What Muscles Are Used In Push-up Exercises?

The push-up exercise is a convenient and effective way to work the muscles of the upper body. Several major muscle groups are exercised with a simple motion. Push-ups can be done anywhere at anytime, using your own body weight as resistance. They can also be made more difficult by changing your leg position to work the upper body from a different angle.

Pectoralis Major

These are the two large muscles of the chest. The pectoralis major are the primary pushing muscles of the upper body. When you lower and raise yourself doing a push-up, the pectoralis major does most of the work. Well-defined pectoralis major muscles are prized by bodybuilders as symbols of strength.

Triceps

This is the group of muscles on the back of the upper arm. The triceps are essential to the pushing motion of the arms. They extend your arms outward while the biceps, on top of the forearm, are used to fold the arms. The triceps do most of the arm work in push-ups, because the resistance is experienced while performing the upward motion of the exercise. Triceps make up about two-thirds of the muscle mass of the upper arms. They are more important than biceps when building arm size.

Deltoid Muscles

These are the muscles of the shoulder. The deltoids assist the pectoralis major in the pushing and lowering motions of a push-up. While the deltoids are a relatively weak muscle group, they are necessary to every motion your shoulder makes. Well-defined deltoids create the rounded shoulder look that bodybuilders prize.

Serratus Anterior

This is located under the armpits on the sides of the chest. They are sometimes referred to as "wings," because they give the look of a wide back and shoulders. The serratus anterior is used to pull the shoulder blade forward and around the rib cage during the pushing portion of the push-up.

Coracobrachialis

This is a narrow muscle that runs from the shoulder blade to the biceps in the upper arms. The coracobrachialis pulls the upper arm forward and against the upper body. This motion is necessary to perform a push-up. You usually cannot see the coracobrachialis, but it is important to develop it to build upper-body strength.