If you’re looking to build strength and tone your upper body, the pike push up is an effective exercise that can help. It targets a variety of muscles in the chest, shoulders, triceps and core while also engaging stabilizing muscles throughout the body. But what exactly are “pike push up muscles worked?” In this article we will discuss how it works different muscle groups within our anatomy and explore some of its benefits as well as variations on this classic exercise to make it more challenging or easier depending on fitness level. We’ll also look at alternative exercises for working similar muscles if you want to switch things up!
Pike Push Up Muscles Worked
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Muscles Worked in a Pike Push Up
Primary Muscles: The primary muscles worked during a pike push up are the deltoids, triceps and chest. The deltoids are engaged as you press your body away from the ground while keeping your arms straight. This action works both the front and rear delts to stabilize the shoulder joint. The triceps are also activated as they extend to help lift your body off of the floor. Finally, your chest is involved in this exercise as it helps to keep your torso upright throughout each rep.
Secondary Muscles: In addition to these primary muscle groups, several secondary muscles are also used during a pike push up including the biceps, lats and core muscles such as abs and obliques. As you lower yourself down towards the ground, you engage your biceps which act as stabilizers for your elbows while helping to control how far down you go with each rep. Your lats assist in maintaining good posture by providing stability through their connection with your upper back and shoulders while performing this exercise. Lastly, engaging all of these muscle groups requires activation of several core muscles which work together to keep everything tight throughout each repetition.
Stablilizing Muscles: There are many smaller ‘stabilizing’ muscles that come into play when doing a pike push up. These include those found in the forearms and wrists which help to maintain proper grip on whatever surface is being pushed off from. The glutes also provide balance between the legs while the neck musculature works hard as well. All of these small but important muscle groups contribute greatly towards overall strength development during this exercise, making them just as important if not more so than any other major muscle group involved in a successful pike push up.
Benefits of Doing Pike Push-Ups
Doing pike push ups can provide a number of benefits to amateur fitness practitioners and garage gym owners. These include improved core strength and stability, improved posture and balance, as well as increased upper body strength.
Core Strength and Stability: The primary muscles used in the pike push up are the shoulders, triceps, chest, abs, lower back muscles and glutes. This exercise works these muscles together to build overall core strength and stability. Additionally, it helps strengthen your stabilizing muscles which help keep your spine aligned during the movement.
Improved Posture and Balance: Doing this exercise regularly will also improve your posture by strengthening the postural muscles that support good posture throughout daily activities such as sitting or standing for long periods of time. It also improves balance by working on coordination between different muscle groups while maintaining proper form during each repetition.
Pike push ups are an effective way to increase upper body strength quickly without having to use heavy weights or machines. By engaging multiple muscle groups at once with each rep, you can target more than one muscle group at a time. Additionally, since you are using your own bodyweight rather than external resistance, the difficulty level can be adjusted according to how much weight is being pushed against yourself. Making it easier or harder depending on what kind of challenge is desired from this exercise routine.
The pike push up is a great exercise for improving core strength, posture and balance as well as upper body strength. It can be used to supplement any workout routine.
Anatomy of the Pike Push Up
It involves pushing your body up from the ground while keeping your legs straight, with your hips raised higher than your head. To get the most out of this exercise, it’s important to understand its anatomy and how each muscle group works together during the movement.
Shoulder Joints and Movements Involved: The shoulder joint is made up of three bones: humerus (upper arm bone), scapula (shoulder blade) and clavicle (collarbone). During a pike push up, all three bones move in different directions to create an upward pressing motion. The shoulder blades retract as you lower yourself towards the floor before pushing back up again. This helps to engage both front deltoids (shoulders) and rear deltoids for stability throughout the entire range of motion.
Elbow Joints and Movements Involved: Your elbows are also involved in this exercise as they bend slightly when lowering down into position before extending fully at the top of each rep. This helps engage triceps muscles which assist in stabilizing elbow joints during movements like pike push ups.
Maintaining proper spinal alignment is essential when performing any type of strength training exercise, including pike push ups. To ensure that your spine remains neutral throughout each repetition, it is important to maintain a slight arch in the lower back while avoiding excessive rounding or hunching over at any point during the movement pattern. Failing to do so can lead to potential injury due to incorrect form or poor posture habits developed over time if not corrected early on.
The pike push up is a great exercise to target the shoulder and elbow joints while maintaining proper spinal alignment.
Variations of the Pike Push Up
Elevated Pike Push Up Variations: Elevating the hands during a pike push up can increase the difficulty of the exercise and target different muscles.
To do an elevated pike push up, place your hands on a stable surface such as a bench or step that is higher than your feet. This will shift more of your body weight onto your arms and shoulders, making it harder to complete each rep. You can also add instability by using an unstable surface like medicine balls or Bosu balls for even greater challenge.
Plyometric variations of the Pike Push Up are great for adding explosive power to any exercise routine.
To perform a plyo pike push up, start in the same position as regular pikes but instead of pushing yourself back up slowly, explode off the ground with enough force to lift both hands off the floor at once before returning them back down again into starting position. This variation requires increased core strength and stability while helping you build power quickly over time. Additionally, you can add claps between reps or perform alternating hand jumps (one hand leaves then returns followed by other) for added intensity if desired.
The variations of the pike push up offer a great way to challenge your body and progress your strength training.
Alternative Exercises for Working Similar Muscles as the Pike Push Up
Handstand push ups are a great alternative exercise for working the same muscles as pike push ups.
This exercise requires you to be in an inverted position with your feet against a wall or on an elevated surface and your hands firmly planted on the ground. The shoulder joints and triceps are engaged throughout this movement, while also requiring core strength and stability to maintain balance.
Decline Push Ups: Decline push ups are another great option for targeting similar muscles as those used in pike push ups.
To perform this variation of the traditional push up, you will need to elevate your feet either by placing them on a bench or chair behind you. This increases the difficulty of the exercise by forcing more weight onto your upper body, engaging more muscle fibers than when performing regular flat-grounded pushups.
Incline push ups target many of the same muscles as pike push ups, but at different angles. This can help to target specific areas that may not be reached with other exercises, such as the chest and shoulders.
To do incline pushups, place both hands firmly on an elevated surface like a table or countertop with arms slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Push away from it until your arms are fully extended and then slowly lower back down into starting position.
By utilizing alternative exercises such as handstand push ups, decline push ups and incline push ups, you can effectively target the same muscles worked by a pike push up.
FAQs in Relation to Pike Push Up Muscles Worked
What muscles to Pike pushups work?
Pike pushups are a great exercise for strengthening the shoulders, chest, triceps and core muscles. The shoulder muscles work to keep the arms in an elevated position while the chest and triceps help to press your body away from the ground. Your core is also engaged as it helps to stabilize your body throughout this movement. As you lower yourself towards the floor, you will feel tension in these muscle groups that can be used to increase strength and tone over time.
What part of the shoulder does the pike push up work?
The pike push up is an exercise that primarily targets the shoulder muscles, specifically the deltoids. It also works the triceps and core muscles to a lesser degree. The motion of this exercise involves pushing your body away from the ground while keeping your arms straight and feet elevated off the floor, creating an inverted V shape with your body. This position puts more emphasis on the shoulders than regular push ups do, as they are forced to bear most of your weight during each repetition.
Why are Pike push ups so hard?
Pike push ups are a challenging exercise because they require you to lift your entire bodyweight with only your arms and shoulders. This puts an immense amount of strain on the muscles in these areas, which can make it difficult for even experienced fitness practitioners to complete them. Additionally, the pike position requires you to keep your legs straight while pushing up, making it harder than other variations of push ups that allow for more flexibility in leg positioning.
How many pike pushups is good?
Pike pushups are a great exercise for building upper body strength and core stability. Generally, it is recommended to start with 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions and gradually increase the number of reps as your fitness level improves. Aiming for 15-20 repetitions per set is a good goal to strive for when performing pike pushups. Additionally, make sure you keep proper form throughout the entire movement in order to maximize its effectiveness and reduce the risk of injury.
Conclusion
It targets your chest, shoulders, triceps and core muscles while also providing an intense cardio workout. The anatomy of the pike push up involves engaging your glutes and hamstrings as you press up from the floor. Variations such as wide-arm or elevated pike push ups can be used to increase difficulty or target different muscles.
Alternatives like handstand push ups and diamond push ups are good options if you’re looking to work similar muscles as those worked in a pike push up. All in all, understanding how to do a proper pike push up with correct form will help you get the most out of this effective strength training exercise.