The Perfect Pushup is a popular piece of fitness equipment designed to help you perform a better push-up. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse studied the effectiveness of the Perfect Pushup and found that it did elicit more muscle activity in the chest, triceps, and anterior shoulder than standard floor push-ups.
Chest
The main muscles involved in movements performed with the Perfect Pushup are the chest, or pectoralis, muscles. The major pectoralis muscles are the main visible chest muscles. They are responsible for transverse flexion and transverse adduction of the shoulder joint--the movement that involve bringing the upper arm toward and across the chest. The pectoralis muscles are also responsible for internal rotation of the shoulder joint, which is when you turn your upper arm inward. All of these movements are part of performing the pressing-up motion of a push-up.
Triceps
The triceps brachii are the muscles on the back of the upper arm. This is a common trouble area for women. Although the triceps are not the main movers during a push-up, they heavily assist during this exercise. The triceps' main function is extension of the elbow joint when you straighten your elbow. During a push-up, the triceps engage as you press up and straighten your arms. Another exercise performed with the Perfect Pushup is the triceps push-up, where the triceps are the main movers and you keep your upper arms close to your body instead of flaring your elbows to the sides. This transfers the majority of the movement onto the triceps muscles.
Front Shoulder
The shoulder or deltoid muscle is actually composed of three smaller muscles: the rear deltoid in the back, the lateral deltoid on the side and the front deltoid on the front. Of the three deltoid muscles, only the anterior deltoid is involved in transverse flexion and internal rotation of the shoulder joint. During a push-up, the anterior deltoid assists the pectoralis muscles in the pressing-up motion as the shoulder rotates slightly inward.
Ab Muscles
The abdominal muscles are not main movers in Perfect Pushup exercises, but even in a regular push-up, the rectus abdominis, or main ab muscle, is a stabilizer muscle, contracting during movement to maintain a specific posture. In a push-up position, the abdominal muscles stabilize the torso. This is also true with the Perfect Pushup, especially since the handles are slightly unstable as compared to having your hands flat on the ground.
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