Push-ups are one of the most widely used and popular callisthenic exercises. Performed by Olympic athletes, members of the armed forces, fitness enthusiasts and school kids alike, push-ups are a mainstay of many people's workout program. The Perfect Push Up is a training device that allows your wrists to rotate naturally when performing push-ups which, according to the manufacturers, reduces wrist strain and increases the benefits from performing push-ups. Whether you perform push-ups in the traditional way or using the Perfect Push Up apparatus, the muscles involved in the movement remain the same.
Agonist Muscle
The agonist, or main muscle, involved in the Perfect Push Up is your pectoralis major, or pecs for short. Located across your chest, your pecs are fan shaped muscles that originate from your sternum and clavicles and insert onto your humerus. Your pecs lengthen under tension, called an eccentric contraction, to lower your body down towards the floor before shortening, called a concentric contraction, to raise your body back into the starting position.
Synergist Muscles
Synergists are secondary muscles that aid the agonist. The synergists in the Perfect Push Up are your anterior deltoids or front shoulder muscles and your triceps brachii at the rear of your upper arm. These muscles are responsible for flexing your shoulder forwards and extending your elbows respectively. Although the synergists are not the target muscles when performing Perfect Push Ups, they tend to be the muscles that fail first because they are smaller and weaker than the agonist. You can increase the amount of work performed by your triceps by placing the Perfect Push Up stands closer together and performing narrow grip push-ups. A wider position, outside of shoulder-width, places more emphasis on the pecs and deltoids.
Fixator Muscles
Fixators stabilize your body so that your agonist and synergist muscles have a solid base from which to work. Fixators tend to contract isometrically, that is to say they generate force but remain the same length. The main fixators when performing Perfect Push Ups are your core muscles. Your core, which is made up of your rectus abdominus, obliques, transverse abdominus and erector spinea, holds your spine in place and stops your lower back and hips from sagging. In addition, your hip flexors and quadriceps muscles contract to hold your legs rigid. Small muscles around your shoulders, collectively called your rotator cuff, hold the head of your humerus in place and stop it from projecting backwards.
References
- "Principles of Anatomy & Physiology, Ninth Edition"; Sandra R. Grabowski & Gerald J. Tortora; 2000
- "You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises for Men and Women"; Mark Lauren; 2010
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