Push Exercises: The Essential Moves You Need to Know

Push exercises are fundamental for upper body strength and muscle growth. So, let’s learn what these exercises are, which are best, and how to program them into your training.

Key Takeaways

• Push exercises are divided into chest, shoulder, and tricep movements. Popular examples include the bench press for the chest, the overhead press for the shoulders, and the close-grip press for the triceps.
  
  

• Creating a balanced push workout involves picking the right exercises, doing enough volume (10+ weekly sets), considering the training frequency, and lifting various weights in two or more rep ranges (i.e., 5-8 reps and 10-15 reps).
  
  

• Push workouts are typically part of a 3- or 4-day split. A 3-day split would have one push day (for example, on a push/pull/legs split), whereas a 4-day split can have two push days, such as Push A (chest-focused) and Push B (shoulder and tricep focused).

What Are Push Exercises?

Push exercises involve pushing an external object away from your body (for example, a barbell) or pushing your body away from the floor (such as a push-up), an elevated object, or a wall.

These movements are highly beneficial for functional fitness because they mimic activities you do in your daily life, such as lifting an object overhead or pushing a door open.

Anatomy of The Muscles Worked In Push Exercises

Push movements are essential for upper body strength and aesthetics, as they directly target and develop the chest, shoulders, triceps, and, in some cases, the serratus anterior.

Let’s break these down:

• Chest (pectoralis major): The chest is the primary muscle that works during horizontal push exercises (e.g., a flat barbell bench press or a push-up).

• Shoulders (deltoids): The shoulders, particularly the front and middle deltoid heads, are also heavily involved in pushing exercises. Their primary functions are to assist the chest and stabilize the shoulder joint.

• Triceps: The triceps are located on the back of the upper arms. Their primary function is elbow extension (straightening of the arms), an essential movement in push exercises.

• Serratus anterior: The serratus anterior (also known as the boxer’s muscle) is a lesser-known muscle located on the side of the chest and is necessary for moving the scapula (shoulder blade) forward.

The muscle is most active in pushing movements where the shoulder blades are not pinned against a bench (e.g., during push-ups).

Push Exercises For Chest

1. Barbell Bench Press

The barbell bench press is the most popular push exercise. It primarily targets the chest but also recruits the shoulders and triceps. What’s great about this exercise is that you can adjust your grip width to suit your needs and overload the pecs, shoulders, and triceps with more weight.

How To

• Set the barbell to a height where you can grab it from a lying position without fully extending your arms.
• Lie on the bench, reach up, and grab the barbell with an overhand grip. Your forehead should be directly underneath the bar.
• Place your feet (or the balls of your feet) on the floor, retract your shoulder blades, inhale, and engage your abs.
• Unrack the bar and carefully position it over your chest.
• Inhale and lower the bar to your lower chest. Pause momentarily.
• Press the barbell back to the top position as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

A proper bench press is not a straight up-and-down movement; it’s an arc. You should start with the barbell over your upper chest and lower it in a J curve to touch your lower chest before pressing it back to the starting position.

2. Push Up

Push-ups are a classic equipment-free movement to develop your chest and build a solid strength foundation.

How To

• Get down on your knees and place both hands flat on the floor at a comfortable width, generally slightly more than shoulder-width apart.
• Extend your lower body and engage your abs to keep your lower back from arching. Also, be careful not to allow your hips to sink toward the floor—keep them in line with your body.
• Take a breath and lower yourself as much as your strength allows, ideally until your chest is an inch from the floor.
• Pause briefly and push yourself back to the top, fully extending your arms and exhaling.

Pro Tip:

If a bodyweight push up is too difficult for you, start by performing a push up to your counter or another elevated surface rather than starting on the floor. This variation is called an “incline push-up” and is a great way to progress.

If the standard push up is too easy, place your hands on a couple of weight plates to increase the range of motion and stretch the chest muscles better at the bottom. This variation is often referred to as a “deficit push-up.” 

3. Incline Dumbbell Press

The incline dumbbell press is an effective movement for training the upper (clavicular) portion of the chest. Incline pressing has a horizontal and vertical component, so it is a cross between a bench press and a shoulder press.

How To

• Set the bench at an incline of around 45 degrees (roughly halfway between flat and upright).
• Sit down with the dumbbells at your sides.
• Grab the dumbbells and place them on top of your thighs.
• In one motion, lie back and kick the dumbbells up to position them above your chest with your arms straight.
• Puff your chest up, plant your feet flat on the ground, inhale, and engage your abs.
• Lower the dumbbells to the sides of your chest and press them back to the top as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

There is no perfect incline angle for training the upper chest. Experiment to see what allows you to feel your upper chest best. For some, that’s the classic 45-degree angle; for others, as little as 15-20 degrees of incline (barely raised over a flat level) works best.

4. Chest Dip

Chest dips are another bodyweight movement that trains and develops the chest. Given the angle of attack (pushing downward), the movement emphasizes the lower chest.

How To

• Step up and grab a pair of parallel bars. The ideal width for most people is for the hands to be shoulder-width apart or slightly wider.
• Bring your shoulders down and back, engage your abs, and inhale.
• Step off the platform to suspend yourself in the air and tilt your body slightly forward.
• Slowly lower yourself until your upper arm is parallel with the ground or as much as your strength allows, and pause briefly.
• Push up until you’re back at the top position with your arms straight. Exhale.

Pro Tip:

One common chest dip mistake is allowing the shoulders to roll forward, leading to instability and shoulder pain. To avoid this, focus on keeping the shoulders retracted (pulled back) and the chest puffed up throughout the entire range of motion.

If you struggle to maintain your positioning at the bottom of the dip, consider using an assisted dip machine or limiting your range of motion until you can maintain the proper position.

5. Barbell Floor Press

The floor press is an excellent movement for building strength because its start position is a couple of inches above the chest, where many lifters get stuck when performing a traditional bench press.

With this movement, the upper arms and elbows contact the ground before the bar touches the chest, allowing the lifter to focus on building strength in the lockout portion of the bench press.

How To

• Set the barbell on a rack at a height where you can reach it from a lying position without fully extending your arms.
• Reach up and grab the bar with an even overhand grip.
• Take a breath, engage the abs, unrack the bar, and position it above the chest.
• Slowly lower the bar until your elbows are in contact with the ground, and pause momentarily.
• Press the bar back to the top position as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

Focus on lowering the bar slowly to the bottom position. The goal is to maintain tension in the bottom position rather than relax on the floor or bounce off it.

Consider wrist wraps and elbow sleeves from Gymreapers to keep your wrists and elbows stable and warm during training.

Push Exercises For Shoulders

1. Barbell Shoulder Press

The barbell overhead press is an excellent movement to overload the shoulders with more weight, build upper body strength, and improve core stability, especially when performing the exercise from a standing position.

How To

• Set the barbell at collarbone height and grab it with an even overhand grip.
• Step forward so your body is positioned underneath the barbell with your knees slightly bent.
• Take a deep breath, engage your body, and unrack the bar.
• Carefully take a few steps back, retract your shoulder blades, squeeze your glutes, and engage your abs.
• Press the bar overhead (be careful not to hit your nose).
• Slowly lower the bar to your upper chest and exhale. 

Pro Tip:

Press the barbell in a straight line. You must move your head back a bit to clear enough room to do so. Then, to keep the bar over your center of gravity, move your head forward so it’s directly underneath the bar as you lock out at the top.

It’s common for lifters to arch their backs when performing this movement. To keep your core braced and prevent your lower back from arching, I recommend using the 10 mm lifting belt from Gymreapers.

2. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The seated shoulder press is another fantastic exercise for building upper body strength. Performing this movement with dumbbells forces both sides of your body to work evenly, reducing the risk of side-to-side muscle imbalances.

How To

• Set the bench upright and sit down with a pair of dumbbells at your feet.
• Lift the weights and place them on top of your thighs.
• Lift the weights one at a time and kick them up with your thighs to position them to your sides.
• Bring your shoulders back, engage your abs, and inhale.
• Press the weights up and in, tapping them together lightly at the top.
• Pause briefly and lower the weights to your sides, ensuring your elbows are slightly lower than your shoulders.

Pro Tip:

Keep your abs engaged to prevent your lower back from arching significantly. A common error with the seated shoulder press is arching excessively and positioning your torso at an incline angle instead of staying upright. 

Although arching your back can help you lift slightly more weight, it also places more stress on your lower back and emphasizes your upper chest (like an incline press).

3. Machine Shoulder Press

Performing the shoulder press using a machine makes it easier to maintain stability, keep tension on the deltoids, and only focus on the proper pressing technique. This shoulder press variation is ideal for beginners because the machine holds you in place and allows you to focus on isolating the shoulders.

How To

• Select the appropriate load and set the seat at a comfortable height that allows you to plant your feet.
• Grab the handles at your side with your preferred option––neutral (palms facing one another) or overhand (palms facing forward).
• Bring your shoulders back and dig them into the back support pad.
• Take a breath, engage your abs, and press up until your elbows lock out.
• Pause briefly and slowly lower until your elbows are slightly below shoulder level.
• Exhale near the bottom.

Pro Tip:

Given that the machine shoulder press is an accessory lift typically done to get extra volume for muscle growth, it’s best to emphasize the eccentric (lowering) phase of each rep to stretch the involved muscles under load.

Taking two to three seconds to lower the weight on each rep increases the time under tension and can significantly improve muscle activation and growth.

4. Arnold Press

Named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, this overhead press variation involves internal and external rotation, which is excellent for improving shoulder mobility, stability, and activation.

How To

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit on a bench with the back support at 70 to 90 degrees. Start with around 50% of the weight you typically use for dumbbell shoulder presses.
• Lift the weights in front of your chest with your elbows flexed and palms facing you.
• Bring your shoulders back and brace them into the back support, take a breath, and engage your abs.
• Press the weights up and back, rotating your shoulders so your palms face forward (away from you) at the top position.
• Slowly lower the weights, reversing the rotation so that your palms face you again as you reach the bottom position. Exhale.

Pro Tip:

Keep the movement fluid. A common mistake is to split the rotation and pressing, which makes for an awkward and chopped-up exercise. The objective is to rotate as you press and lower the weight, which allows for more efficient movement, proper muscle activation, and better performance.

5. Overhead Pin Press

The overhead pin press is a strength accessory movement that allows you to overload your shoulders, build more strength, and work on deficiencies that prevent progress.

How To

• Using squat rack safety arms, position a barbell slightly above collarbone height.
• Grab the bar with a shoulder-width overhand grip, set your feet, take a breath, and engage your abs.
• Press the bar up until your arms are fully extended, and pause momentarily.
• Slowly lower the weight and rest it on the safety arms as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

Initiate the press with your body directly underneath the bar. Having the bar too far forward may cause you to stumble forward, whereas having it too far back may force you to arch your back excessively. 

Additionally, focus on creating full-body tension before each rep to transfer more force into the bar.

Push Exercises For Triceps

1. Close-Grip Bench Press

Using a narrower grip puts the chest muscles in a slightly less advantageous position to produce force and instead shifts the emphasis to the triceps. Therefore, a close-grip bench press allows you to overload the triceps with more weight and create mechanical tension, which is beneficial for muscle gain.

How To

• Set the barbell to a height where you can grab it from a lying position without fully extending your arms.
• Lie on the bench with your forehead directly underneath the bar.
• Reach up and grab the bar with an even overhand grip. Your hands should be roughly shoulder-width apart.
• Unrack the bar, position it over your chest, and engage your abs.
• Inhale and lower the bar to your lower chest.
• Press the bar to the top, fully extending your arms as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

A common mistake is to lower the bar to the mid-chest, which forces the shoulders to shrug up, leading to instability and a higher injury risk. To avoid this, allow the bar to travel to your lower chest, encouraging a more comfortable position that keeps your shoulder blades retracted.

2. Tricep Dip

The tricep dip is a variation of the classic dip exercise. In this variation, you remain more upright to limit chest involvement and force your triceps to do more work.

How To

• Step up and grab a pair of parallel bars.
• Bring your shoulders back, take a breath, and engage your abs.
• Step off the platform to suspend yourself in the air.
• Lower yourself while maintaining an upright body position.
• Descend until your elbows are roughly 90 degrees, and push back to the top as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

Four-time Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler recommends keeping the legs directly underneath the upper body to ensure a more vertical position and proper tricep contraction for maximum growth.

3. Diamond Push-Up

Like a close-grip bench press, having the hands close during a push-up reduces chest involvement and forces the triceps to do more work.

How To

• Get down on your knees and place your hands on the floor, with the thumbs and index fingers connecting both hands (forming a diamond).
• Extend your lower body and squeeze your abs to keep your body aligned and prevent your lower back from arching.
• Inhale and bend your elbows to lower yourself as much as your strength allows.
• Pause briefly and push yourself back to the top position as you exhale. 

Pro Tip:

Keep your hands a few inches apart if the diamond push-up position with index fingers and thumbs together causes wrist or elbow discomfort. This position will emphasize your triceps but spare you from nagging pain.

4. Bench Dip

Bench dips are a great bodyweight movement for the triceps. You can even do these at home, so long as you have a sturdy chair you can position against a wall.

How To

• Sit on a flat gym bench placed lengthwise.
• Place your hands on the bench with your fingers pointing outward.
• Walk your lower body forward until it is off the bench, with a slight bend at the hips and knees, and your arms are slightly behind your torso.
• Take a breath, engage your abs, and slowly lower yourself by bending your arms until your elbows form a 90-degree angle.
• Press back to the top position as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

A common error is to point your fingers forward when placing your hands on the bench, which leads to internal shoulder rotation and an increased risk of injury. Instead, you want to rotate your hands out to open up your shoulders and more easily maintain a retracted upper back throughout the exercise.

5. Dumbbell Crush Press (aka Hex Press)

Like a close-grip bench press, having the dumbbells pushed together forces the triceps to do more work. Dumbbells are also a great way to overload the triceps and reduce the risk of side-to-side muscle imbalances.

How To

• Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit on a flat gym bench.
• Lie back as you lift the weights, positioning them over your chest.
• Place the dumbbells against one another with a neutral grip (palms facing one another).
• Retract your shoulder blades, take a breath, and engage your abs.
• Slowly lower the dumbbells to your lower chest and pause briefly.
• Press the weights to the top as you exhale.

Pro Tip:

Keep your elbows close to your body to emphasize the triceps and reduce shoulder and chest involvement.

Creating A Balanced Push Workout Routine

Choosing the right exercises is the first step, but several other factors must also be considered when creating a balanced push routine. Here’s a quick start guide.

Training Volume

Training volume is the amount of training you do in the gym and is typically tracked by counting the number of total sets.

Research recommends doing at least ten weekly sets per muscle group, but we must also account for overlapping volume. That is, consider how much indirect stimulus a muscle gets.

For example, if you did four sets of flat barbell bench presses to train your chest, that movement would also work your front deltoids and triceps.

One tactic is to track indirect stimulus as half a set when calculating volume. For instance, if a trainee does four sets on the barbell bench press, that would count as four sets for the chest but two sets for the triceps and shoulders. 

Training Frequency

Research suggests that training muscles twice weekly is more beneficial for growth than just once. Training twice weekly allows you to split your training volume more evenly and reduces the number of sets you must do in each workout. 

As a result, you can train in a more recovered state, lift more weight, and make better progress over time. 

One option we’ll explore below is having two push days in one week. One could be chest-focused, and the other could emphasize the shoulders and triceps.

Reps & Loading

For general training, lifting weights in multiple rep ranges is best, as this provides a good growth stimulus and promotes muscle growth.

For instance, I recommend lifting heavier (say, 5-8 reps) on compound lifts like the bench press and overhead press but lighter (say, 10-15 reps) on accessory-type lifts like the machine shoulder press and dumbbell crush press.

You should pick the appropriate loads based on the recommended rep range. For example, if a movement calls for 5-8 reps, choose a load you can lift within that range and feel challenged.

It will take some experimentation to determine what weight to lift on every movement. Start light and use warm-up sets to gradually increase the load to an appropriate “working weight”. 

Progressive Overload

 

Progressive overload is essential for ongoing results because it forces your body to continue adapting to higher stresses.

For instance, if you’re lifting a certain weight for sets of 8 reps now, being able to do sets of 12 a couple of months down the road would likely mean you’ve built muscle. 

The thing about progressive overload is that it must occur gradually and only if you can maintain proper form. Sacrificing technique for the sake of lifting more weight is not a good long-term strategy.

While there are many progression strategies, the most important takeaway is that your training must become increasingly challenging. 

That could mean doing more reps, lifting more weight, doing more total sets (volume), doing the same workouts in less time, or some combination.

Example Push Days

Push days are typically part of a three- or four-day split. This frequency is generally ideal for beginners and intermediate-level lifters, as it allows for enough training to see results without becoming overtrained.

Push Days on a 3 Day Split

The most straightforward option is a push/pull/legs split. 

For example: 

• Monday: Push
• Wednesday: Pull
• Friday: Legs

Here is a sample workout that provides a good amount of volume:

• Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets, 6-10 reps
• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets, 8-10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
• Machine Shoulder Press: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
• Dumbbell Crush Press:  3 sets, 12-15 reps
• Chest Dip: 2 sets, close to failure

Push Days on a 4-Day Split

One practical option for a four-day split is upper/lower. Here, you do two upper-body workouts and two workouts for the legs. 

For example:

• Monday: Upper A
• Tuesday: Lower A
• Thursday: Upper B
• Friday: Lower B

The push workouts would be integrated into the Upper A and B workouts. Here is how these might look:

Upper A:

• Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 4 sets, 10-12 reps
• Chest Dip: 4 sets, close to failure
• The rest of the workout can consist of back, bicep, and midsection exercises

Upper B:

• Overhead Shoulder Press: 4 sets, 6-10 reps
• Close-Grip Bench Press: 4 sets, 8-10 reps
• Seated Machine Press: 4 sets, 10-12 reps
• Bench Dip: 4 sets, close to failure
• The rest of the workout can consist of back, bicep, and midsection exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Push Exercises Replace Other Upper Body Workouts?

Push exercises train and develop the ‘push’ muscles of the upper body—namely, the chest, shoulders, triceps, and, in some cases, the serratus anterior. However, they cannot replace movements that train and develop the back, biceps, forearms, and midsection.

How Many Push Exercises Should You Have On A Single Day?

It largely depends on how frequently you do push workouts, but it's generally best to do no more than three to five push exercises at one time. This is the sweet spot where you can do at least three sets per movement to provide a good stimulus without risking overtraining.

How Long Before I See Results?

It depends on your overall consistency, effort, and nutrition. Most trainees can see at least some visual improvements and strength gains within 12 to 16 weeks of doing push exercises.