The pushup is a classic exercise and for good reason, it requires no equipment and can be done almost anywhere and anytime. This one exercise effectively works a broad range of muscles in the upper body and makes it an essential component of good workout programs. By learning variations on the exercise, you can expand it and create a variety of slightly different forms that target some muscles more than others. Because pushing is an activity you do everyday, the pushup also helps train and prepare your body for that activity and helps prevent injuries.
The Classic Pushup
When done with good form, the humble pushup provides a challenging resistance for the muscles of your upper body. The primary muscle will be your pectoralis, both the major and minor, and the coracobrachialis muscles of the chest. Additionally, you will be stabilizing the exercise with the deltoid muscles of the shoulder, the trapezius muscles of the upper back, and the tricep muscles of the upper arm. Although the primary focus is on muscles of the upper body, the plank position requires your whole body to be held in a stiff line from your shoulders to your feet. The plank uses the rectus abdominis, the erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles of the core and the quadricep and tibialis muscles of your legs.
Changes in Body Position
By making slight changes in your body or hand positions, you can alter which muscles are the primary targets. By raising your feet higher than your shoulders, usually by starting with your feet in a chair, you will increase the work of the anterior and middle deltoid muscles. You can also use a Swiss ball to elevate your feet. Using a ball will increase focus on your core muscles to stabilize a plank position. You may also use your body position to decrease the difficulty of the exercise by starting with your knees on the floor in a modified plank.
Changes in Hand Placement
If you change the placement of your hands by spreading them wider apart, you will work your chest muscles harder. The closer you move your hands together, the more you will work your arms. The diamond pushup starts with your hands forming a diamond shape on the floor right under your chest and makes the exercise almost exclusively a tricep exercise. Any form that keeps your elbows in closer to the sides of your body is going to work the triceps more.
Changes in Dynamics
Another way to change the exercise is to change the speed. Slower pace will recruit more core muscles. The clap pushup is the best form to recruit your abdominal and lower muscles because after your press up quickly enough to be able to get a clap in between repetitions, those muscles must stabilize your core to prevent you from sagging when you land. Using one hand to support you during the pushup will also add more torsion to the muscles of your core like the serratus anterior and posterior.
References
- "Anatomy of Strength Training"; Pat Manocchia; 2010
- "The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises"; Adam Campbell; 2009
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