The pushup is a compound, multijoint exercise that works several muscles in your upper body, but it targets the chest muscles. If you want to target your triceps, the muscles on the back of your upper arms, adjust the pushup exercise and turn it into a triceps press up movement.
Execution
The triceps press up and the pushup have the same basic execution. Place your hands flat on the floor with your legs extended behind you and your weight balanced on your toes. Bend your elbows and lower your body toward the floor as one, rigid unit. For the pushup, allow your elbows to flare out to your sides as you descend; for the triceps press up, tuck your elbows in to your sides.
Significance
The pushup works several muscles of the upper body. The chest muscles are the main movers; the triceps and shoulders assist. The pushup is an effective, upper body exercise, but it only works the triceps as secondary muscles. If you want to target your triceps muscles, pull your elbows in and keep your upper arms tucked by your sides. This transfers the tension to the triceps, making them the primary movers, with little help from your chest muscles; your shoulders still assist.
Variations
The triceps press up and the pushup have similar variations. Place your knees on the floor to make the exercise easier. You are pressing less of your body weight in this position. You can also adjust the angle of the exercise to change the difficulty level. Perform the movement on an incline with your chest higher than your feet to make it easier, or perform the movement on a decline to make it more challenging.
Considerations
Although the triceps press up and the pushup are similar movements, the triceps press up is significantly more difficult exercise because the triceps are much smaller, weaker muscles, compared with the large chest muscles. Even if you can do a full pushup, you may not be able to do a full triceps press up. Start with the bent-knee version and advance to the full version as you grow stronger.
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