Push-up
The push-up is a common calisthenics exercise beginning from the prone position. By raising and lowering the body using the arms, push-ups exercise the pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterior deltoids, with ancillary benefits to the rest of the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis, and the midsection as a whole. Push-ups are a basic exercise used in civilian athletic training or physical education and commonly in military physical training. It is also a common form of punishment used in the military, school sport, and some martial arts disciplines for its humiliating factor and for its lack of equipment. Variations, such as wide-arm and diamond push-ups, target specific muscle groups and provide further challenges.
Etymology
The American English term push-up was first used between 1905 and 1910, while the British press-up was first recorded in 1920.Body mass supported during push-ups
According to the study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the test subjects supported with their hands, on average, 69.16% of their body mass in the up position, and 75.04% in the down position during the traditional push-ups. In modified push-ups, where knees are used as the pivot point, subjects supported 53.56% and 61.80% of their body mass in up and down positions, respectively.Muscles worked
The primary muscle groups targeted by push-ups include chest, front and medial deltoids, as well as triceps and forearm muscles. While the push-up primarily targets the muscles of the chest, arms, and shoulders, support required from other muscles results in a wider range of muscles integrated into the exercise.Abdominals
The rectus abdominis and transversus abdominis contract continually while performing push-ups to hold the body off the floor and keep the legs and torso aligned. The rectus abdominis spans the front of the abdomen and is the most prominent of the abdominal muscles. The transversus abdominis lies deep within the abdomen, wrapping around the entire abdominal area. Both muscles compress the abdomen, and the rectus abdominis also flexes the spine forward, although it does not execute this function when performing push-ups.Deltoid
The anterior portion of the deltoid muscle is one of the major shoulder-joint horizontal adductors, moving the upper arms toward the chest during the upward phase of a push-up. It also helps control the speed of movement during the downward phase. The deltoid attaches to parts of the clavicle and scapula, just above the shoulder joint on one end, and to the outside of the humerus bone on the other. Along with horizontal adduction, the anterior deltoid assists with flexion and internal rotation of the humerus within the shoulder socket.Chest muscles
The push-up requires the work of many muscle groups, with one of the primary muscle groups being the chest muscles, the pectoralis major and the minor. These are the two large chest muscles and the main pushing muscle group of the upper body. When pushing and lowering the body during a push-up, the pectoralis major is doing most of the work. As a result, these muscles become very strong and can become defined as lean muscle after doing push-ups regularly.Stabilizers: back body
The push-up depends on stabilizer muscles as the body is pushed and lowered. The erector spinae is the main stabilizer muscle in the back. Made up of three muscles including the spinal, longissimus, and iliocostalis. The spinal runs adjacent to the spine, the longissimus runs adjacent to the spinal and the iliocostalis runs adjacent to the longissimus and over the ribs. Two muscles called the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus stabilize the upper leg. The medius and minimus sit under the largest butt muscle, the gluteus maximus.Triceps brachii
While the anterior deltoids and pectoralis major muscles work to horizontally adduct the upper arms during the upward phase of a push-up, the triceps brachii muscles, or triceps for short, are also hard at work extending the elbow joints so the arms can be fully extended. The triceps also control the speed of elbow-joint flexion during the downward phase of the exercise. The closer together the hands are placed during a push-up, the harder the triceps work. The muscle is divided into three heads — the lateral head, long head, and medial head. The lateral and medial heads attach to the back of the humerus bone, and the long head attaches just behind the shoulder socket on one end; all three heads combine and attach to the back of the elbow on the other.Forearms
Stabilizers include wrist and forearm muscles, the knee extensors, and the hip/spine flexors, which all work isometrically to maintain a proper plank position in the standard prone push-up.Biceps
During the push-up exercise, the short head of the biceps brachii muscle acts as a dynamic stabilizer. This means the muscle activates at both ends—the elbow and the shoulder—to help stabilize the joints.Joints and tendons
Inner muscles that support the operation of the fingers, wrists, forearms, and elbows are also worked isometrically. Some push-up modifications that require to have the arms at different heights effectively engage the rotator cuff.Variations
In the "full push-up", the back and legs are straight and off the floor. There are several variations besides the common push-up. These include bringing the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together as well as having the elbows pointed towards the knees. These variations are intended to put greater emphasis on the triceps or shoulders, rather than the chest muscles. When both hands are unbalanced or on uneven surfaces, this exercise works the body core. Raising the feet or hands onto elevated surfaces during the exercise emphasizes the upper or lower pectorals, respectively. Raising the hands with the aid of push-up bars or a dumbbell allows for a greater range of motion, providing further stress for the muscles.Weighted push-ups
Progressively overloading classic push-ups using barbell plates, resistance bands or any form of weight. The load is usually positioned on the upper back. This very effective exercise is not commonly performed because of the difficulty of loading the human body in that position. An alternate way to add weight to the push-up is by placing the hands on high handles bars and then elevating the feet on a high surface to get into a suspended push-up position. Due to the distance between the pelvis and the floor a dipping belt can be used to add weights from the pelvis. This method of adding extra weight to the push-up becomes more efficient.Knee push-ups
"Modified" or "knee" push-ups are performed by supporting the lower body on the knees instead of the toes, which reduces the difficulty. These are sometimes used in fitness tests for women, corresponding to regular push-ups for men. This is useful for warm-ups/downs, pyramids/drop sets, endurance training, and rehab. It can also be used to train in a more explosive plyometric manner when one cannot perform them with the feet. It can also be used with the one-arm variations as a transition. However, the intense pressure on the knees can be harmful.Planche push-ups
An extremely difficult variation is to perform a push-up using only hands, without resting the feet on the floor, i.e., starting from and returning to the planche position. These are known as "planche push-ups". To do this variation, the body's center of gravity must be kept over the hands while performing the push-up by leaning forward while the legs are elevated in the air, which requires great strength and a high level of balance. The entire body weight is lifted in this variation.Tandem push-ups
Tandem push-ups are a variation of traditional push-ups, performed by two people working together. Each person is facing a different direction but with one of the athletes lying faced downwards on top of the other. It is considered a very challenging variation of the regular push-up because it requires two people to co-ordinate with perfect balance placing their feet to each other's shoulders and pressing up.Tandem knuckle push-ups
Tandem knuckle push-ups are a more challenging variation of push-ups performed by two people together, using their knuckles instead of their palms. They offer a greater challenge compared to tandem push-ups.Hand release push-ups
Hand release push-ups are a much more challenging variation of traditional push-ups, involving lifting the hands off the floor between each repetition. This way the athlete is forced to do a full and complete repetition. Lifting the hands off the ground completely resets the movement eliminating the momentum. This variation builds core and shoulder strength in addition to the benefits of the regular push-up.Push-ups on medicine balls
Push-ups on medicine balls are a variation of push-ups that involve performing the exercise on top of three medicine balls instead of on the floor. This modification adds an element of instability and core engagement to the exercise, making it more challenging and effective for building upper body strength and stability. More difficult variations include push-ups on medicine balls with one leg raised, decline push-ups on medicine balls and decline push-ups on medicine balls with one leg raised.Knuckle push-ups
Another variation is to perform push-ups on the knuckles of the fist, rather than with palms of the hands on the floor. This method is also commonly used in martial arts, such as Karate and Tae Kwon Do, and may be used in boxing training while wearing boxing gloves.The intent, in addition to building strength and conditioning, is to toughen the knuckles, wrist, and forearm in the punching position. This variation also reduces the amount of strain in the wrist, compared to the typical "palms on floor" approach, and so it is sometimes used by those with wrist injuries. Such practitioners will usually perform their knuckle push-ups on a padded floor or a rolled-up towel, unlike martial artists, who may do bare-knuckle push-ups on hard floors.