Push up is the most common exercise known to us. Push ups may look simple but it actually takes a lot of strength. This simple but effective exercise is known to help strengthening and toning your body muscles. It mainly targets your upper body and core area.

Speaking of push ups, there are many variations of push ups which is meant to suit different abilities and also focuses on different sets of your body muscles. If you wish to know what muscle do push ups work then you have come to the right place.

Which muscles do push up work?

Almost all of us know what is a push up but how many of you know what muscle do push ups work? This answer is mostly known to people who are deep into fitness and attends gym regularly.

When you are doing a push up, your upper body is doing most of the work. This particular exercise targets or work the following group of muscles in your body.

1. Chest muscles including the pectoralis minor and pectoralis major.
2. Upper and middle back muscles including the rhomboids, latissimus and trapeze muscles.
3. Shoulder muscles including the deltoid minor and deltoid major.
4. Biceps and triceps at the back of the upper arm.
5. Serratus anterior which sits on the side of your chest right beneath your upper arm.

These are the main muscle group that are targeted when you do push ups. But there are other muscles in the body that helps you to keep your body in the plank position. These muscles include:

1. Core or abdominal muscles.
2. Leg muscles including your hamstrings shin and calf muscles.
3. Lower back muscles.
4. Gluteus medius and Maximus which are basically your hip muscles.

Push up is a very effective exercise that targets almost every part of your body.

What are the benefits of doing push ups?

There are many benefits of doing push ups. Some of the main benefits include:

1. Helps in burning calories

Push ups are considered to be a power packed workout which requires a large amount of energy in a very short time. This in return helps in burning more calories from your body. The more push ups you do, the more calories you shred.

2. Protects your shoulder joint

When you do push ups correctly, it helps to strengthen your shoulder joints. The muscles and tendons in the shoulder is known to support your upper arm bone in the socket.

3. Improves your cardiovascular health

Push ups work a large group of muscles in your body which in return increases your heart rate. When your heart rate rises during exercise, it helps in strengthening your heart muscles. It is able to pump more blood throughout your body including your lungs.

4. Easy to do

Push ups is really easy to do as it requires no equipment at all. You just need to know the right technique and you can do it easily.

Well, now you know what muscle do push ups work. You can do it too to improve your core strength and tone your muscles.