Push-ups are a popular bodyweight exercise that targets several upper body muscles, including the chest, triceps, and pectoralis major. The pectoralis major is the primary muscle engaged in push-ups, while the triceps are a large, thick muscle located on the back of the upper arm.
Push-ups do not directly target the lats, as they are a pulling muscle. However, they do play a role in push-ups by contracting during the exercise (muscle co-activation) to oppose the work of the pectoral muscles for greater stability. To build muscle in your chest, shoulders, and triceps, try performing push-up variations with proper form and using different hand positions.
The lats are large wing-like muscles that attach from your arm all the way down toward your low back. To properly engage your lats, engage them in a pushing motion in front of you like a bench or push-up. This will help you feel shoulder stability and tension in your lats, which can help you move more freely.
For a better lat workout, try exercises like Lat Pulldowns, Pull-Ups, and Rows. Push-ups do work your lats a bit, mainly to keep your shoulders stable and your form right.
In conclusion, push-ups are a great way to work your lats and develop a symmetrical physique. However, it is essential to maintain correct form and seek guidance from a personal trainer before performing these exercises.
📹 A “Lat-Centric” Push Up
Flipping a normal push up around to make it much more about your back strength, as you “actively” pull yourself to the ground.
Is 500 pushups a day good?
Do 500 pushups a day to lose belly fat, burn calories, build muscle, and reach your goals.
Do pushups engage the back?
Pushups are a good starting exercise that work your chest, arms, shoulders, and back. Heres how to perfect pushups for beginners.
Since the inception of modern strength training, the push-up has remained one of the top bodyweight exercises for targeting muscles of the upper body.
This essential movement continues to be a staple in the exercise programs of athletes, recreational gym-goers, bodybuilders, and even those recovering from certain injuries.
While most people are familiar with the push-up, some may be unsure of exactly which muscles the exercise works.
Can pushups target lats?
Pushups are one of the best ways to build your lats. Your chest pushes you up, and your back lowers you to the ground. Deep push-ups put more stress on the back, strengthening the muscles. Start in a strong plank position with your hands under your shoulders and feet together. Lower your body to the floor while keeping your back straight. Pretend you are pulling the floor apart between your hands while opening two jars away from one another as you press up. This will help stabilize your shoulders and give you more strength and power in your push-ups. After a warm-up, do 12 reps of each exercise. Add weight and do two more sets of 8 reps. Rest for at least 30 seconds before the next set. Do this at least twice a week.
Why does my lat hurt when I do push-ups?
The latissimus dorsi muscle is used a lot during pulling and throwing exercises. Pain is usually caused by overuse, poor technique, or not warming up. These activities can cause latissimus dorsi pain:
Gymnastics; baseball; tennis; rowing; swimming; shoveling snow; chopping wood; chin-ups and pull-ups; reaching forward or overhead repeatedly; pushing to get out of a chair. You might also feel pain in your latissimus dorsi if you slouch.
Is 100 pushups a day good?
Doing 100 push-ups a day can make your upper body stronger, bigger, and more fit. However, it can also cause injuries. Do five sets of push-ups, stopping five repetitions short of failure. Some people will benefit from doing 100 push-ups a day, but others won’t. While it might help, too much exercise can hurt you. It’s safer to do five sets of push-ups, stopping five reps short of failure. This is better and will get the same or better results.
Which push-ups build lats?
My body is up in the air. To activate the back, pinch the shoulder blades together and fire the lats. So let’s look at the difference again.
Do pushups work lats?
Push-ups work your lats to keep your shoulders stable and your form right. Push-ups won’t help you strengthen your lats. Try lat pulldowns, pull-ups, and rows for a better lat workout. These exercises target your lats and help to widen and thicken your back.
Pulldown exercises are great for widening your lats. Do the lat pulldown exercise sitting up straight. Don’t lean back. If you lean back, you’ll use other muscles. Bring the bar down to your chest and squeeze your lats.
How do you activate lats during push ups?
Press from the bottom. Instead of pressing, Think about breaking the doubt over your thumbs from your elbows or shoulder.
Do pullups hit lats?
What muscles do pull-ups work on? Pull-ups work your back muscles, especially your lats, but also your chest and shoulders. Pull-ups engage the lower trapezius muscles better than chin-ups. Sobuta says the overhand grip of the pull-up activates the back muscles. The muscles on the back side of your body are key for everyday movements. Overhead athletes may benefit more from the pull-up because they use their biceps and pectorals a lot during sports, says Sobuta. Training the posterior chain helps prevent injury and improve shoulder health.
Takeaways. Chin-ups and pull-ups are both great for building strength. The main differences are slight variations in position and preference. Both are great for working your upper body and engaging your core.
How to activate lats?
Straight and number three feel the lats. Working. Now they’re stretching. Now they’re squeezing, now they’re stretching. Now they’re squeezing. That’s the first step.
Do muscle ups use lats?
Train to do muscle-ups. If you want to do a muscle-up, you probably know how to do a pull-up. The muscle-up uses a lot of pulling strength, including your lats, rear delts, traps, and biceps. Once you’re comfortable with pull-ups, focus on high pull-ups. High pull-ups are when you pull all the way until your chest is at the bar. As you get better, try to pull even higher so your solar plexus touches the bar.
High pull-ups on the rings and the bar, while in an L-sit position.
Once you can do this, do the progressions again, but in the L-sit position. Doing pull-ups in the L-sit makes it easier to do muscle-ups. You’ll need to work at it for a while. Pull-ups in the L-sit require a lot of core strength.
📹 Fixing The Pull-Up Problem (INCREDIBLE CHANGES!)
Watch a case study fixing a problem pull up! Get my book on fixing injury here: …
This is a good article. Sometimes going to a doctor might be needed, but can be expensive for rehab. Don’t give up on fixing your dyskenysis people. There are tons of articles out there to help in educating yourselves in understanding the root problems and how to correct them. I was able to, and I learned so much through my journey.
Great advice. Also, wall slides are an awesome stretch. Also also, hanging from a bar, without doing pullups is another great exercise. Just hang as long as you can, with varied grips… Add a little motion, swinging back and forth, side to side. Just hang for 5 minutes a day and you’ll notice a lot more flexibility in your shoulders.
This was/is a huge problem of mine, effects my ability to depress the scapula and to get into a tight lat position in low bar squats and dead’s, and unable to create stability in bench. As well pulling movements felt awful. These exercises have helped me immensely, I am going to add in that pull up variation. Great article
FUCK YES! Thanks so much for this article, i found out this year, after regularly seeing my pcp/chiropractor, that I’ve had huge imbalances from my hips to my upper back since i hit my puberty growth spurt, it’s caused a lot more issues recently since i started weightlifting at home abt a year and a half ago, and much more with covid keeping my on my bum all day. I’ve always loved pull ups so I’m super grateful for this article and even just the huge advances in the YT fitness community as a whole in recent years (afaik). <3 Remember to keep your electrolytes balanced and Stay Hydrated. peace
Omg, I’ve had this issue for months !! Wish I could post the pictures and articles I have about this .. I’m this guy! Thank you thank you so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻 .. squat university has helped me with every single injury I’ve ever had and not to mention the drastic improvements In my squat and sumo . Squat U is the absolute best in the weightlifting game 👏🏻👏🏻
This is extremely helpful, you saved me Aaron. Thank you so much! I was experiencing pain in the inferior back part of my scapular at the back when doing pull-ups. I recorded myself from the back and notice an uneven level of how my scapular is moving. My right side was rotating slightly higher than my left. When testing my shoulder flexion angle with palms up and down. I noticed a huge difference in the range. My right could easily touch the wall, but my left feels restricted and I have to force myself in order to touch the wall. I did what you prescribed with the mobilisation using the foam roller and massage ball. I felt multiple trigger points which are extremely painful and relieving on my left lats area. After doing that for 1 min, I did the box lat stretch but was kind of confused, as I feel my shoulder jamming up against my acromion when I round my upper back. It felt like a ‘ stuck ‘feeling, is this normal? After that, I did the eccentric chin up and reattempted my pull up. Suddenly, I am able to pull up without feeling any more pain in the region. May I know what else could I improve on to restrict this from happening again? Is it a weakness of my lats? or instability of my shoulder? or just constant tightness in the lats which requires it to be more flexible? I did multiple T raises, Y raises, mid/lower trapezius and external rotation exercises but somehow it still doesn’t relieve the pain. But after doing what you have shown me, It helped tremendously. What other exercises would you recommend for me to specifically work on?
Thanks!This kind a article is very helpfull. I have some request on how to fix one of my rear delts(left) is lacking and harder to contract not like the other shoulder. Can u make a article on this problem pleasse… Cuz i think it will help more people who have same issue with rear delts.Thanks for reading and keep up the good work
I was always a 400+ bencher, then one day this exact issue occurred, and I’ve felt unable unable get tight in the bench,, it’s severely affected strength.. I’ve spent the last 2 and a half years trying to fix it. This actually worked and I am so grateful! After 3 weeks already back to repping mid 300s on bench! Thank you!!!
A have the same problem with scoliosis. Sometimes its better when I do some exerxises but sometimes its even worse. I don’t what to do to fix it. It’s not just problem with my back. It’s a problem with disbalances on my legs, too. I feel uncomforatble, low confident, no energy, pain in my back, headache. Curved spin blockes my all body.
I have something similar to this but on the front side with my shoulder. When doing bench presses or dips, one shoulder sort of rolls forward. The next day my left pec will be evenly sore throughout, but on the right side, I’ll feel it in my shoulder and way down at the bottom of my pec. Henceforth, I have not trained chest directly for years. 🙁
I do not have this kind of problems but I do realize that my non dominant side of the shoulder are higher than the shoulder on my dominant hand. I guess this is because I’ve been using my dominant hand extensively for almost everything including lifting & stuffs so it naturally stretchable & loosen like that. While my non dominant hand are only there to help my dominant hand, it’s 80% off work so it naturally just stays high lol
See, my right side (dominant) side is much lower during pull ups, but when I try those tests I don’t notice a difference in either arm: both seem to have perfect mobility in that I can totally reach the wall/keep my hand against the wall. Been doing these exercises on and off for over a month and seen no difference. Any tips?