We all know that push-ups are the most commonly practiced exercise at home. There are not many muscles that push-ups can exercise. The most important ones are the chest muscles. However, some people feel that their back muscles are also exercised when doing push-ups. So do you think push-ups exercise the back muscles? Let’s go take a look below!
Do push-ups exercise back muscles?
The effect of push-ups on exercising back muscles is very poor. The main training parts of push-ups are the chest muscles and triceps. The force exerted on the back muscles during training is very small and will only be slightly stimulated. People who have not undergone back training may feel back irritation, but people with slightly stronger back strength often do not feel it. Therefore, push-ups cannot be used as back muscle training.
How to exercise back muscles
Barbell prone row
Stand with your feet naturally open and bend your torso forward until your back is parallel to the ground. Bend your legs slightly so that your body's center of gravity is on a vertical line behind the soles of your feet. Hold the bar with the backs of your hands facing forward, with the distance between your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Keep your back straight and your head slightly raised. During the movement, the contraction force of the latissimus dorsi is used to lift the crossbar close to the body until it is lifted close to the lower abdomen. Finally, bring the latissimus dorsi muscle to its peak contraction position and pause for a moment. Then, use the tension of the latissimus dorsi to control it, and slowly return to the original path.
T-bar rowing
Keep your feet apart naturally and bend your legs slightly so that your torso is level with the ground.Walking position, head slightly raised. Drop your arms so that your latissimus dorsi is fully extended. During the movement, use the contraction force of the latissimus dorsi to lift the crossbar and touch the junction of the chest and abdomen. At the same time, stretch the shoulders back and lift the trunk slightly upward to facilitate the clamping of the back shoulder blades toward the middle spine. Finally, the entire back muscles are at the peak contraction position, pause for a moment, and then use the tension of the back muscles to control Hold and slowly restore the crossbar.
Wide-grip chest pull-ups
The width between the hands should be conducive to focusing on the contraction and expansion of the back muscles, and allowing the opening and closing of the shoulder blades to be felt. Chest pull-ups require the trunk to rise until the chin is over the horizontal bar or close to the chest, so that the shoulder blades of the back are drawn in and the back muscles are in the peak contraction position, and then pause for a moment. Then, control the tension of the back muscles to slowly lower the torso and restore it. Some exercisers with weak back and arm strength cannot adapt to bear the weight of the body to complete bare-handed pull-ups. They can use equipment to sit down and pull down, which can also achieve the effect of exercising the latissimus dorsi muscles.