Everyone knows how to do push-ups. From the moment we start PE class in elementary school, to the minute we are yelled at by our Army basic drill instructor, to those moments we wake up feeling overweight and fall to the floor for a wake-up session of push-ups and sit-ups, the push-up is the movement which is the symbol of “getting in shape”. However, most bodybuilders don’t use the movement in their routine in any meaningful way. They may drop to the ground and do a few reps when it’s time to pump up, for the beach or for a stage. But it’s extremely rare that you witness anyone, in any gym, using the push-up.

This is a mistake. The push-up is actually a very useful movement, and one that can be used as part of your bodybuilding regimen to help develop the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Electromyography tests have been run which have shown a great deal of muscle fibers are stimulated when pushups are completed. The traditional, wide grip approach seen in many outlets is actually not the most efficient method to use. Completing pushups with a narrow-hand placement will deliver more muscle fiber stimulation to both the pectorals and the triceps. This would involve making almost a diamond shape with your hands, and keeping your legs and back straight throughout the movement. Think of this movement as a close-grip bench press, almost, with a very limited weight demand (your own body weight).

“Sissy push-ups”, or pushups completed with the knees touching the ground, are often used by weaker female and overweight male trainers who are still unable to complete full repetitions using standard form. The limited range of motion and reduce weight load allows the trainer to build up strength and endurance in the chest and triceps regions. Once the trainer is capable of completing full-range pushups, the partial sissy movement should be abandoned. If you see people in the gym completing sissy pushups after years of attending the gym, you have every right to call them a sissy. They’re simply not improving in terms of strength and endurance!

It should be noted that no routine using high repetition push-ups is going to lead to gains in body weight and muscular mass. You will gain some endurance from completing pushups, but you aren’t going to gain size. For this reason, it should be treated like any other movement in the gym which helps tone an area and bring out definition. If you use the movement as a ‘finisher’ and not your ‘main course’, you’ll find much success. They train the entirety of the muscle groups with moderate stimulation.

To this end, bodybuilders should never begin their chest or triceps routine with pushups. They should be relegated to the end of the workout, when the muscle group has already been torched to a point where weight can no longer be safely used without risking an injury. If you’ve completed 18 sets for triceps and you have a bit more in the tank, tackle some pushups!

If you like this article, click here to share: