Pushups are a highly effective form of resistance training that targets multiple muscle groups simultaneously, making them excellent for building muscle. Muscle growth, or hypertrophy, occurs when muscle fibers are subjected to sufficient mechanical tension and repair themselves to become larger and stronger. A standard pushup forces the body to lift a significant portion of its own mass, providing the necessary stimulus for growth. As a compound exercise, this bodyweight movement engages several joints and large muscle groups, efficiently developing functional strength and increasing muscle size across the upper body and core.
Primary and Stabilizing Muscles Engaged
The pushup is primarily known for engaging the muscles responsible for the pushing motion. The three main movers that push the body away from the floor are the Pectoralis Major, the Triceps Brachii, and the Anterior Deltoids. The Pectoralis Major (chest muscle) is the largest contributor, with both its sternal and clavicular heads activating. The Triceps Brachii, located on the back of the upper arm, extends the elbow and locks out the arms at the top of the movement. The Anterior Deltoids (front shoulder muscles) assist the chest in initiating the press and provide shoulder stability.
Beyond these primary muscles, others work isometrically to maintain the rigid plank position required for proper form. The core muscles, including the Rectus Abdominis and Obliques, are under constant tension to prevent the hips from sagging. The Serratus Anterior, often called the “boxer’s muscle,” protracts the shoulder blades at the top of the movement for shoulder stability.
The lower body also contributes, as the Glutes and Erector Spinae (lower back muscles) contract to keep the body in a straight line. This widespread engagement is why the pushup is considered an excellent exercise for overall upper body and core strength development.
The Hypertrophy Requirements for Bodyweight Training
Muscle hypertrophy is driven by three main factors: mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage. Mechanical tension, which is the force placed upon the muscle fibers, is considered the most important factor for growth. For bodyweight exercises like the pushup, achieving sufficient mechanical tension often means training close to muscular failure, where the last few repetitions are extremely challenging.
When resistance is fixed, such as with bodyweight, muscle growth is stimulated by manipulating total training volume. This involves increasing the number of sets and repetitions until the muscles are fatigued. High-volume training leads to metabolic stress, the “burn” sensation caused by the accumulation of byproducts like lactate within the muscle cells.
Metabolic stress is a secondary driver of hypertrophy, particularly when using bodyweight. To continue seeing gains, the principle of progressive overload must be applied, meaning the stimulus must constantly increase. If a person can easily perform 30 or more repetitions, the mechanical tension will no longer be adequate to drive further muscle size increases, necessitating a progression in difficulty.
Strategies for Increasing Resistance and Difficulty
To ensure progressive overload with pushups, the resistance must be increased once the standard variation becomes too easy. The most common method is altering body leverage, which shifts a greater percentage of body weight onto the upper body. Elevating the feet, such as performing a decline pushup, significantly increases the load on the chest and shoulders. The higher the feet are placed, the more difficult the movement becomes.
Manipulating the repetition tempo is another strategy for increasing mechanical tension without adding external weight. By slowing down the eccentric (lowering) phase to three or more seconds, and incorporating a brief pause at the bottom, the muscles spend more time under tension. This technique increases the muscular demand, particularly during the lengthening phase, which is highly effective for inducing muscle growth.
Advanced athletes can increase difficulty by removing a limb, such as performing a one-arm pushup or a pushup with one leg lifted, which instantly doubles the load on the working muscles. Alternatively, incorporating instability by placing hands on medicine balls, gymnastic rings, or dumbbells forces the stabilizer muscles to work harder to control the movement. Finally, increasing the overall training frequency, volume, or density (reducing rest time between sets) can provide the necessary cumulative work to stimulate continued hypertrophic adaptations.