The pushup is a body-weight exercise that primarily targets the chest muscles, also known as the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. However, other muscles assist in the pushup exercise movement such as the triceps, located on the back of your arm between the shoulder and elbow, and the deltoids, which are more commonly referred to as the shoulders. The biceps, located on the front part of your arm between shoulder and elbow, plays a very small role in the pushup exercise movement and is not directly or indirectly trained.
Pushup
Lie face down on the floor, with your hands slightly beyond shoulder-width apart and palms flat on the ground. Have your legs fully straightened and next to each other. Push your body weight up onto your hands and toes. Keep your back, core and buttocks straight at all times. Push yourself up until your arms are almost fully extended but do not lock the elbows. Lower your body until your chest almost touches the ground and then push back up. Perform this exercise for three sets of eight to 12 reps. To increase the difficulty of the exercise, you can put your feet up on a bench or add weight on your back. Neither variation will target the biceps or triceps muscles.
Chest Muscles
The pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor, "pecs" for short, make up the chest muscles. The pectoralis major is located above the stomach and below the neckline on the front portion of your torso. It possesses two heads, with the lower head attached to the sternum and the upper head attached to the clavicle. The pectoralis major is responsible for shoulder movements like adduction and extension. The pectoralis minor is located outside of the pectoralis major and is attached to the third through fifth ribs. The pectoralis minor plays a role in scapula movements like abduction. In a pushup, the portion of the pectoralis major that is attached to the sternum is the primary muscle used. The upper portion of the pectoralis major — the clavicular portion — and the pectoralis minor are synergist muscles in the exercise movement as they assist but are not directly targeted.
Triceps
The triceps brachii is located on the back of your upper arm. This muscle possesses three heads — lateral, medial and long. The triceps brachii is responsible for elbow extension and shoulder extension. In a pushup, the triceps plays the role of a synergist muscle, which is a muscle that assists in a movement but isn't directly targeted. In a pushup, the triceps assist when you are pushing yourself all the way up and fully extending your arms. Although not directly targeted, the triceps can become fatigued with their participation, thus becoming indirectly trained through pushups.
Biceps
The biceps brachii sits on the front of your upper arm. The biceps is responsible for elbow flexion, shoulder flexion and forearm supination. The biceps possesses two heads, with the short head located on the inner portion of the biceps and the long head located on the outer portion of the muscle. Pushups do not target the biceps, which also does not assist in the exercise movement. The biceps' short head is a dynamic stabilizer, which assists in stabilizing the elbow joint. Unlike the triceps and the chest muscles, the biceps does not experience fatigue and is not directly or indirectly trained during a pushup.
References
- ExRx.Net: Triceps Brachii
- "Bodybuilding Anatomy"; Nicholas Evans; October 2006
- "Strength Training Anatomy"; Frederic Delavier; September 2001
- ExRx.net: Push-up
- ExRx.net: Biceps Brachii
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