Since push-ups don't require any special equipment, you can do them just about anywhere, which is one of the reasons they are such a popular exercise. Another reason for their popularity is that they work more than one muscle at a time. Although, push-ups are generally considered a chest exercise, they actually target several muscle groups, including your abs.
The Movement
For the basic push-up, you lie pronated on the floor with your hands and balls of your feet on the ground. Your hands should be about shoulder-width apart while your wrists are placed directly below your shoulders. Press yourself off the ground by straightening your arms. There are several kinds of modified push-ups that are more or less challenging, and they include knee push-ups, incline or decline push-ups, and Spider-Man push-ups. Regardless of the style of push-up you do, you are still targeting the same muscles, including your abs.
Muscles Worked
Push-ups are usually included in chest routines, since the chest, or pectoralis major, is the primary mover during a push-up. Several muscles are involved in this simple exercise. The front shoulders and triceps muscles assist the chest in pressing your body up. Other muscles, including your core and your quadriceps, or front thigh muscles, stabilize the body in the push-up position while you execute the movement.
Stabilizers
According to Exrx.net, a stabilizer is a muscle "that contracts with no significant movement to maintain a posture or fixate a joint." Several muscles stabilize the body while you perform a push-up, including your core muscles. The rectus abdominis, which is your main ab muscle; the obliques; your side abs; and the transverse abdominis, which is a deep, internal ab muscle, all work to stabilize your body as your perform a push-up.
Isometric Contractions
A muscle does not have to move to contract. Concentric contractions, which occur when the muscle actively shortens, are just one type of contraction. When you flex your biceps, you are shortening the bicep muscle in a concentric contraction. An isometric contraction is when the muscle is activated, but it does not lengthen or shorten. If you hold weights with your arms parallel to the ground, your shoulders and biceps are working to hold the weight, even if they aren't actively contracting. You are still working the muscle in this scenario. Your core muscles isometrically contract during push-ups to stabilize your body in the push-up position.
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