10 Pushing Exercises to Light Up Your Shoulders, Chest, and Triceps
Pushing it in the gym is a great way to level up your fitness and make daily life easier too. And we mean that literally: By incorporating pushing exercises into your workout routine, you can reap some pretty awesome benefits that’ll have you moving better in all sorts of scenarios—whether that’s swinging a pickleball racket, strolling with a heavy shopping cart, or picking yourself up off the ground.
So yeah, pushing exercises are really functional, meaning they have a lot of direct carryover to your everyday movements. And there are a bunch of different ways you can incorporate this type of exercise into your existing workouts.
Here, we cover all the perks of prioritizing the push, plus 10 examples to try today.
What are pushing exercises, and which muscles do they fire up?
The term is pretty descriptive: Pushing exercises are any movement pattern where you’re pushing weight away from the center of your body, Susie Reiner, PhD, CSCS, an assistant professor in the exercise science department at Seton Hall University, tells SELF.
Pushing exercises can encompass both upper- and lower-body moves; a leg press, for instance, is an example of the latter. In this article, though, we’re focusing on just upper-body ones. And when you’re doing those, you typically spotlight your frontside muscles, such as the chest (which includes the pectoralis major and minor) and shoulders (known as deltoids), Dr. Reiner says. You also often fire up the triceps (muscles on the backs of your upper arms), she adds, since those assist your pecs in completing the pushing motion.
A number of traditional strength moves fall into the pushing category–including the chest press, overhead press, and push-up–plus some other ones too. We’ll dig into all that in just a sec. But first, let’s get clear on why these types of exercises are worth your while in the first place.
Doing more pushing moves can make you better in the gym—and in everyday life.
In the gym, push movements are a great way to improve your power, since they are typically exercises where it’s easy to quickly generate force, Dr. Reiner explains. Take the chest press and overhead press, for example—those are moves that, once you’ve nailed good form and built your strength safely, you pick up weights and swiftly push them away from you. Of course, you can perform pulling exercises, like lat pull downs or rows, explosively, “but it’s not as natural of a movement,” Dr. Reiner explains.
And building up your power through pushing moves can bolster your performance in a number of different sports. From racket sports like pickleball and tennis, to ball sports including softball, baseball, and basketball, there are lots of athletic settings in which it pays to be able to powerfully throw an object, or swing a racket or a bat. “Even having push and pull power within the upper-body helps with running economy,” Dr. Reiner says. That’s because being able to explosively pump your arms helps propel you forward when you’re sprinting, she explains.
Then there’s the practical benefit. Whether you realize it or not, you do pushing moves on a daily basis, Dr. Reiner says. Things like maneuvering a grocery cart, moving furniture, or placing a stack of dishes on the top shelf all tick the box. So boosting that specific strength through push exercises “can help us improve that real world function,” Dr. Reiner says. That means you’ll be able to do those daily tasks more efficiently and with less risk of injury.
Lastly, pushing moves play an important role in a general, well-rounded workout program by complementing pulling exercises. “Push exercises strengthen the anterior (frontside) muscles, while pull exercises strengthen the posterior (backside) muscles,” Dr. Reiner says. And having balance between the two is important, Dr. Reiner explains, since that helps you move efficiently and effectively while also reducing your injury risk in the long run.
Here’s the best way to weave pushing moves into your workout routine.
To achieve that important harmony between your front and backside muscles, you should aim for a pretty even split between pushing and pulling exercises. “You can do that in a variety of ways,” Dr. Reiner says. One is to do separate push and pull days, which you may opt for if you do resistance training most days of the week, or if you’re someone who lifts really heavy (and thus needs a lot of downtime before working the same muscles again). Or, you can lump push and pull together into one workout, which can make more sense if you’re short on time, only hitting the weight room a few times a week, or generally using lighter weights in your sessions.
For the average exerciser who goes to the gym two to three times a week, Dr. Reiner recommends doing full-body workouts that combine upper-body push and pull exercises alongside lower-body and core moves. Take a day or two to recover, then do another similar workout, she advises.
When deciding which push moves to do, prioritize variety over repeating your top faves week after week. “We definitely always want to include different ranges of motion and different types of motion in all of our workouts,” Dr. Reiner says. That’s because this helps prepare your joints and muscles to properly handle the various ways we move in day-to-day life. So instead of just doing the traditional dumbbell chest press in all your push workouts, for example, switch it up with other variations, like the incline press or the decline press.
Also keep in mind that some exercises–like the chest fly, for example–can be included in a push workout or set because they target the same muscle groups as traditional push exercises. “The chest fly might not exactly feel like a push, but it's grouped in with push exercises because it's working the same muscles,” Dr. Reiner explains.
Ready to push yourself? Here are 10 awesome exercises to try.
Bolster your chest, shoulders, and triceps with these upper-body push moves. Some can be performed with just your bodyweight; others require the support of an adjustable weight bench and/or tools including dumbbells, bands, and barbells.
Katie Thompson1. Dumbbell Chest Press
- Lie face up with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing your legs and your elbows on the floor bent at 90 degrees so that the weights are in the air. This is the starting position.
- Press the weights toward the ceiling, straightening your elbows completely and keeping your palms facing your legs. Pause here for a second.
- Slowly bend your elbows and lower them back down to the floor and out so that they are perpendicular to your torso. This is 1 rep.
A classic pushing move, the dumbbell chest press fires up your pecs, triceps, and the fronts of your shoulders. You can do this on the floor (as shown) or on a weight bench, if you have one.
Katie Thompson2. Standing Resistance Band Chest Press
- Loop a resistance band with handles onto something secure behind you. Grab onto each handle and hold your arms straight out to the side, elbows bent at 90 degrees, palms facing forward.
- Stand with one foot about a foot in front of the other so your stance is staggered. Stand far enough forward that there’s tension in the band. This is the starting position.
- Slowly press the handles forward and straighten your arms, until your hands meet in front of your body.
- Then, slowly bend your elbows and bring the handles back toward your chest to return to the starting position. Be careful to not let the band spring back quickly. This is 1 rep.
This standing version of the chest press works the same muscles as the on-the-floor variation, but by using a band instead of dumbbells, you’re introducing a type of resistance called variable, or accommodating, resistance. This essentially means the tension applied to the muscle changes throughout the movement: It’s lighter when there’s slack in the band, and heavier as you complete the move. Compared to free weights, which provide a constant load, variable resistance provides a unique stimulus to your neuromuscular system, which helps challenge the body in a new way, as Dr. Reiner told SELF for a previous article.
Katie Thompson3. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press
- Lie face-up on an incline bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand, with your palms facing each other and your elbows bent. This is the starting position.
- Press the weights toward the ceiling, straightening your elbows completely and keeping your palms facing each other. Pause here for a second.
- Slowly bend your elbows and lower them back down and out so that they are perpendicular to your torso. This is 1 rep.
Another chest press variation, this version engages the shoulders more than the traditional on-the-floor (or flat bench) chest press. Because of that, people typically use slightly lighter weights here since you’re emphasizing a smaller muscle group, Dr. Reiner explains.
Katie Thompson4. Angled Barbell Press
- Push one end of a barbell onto a towel in the corner of a room. Make sure the towel is between a wall and your barbell. If your gym has a “land mine” attachment, you can use that instead.
- From there, grab the barbell with your right hand and hold it by your right armpit. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, with a slight bend in your knees, an engaged core, and a flat back. This is the starting position.
- Push into and up on the bar until your elbow locks out.
- Slowly bring the bar back to the starting position. This is 1 rep.
This is technically another variation on the incline press, “but it's much more functional,” Dr. Reiner says. That’s because you’re on your own two feet, standing in a staggered stance, and it engages a little bit more of your core than if you were lying down. To boot, “you can also use this as a power exercise by shooting the bar quickly [forward] and then bringing it down in a controlled way,” Dr. Reiner adds.
Katie Thompson5. Decline Dumbbell Chest Press
- Lie face-up on a decline bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand, with your palms facing each other and your elbows bent. This is the starting position.
- Press the weights toward the ceiling, straightening your elbows completely and keeping your palms facing each other. Pause here for a second.
- Slowly bend your elbows and lower them back down and out so that they are perpendicular to your torso. This is 1 rep.
Here’s one more way to chest press! This decline variation allows people to take on a little bit more weight, since it puts you at an angle where it’s easier to complete the pushing motion, Dr. Reiner says. As SELF previously reported, a common mistake is to bounce the weights off your chest at the bottom (versus controlling the descent). Correct that error by using lighter dumbbells.
Katie Thompson6. Overhead Press
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your shoulders with your palms facing forward and your elbows bent. This is the starting position.
- Press the dumbbells overhead, straightening your elbows completely. Make sure to keep your core engaged and hips tucked to avoid arching your lower back as you lift your arms.
- Slowly bend your elbows to lower the weight back down to the starting position. This is 1 rep.
Also called the military press, this exercise really fires up your deltoids, especially your medial delts (sides of your shoulders). To bring more stability to the movement, perform it from a seated position, Dr. Reiner says.
Katie Thompson7. Arnold Press
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a light dumbbell in each hand above your collarbone, palms facing in, and elbows bent. This is the starting position.
- Open up your arms so the dumbbells are above your shoulders, palms facing forward, and then press the dumbbells up, extending your arms straight above your head.
- Reverse the sequence to return to the starting position. This is 1 rep.
In this overhead press variation, named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, you’re shifting the trajectory of your elbow as you raise and lower your arms. This tweaks the move to engage your anterior deltoids (frontside of your shoulders) along with the medial delts, Dr. Reiner explains. For some (though not all) people with shoulder issues, the Arnold can feel more comfortable than the traditional overhead press, she says. At the same time, you may find you’re not able to lift quite as much weight, since the dumbbells are coming in front of your body, versus staying stacked in one line. As with the overhead press, you can perform this one seated to bring more stability to the exercise.
Katie Thompson8. Triceps Dip
- Sit on the floor with your legs straight and heels on the ground, toes pointing up. Rest your back against a bench, box, or step. Place your hands on the bench, fingers toward your body.
- Straighten your arms to lift your butt, then bend your elbows to lower yourself without sitting down completely. This is 1 rep.
This move, which will really fire up your triceps, is one example of a bodyweight pushing exercise. As you do your reps, keep elbows pointing directly behind your body instead of flaring them out to the side.
Katie Thompson9. Push-Up
- Start in a high plank with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and core and glutes engaged.
- Bend your elbows and lower your body to the floor.
- Push through the palms of your hands to straighten your arms. This is 1 rep.
As the name suggests, the push-up is a pushing exercise, and it’s a great example of how you can work your frontside upper-body muscles using just your bodyweight. Can’t yet do a full from-the-floor push-up? Follow this step-by-step guide to crushing your first one.
Katie Thompson10. Lateral Raise
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, a light dumbbell in each hand, arms resting slightly in front of your thighs, palms facing your legs.
- With a slight bend in your elbows, slowly lift your arms out to the side to shoulder level. Pause for a moment, then slowly lower them. This is 1 rep.
This move targets your medial delts. It may not look like you’re doing a whole lot of pushing here, but you are lifting weight away from the center of your body, so it technically counts. As you lift the weights, make sure you don’t hunch your shoulders up towards your ears; instead, think about keeping your shoulder blades pulled down and back.
Related:
- 10 Exercises for Knee Pain to Help You Move (and Feel!) Better
- The 24 Best Stretching Exercises for Better Flexibility
- 8 Ways to Prevent Major Joint Pain as You Age
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