The push-up is a body-weight exercise that trains abdominal, hip, spine and shoulder stability while strengthening your chest and arm muscles. Although your chest, shoulders and arms are doing most of the work, your back and posterior shoulders also help to balance and coordinate the movement, according to Juan Carlos Santana, director of the Institute of Human Performance.
Functional Anatomy
Your chest, back, shoulder and other muscle groups are connected by layers of connective tissues called fasciae, which hold them and other organs in place. The fasciae also create a network of communication among all body parts. If one part of your body is dysfunctional, it will create abnormal movement patterns or muscle imbalances that cause injury and pain, according to manual therapist Thomas Myers, author of "Anatomy Trains." Thus, your chest, back, abdominals, shoulders and arms work together to perform push-ups.
Movement Phases
Your muscles move in three different phases, Santana explains. The concentric phase is where your muscles contract against gravity or tension, which is known as acceleration. In the eccentric phase, your muscles stretch while under tension, which is known as deceleration. The isometric phase is when your muscles are under tension but do not move. When you push your body up during a push-up, your chest and triceps undergo concentric contraction. When you lower your body down, your back undergoes eccentric contraction and stabilization at the same time. Both muscle groups constantly pull each other like a rubber band.
Variations
You can also do push-ups in different hand and body positions to challenge yourself with different movement patterns. This improves abdominal, hip and back stability and mobility as well as preventing boredom in your workouts.
You can change your standard push-ups by creating different hand positions, such as putting them farther away from or closer to the center of your body. You can put one hand 6 inches in front of your original position and the other hand toward your ribs. To do a rotational push-up, do a regular push-up and lift your right arm off the ground and over your body. Twist your torso and hip while keeping your feet in place and pulling your shoulder blades together.
Prevention
Too many push-ups can cause your fasciae and chest muscles to shorten and tighten. This can in turn cause your upper back to excessively curve out and your shoulders to protract. One way you can prevent tight chest and anterior fasciae is by doing strength exercises for your back and posterior shoulders and stretching your chest muscles. Physical therapist Chris Frederick, co-author of "Stretch to Win," recommends the following exercise after doing push-ups: Lie on your back on a large stability ball and bring your arms out to your sides to open up your chest cavity. Let gravity pull your arms down to stretch.
Expert Insight
Physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance," recommends you do a set of pulling exercises before or after a set of push-ups. This method is called a superset, where you do two exercises that train opposing movements consecutively without rest. This allows one muscle group to rest while the other group works. For example, do one set of push-ups followed by a set of pull-ups or rows.
References
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
- "Anatomy Trains"; Thomas Myers; 2008
- "Stretch to Win"; Ann and Chris Frederick; 2006
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