How good are pushups for getting bigger pecs?
Pushups are great for getting bigger pecs. This is called a compound movement or core exercise, because it hits the muscle group from multiple angles all at once as well as involving the surrounding muscles, providing a synergistic effect. You should, of course, combine pushups with other chest, back and shoulder exercises. These other exercises can be chest presses with barbells and dumbbells, dumbbell flyes, cable crossovers, etc. There are a ton of exercises to combine with pushups. An important thing to remember when working out is that your body, and all of the muscles in it, is really just one body. If you’re looking to weight train, you should really hit all of the major muscle groups, not just a single area. This will not only provide you with a strong body with symmetry and power, but also give you a safe way to work out everything. For instance, if you worked only your chest, neglecting your back and shoulders, you would develop pain and problems in these areas as the muscles
Depends on the type of pushup you’re doing. Regular pushups, with your hands out from your shoulders in a comfortable place, will work your pectoral muscles, but also your trapezius (shoulders) muscles and (to a lesser extent) your triceps (back of upper arm). If your goal is to get bigger pecs, you need to do exercises that isolate the pec, such as a dumbbell fly, the bench press and the inclined bench press. But you’ll be better served in terms of body balance, capability, and general health if you involve all the other muscles as well. Pushups require no equipment and can be done anywhere. Regular pushups work chest, shoulder, and tricep. Wide arm pushups (hands as far apart as you can stand) work shoulders and chest. Close hand pushups (hands placed alongside your chest and elbows kept tight against chest, work triceps and shoulders. You can change the difficulty by doing them on your knees or from a full-length position, or by elevating your feet to change the angle of pushing.
