I was told by 2 friends that pushups (they mentioned specifically military pushups) work the back muscles. I don't believe this as I know pushups work chest, and I don't see how it could work your back because the resistance force is gravity and in the downwards direction therefore the only resistance to fight is going upwards which would work chest (and triceps and shoulders). Their argument was that it does and you can easily know it does because they feel their back muscles tightened. I believe they aren't really working their back muscles but because of how low they are going, gravity as an external force is tightening their back muscles (not really "working" them?).
I've searched all over the internet, on bb.com, searched the forums with the search function, looked at the exercise guides, and some sites (user inputted) said it does work the back but other sites and bb.com does not say it does and the exercise guides don't say it does either.
I know it's confusing, but can anyone give me insight into this? Whether it does or doesn't work the back muscles, and why or why not. Greatly appreciated and thank you
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Thread: Do pushups work back muscles??
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11-09-2010, 09:56 PM #1
Do pushups work back muscles??
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11-09-2010, 10:17 PM #2
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11-10-2010, 02:57 AM #3
depends what you mean by 'work'. yes they are activated as stabilizers but this does not constitute an acceptable workout for the back muscles, thus by that criteria pushups do not 'work' them. muscles contract (pull) & shorten to produce force, not push & lengthen.
ah yes with military pushups like shoulder presses the traps are worked a lot, yes the traps are part of the back but it sounds like o.p's friends meant much more than just traps"Though the concept is not scientifically validated in detail (it should be considered as a hypothesis rather than a scientific theory), it is useful from a practical standpoint. When training athletes, it is impossible to wait until scientific research provides all of the necessary knowledge." Vladmir M. Zatsiorsky, Ph.D.
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11-10-2010, 09:21 PM #4
I was doing a Back/Bicep day and my friends thought the would teach me a good workout for the back... From what I understood and how they spoke about it, they meant that it really was a good workout for the back. I have another day during the week where I do Traps/Shoulders so I don't really consider my traps to be part of my back (that is to say, I don't include them in my back workout).
By work, I mean strain the muscles enough to feel them strained/pumped. I'm trying to gain mass so I lift heavy and work my muscles hard but even if I was to tone, I would consider working the muscles to be producing results from the exercise and feeling the strain/pump.
Thanks
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11-10-2010, 09:32 PM #5
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11-10-2010, 10:58 PM #6
Pretty much everything is engaged in compound exercises. And yes, that does include back and biceps during push ups.
The only time this is really relevant is when training around severe injuries or with very heavy loads though, because like has already been said, it's more the fact that the muscles are activated than that they're getting a legitimate workout.A man can only be beaten in two ways: if he gives up, or dies.
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11-10-2010, 11:06 PM #7
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11-11-2010, 01:10 AM #8
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11-11-2010, 01:15 AM #9
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11-11-2010, 01:15 AM #10
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11-12-2010, 05:30 AM #11
Sometimes people just tighten their muscles. I can tighten my ass during a chinup, it doesn't mean my ass is the prime mover.
The traps are scapular retractors. They pull back. A push up pushes forward. It engages the scapular PROtractors.
The lats are shoulder extensors, the push up is a shoulder flexion exercise. The lats may assist with internal rotation and adduction of the humerus a bit, but it's predominantly the pec that will be doing that.
For the most part, lats and traps seem to me like antagonist muscles that will only pulsate a bit to help relax the muscles on the front of the body so they will lengthen during the eccentric portion of the movement. Unless someone can explain otherwise?
Saying traps is just wrong. Overhead pushing uses the upper trap fibres just like doing a dip or chinup would user the lower trap fibres.
Hm? What do you mean be 'engaged'?
The biceps can assist the anterior deltoid a little bit to perform shoulder flexion, perhaps that's how, but I'm not sure if they're in the best position to do so efficiently.
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11-12-2010, 05:37 AM #12
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11-12-2010, 05:39 AM #13
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11-12-2010, 05:41 AM #14
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11-12-2010, 05:49 AM #15
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11-12-2010, 07:07 AM #16
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11-12-2010, 09:45 AM #17
Doing push ups will slightly work your lats as they are a shoulder internal rotator. To say that they are doing any real significant work is incorrect. However, push ups do work the serratus anterior quite well - especially when you do a "push up plus". The serratus muscles are clearly a back muscle and they function to stabilize and move the scapula, specifically into protraction. The serratus anterior muscles when viewed from the back are very deep and really aren't seen as they lie under the larger rhomboids and trapezius muscles. You typically see the serratus muscles on the lateral view under the "arm pit" area as you look down at their insertion into the rib cage.
So to say that push ups work the back is technically true - but practically incorrect. Push ups by themselves are not a real back exercise. I agree with what others have said that with any compound exercise you are going to get at least some activation of a lot of musles. For a push up this would include spinal erector muscles as well.
Hope this helps.
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11-15-2010, 06:43 AM #18
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11-15-2010, 07:25 AM #19
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11-15-2010, 04:12 PM #20
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11-15-2010, 05:34 PM #21
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05-21-2014, 05:33 AM #22
WTF! Hell yes, they work da freakin back.
I can do 4 sets of pull-ups and feel nothing the following day. If, I do 4 sets of pushups I can feel my lats (back) get sore the following day. Go figure! WTF is going on? Hell yes, somehow they stabilize in an eccentric fashion causing muscle stimulation and growth for a beginner or someone who doesn't do pushups very often.
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05-21-2014, 06:29 AM #23
Don't give it any more thought! You should focus on your back and legs more than any other body groups which should work around them rather than the other way round.
If you become somewhat reliant on indirect training where muscles are 'worked' as a result of working another muscle then you are not working out as efficiently as you can and will miss out in the long run . I dedicate a full day to back and same for legs although i'd much rather hit chest and arms.
Heavy compound excersizes, lift heavy and make squats and deadlifts your best friends.
Add BIG back DAY to your programme.
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