or rotating or stationary push-up handles. These push-up handles also seem to make it easier on the wrists.
Doing this allows your chest to descend deeper than if you had your hands on the floor in a conventonal palms down position. It is surprising how much just the position of the wrist affects the range of motion. Try it yourself. You will really notice how much further you have to move your body mass. This increased range of motion will give a better stretch and more thorough triceps workout.
What Push-ups Work Triceps?
Your triceps will get destroyed by push-ups. In a good way! I mean the triceps will do more work than any other muscle group, except maybe your chest. You can really develop the back of your arms by regularly performing this simple exercise.
Shoulder width push-ups are best for focusing on the triceps. As always, keep your elbows in when you descend. This position combined with the push-up handles or blocks, or doing them on your knuckles will really help develop your triceps because of the deep stretch and extended range of motion I discussed earlier in this post.
In order to further isolate the triceps, some people advocate “diamond” push-ups where the hands are together making a diamond shape with your hands. I believe that this variation places unnecessary strain on the shoulders and particularly the elbows. I am of the opinion that these should be avoided.
Are Push-ups Healthy?
Exercise is always healthy, provided you stay within your ability level. Of course, pushing yourself too hard can be dangerous. That being said, push-ups are great for you in a number of ways, including:
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Increases your metabolism
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Builds muscle
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Strengthens arms, chest, back, abs, even legs to some degree
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Promotes joint health
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Elevates your heart rate
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Burns calories
Will Push-ups Build Muscle?
Push-ups will build a tremendous amount of muscle! Even the most hard-gaining of hard gainers will be able to slap a few pounds of real muscle on from doing push-ups regularly. As long as you are challenging yourself, and getting stronger, you will grow – and what you are growing, is muscle!
Depending on your ability and general fitness level, you’ll need to either be hitting at least 50 per day, or 2 or 3 sets to failure. Once it becomes easy, increase the reps, add weight, do a more difficult variation on the push-up. Whatever it takes to add to the resistance and difficulty. The most obvious one is the number of reps. If you go from complete beginner, performing maybe 3 sets of 10, per day, all the way up to 10 sets of 20 (it’ll happen a lot quicker than you think), you will definitely have gained at least 5-15 lbs of muscle in your upper body.
That might not sound like a whole lot, but go to the grocery store and find a 5 lb, 10 lb, 15 lb piece of meat. It has substantial size! With time, you can completely reshape your body, and the way others see and perceive you.
What Push-ups Work Biceps?
While the thought of as a chest and triceps exercise, push-ups also work the biceps secondarily. They can be tweaked a bit to emphasize them to a greater degree.
Try positioning your hands lower, that is, nearer the waist, and with a reverse hand stance. Your fingers should be close to facing the same direction as your feet. This will activate the biceps and you should get a good pump there after a few sets.
What If I Can’t Do Push-ups?
If you can’t do a single push-up you may want to start by increasing your leverage to make it easier. This is achieved by pivoting from your knees instead of your toes. Some people still call them “girl push-ups” but really they are “beginner push-ups.” This makes the exercise about 40-50% easier than a regular push-up. Once you can do 10 of these, try some regular ones. You will see that the bottom of the movement is the most challenging part. So, if you still can’t do them, try putting a thick book or cushion underneath your chest to reduce the range of motion. This will make it easier as well. More about this shortly…
Can Push-ups Be Done Every Day?
You can do push-ups as often as you like, within reason. Daily is fine as long as you’re not starting out at 500 a day. I believe that training day is the best frequency for push-up workouts. Feel yourself out. Get familiar with your recovery timeline. Your recovery time will drastically shrink after your first few workouts. If you’re new to this start with 20 or so and add a few each day until you get to a 200. That is where I consider the point of diminishing returns to be. 100 is a good number too, and definitely enough to give you results.
Will Push-ups Get Rid Of Moobs?
Moobs are an increasingly common problem for guys. Whether the cause is poor hormonal profile due to environmental factors, genetics, or just poor diet and lifestyle, no man wants to have boobies.
Push-ups will definitely help with a man’s quest to rid himself of moobs. As you may know, you cannot necessarily spot-train fat off your body. However, building muscle in your chest will lessen the appearance of moobs, by enhancing the size of your pectorals and giving you a more masculine look. More importantly, reducing fat over your body as a whole will shrink them.
Since fat loss is the goal, and adding muscle will accelerate this process, push-ups can be done in a way which will facilitate this. You will need a lot of volume, and to do your workouts frequently. 10-20 sets per day of a reasonable number per set will work well.
Perform a set to failure. That is, do as many push-ups as you can in one go without stopping. Take 25% of that number, and that is how many push-ups you should do per set. Perform 10 or more sets with as little rest as possible.
So if you can do 20 max, do sets of 5. If you can do 50, do sets of 10-12 per set. You want to stretch your workouts evenly over a longer time to keep your heart rate elevated for a continued period to enhance fat burning.
Often, if you can do 20 push-ups max in one set, then you will actually find that you can do 50 total in easy sets of 5. This should take about 10-15 mins. Then increase the number of reps per set by 1 every couple or three workouts, and before you know it, you’ll be knocking out 200 push-ups in 10-15 mins. Regularly.
For a great way to do a lot of push-ups in a short training window, click here.
Another helpful feature of resistance training, for this goal, is the afterburn effect. This is the phenomenon of resistance exercise causing an elevated metabolic rate for hours, or even days after training has ended. Also, push-ups build muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day, and even at night.
Should Push-ups Hurt?
As with any resistance exercise, as you get toward your limits, there will be some lactic acid build-up in your muscles and some temporary burning will occur. The will also be some DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the next day or so. This is all normal.
There may be a little discomfort in your wrists or shoulders. If so, adjust your hand position to find a plane of motion that is more comfortable. Remember to keep your elbows close to your sides to put your shoulders in the best position to minimize your chance of injury.
What is not normal is any sharp or intense pain in any joints or muscles, anywhere! If it hurts, stop!
Can You Do Push-ups As Isotonic / Isometrics?
Isotonic/isometric exercises are static. That is to say, there is no movement. Simply hold yourself in the push-up position until you can no longer stay still. You will be stronger at the top of the push-up movement and will last longer. This is more challenging at the bottom of the movement and will stretch the chest well.
This will certainly lead to gains in muscular development and can be a useful variation.
Floor flyes (mentioned earlier) are a great variation to use as an isometric exercise. Simply hold yourself in the contracted position for as long as you can.
Can Push-ups Work Your Abs?
When you perform a push-up, you are holding your body in a plank position. This is a very good ab exercise. Both upper and lower abs, as well as obliques and intercostals, are all called into play in order to stabilize your body and keep you rigid.
While you may still need to do some other ab work, this will be a good foundation and will certainly make a huge difference to anyone who is very out of shape or is new to training.
What Are Some Harder Types Of Push-ups?
The simplest way to make a push-up more challenging is to add resistance. This can be accomplished by wearing a weight vest or a backpack with weights, cans of food, books or whatever in it. An even heavier option is to get your kids, a friend, GF/BF, training partner, passers-by to lay or sit on your back. If they sit, you will want them to sit on your shoulder blades with a leg over each shoulder for balance.
Other than this, there are several ways to increase the difficulty of the exercise:
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Increasing the range of motion, like with the knuckle push-up, or using push-up stands, will help.
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Elevate your feet. This will change the direction of the force exerted by your body and provide a different stimulus to your muscles.
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One arm push-ups. Let’s get it Rocky! These are very hard, and involve more leverage and technique rather than just raw muscle fiber recruitment. But if you can do them, by all means include them in your workout. These are much harder on the joints than regular push-ups, so I would do them toward the end of your workout when your shoulders and elbows are thoroughly warmed up.
Can Push-ups Get You Ripped?
Push-ups will add muscle, burn fat, and increase stamina. All this can result in dramatic body composition changes, and with that comes increased confidence. With persistence and regularity, and dietary discipline, push-ups can get you ripped. It won’t happen all of a sudden after a month of 100 push-ups a day. But with a plan and some time to devote, you can get there.
Remember that you need lots of volume for fat loss. I would try to do 20 sets per day. Daily or 6x per week. This sounds impossible but you are only doing 25% of your 1 set maximum number of reps. So if you can do 100 push-ups without stopping in one set, which is impressive, you would do sets of 25 with minimal rest between sets. I would aim to keep rest intervals under 1 minute. Since you are doing such a relatively low number of reps per set, you can do a lot of sets before you start to get anywhere near failure. Instead, you just get a great pump and a good workout.
When your fat is low enough and you have a little more muscle, that is the definition of “ripped”. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the world who have used pushups to get in the best shape of their life over the years. Many of them were in boot camp, or prison, or correctional boot camps. Places where access to gym equipment may not be available or is not always guaranteed. You literally need nothing other than your body. You can burn calories, build muscle, chisel your chest and arms into something magnificent, and really look your best.
The push-up is an extremely versatile, convenient and effective tool. If you perform a good number of them regularly, you will start to look better. So get to it!
