Wide Pushups Guide- How to, Benefits, Tips
The wide pushup is one of the easiest pushup variations you can do in your workouts, but all of the information we hear about it is that it’s just a chest exercise. So what exactly do wide pushups do for you?
What are Wide Pushups?
Like the name suggests, a wide pushup is a pushup variation that is performed with your hands far apart from each other.
What Muscles do Wide Pushups Work?
Like all pushups, the wide pushup is a full body exercise. This is because most of the muscles of the body are involved in order to directly push or indirectly stabilize the joints throughout the body.
Most of the upper body pushing muscles are used, including the shoulder muscles and the triceps muscles. However, because of the hand positioning, wide pushups excel at stimulating the chest muscles.
This is because the wide hand position limits movement at the elbow and reduces flexion at the shoulders. Because these are the movements involved with triceps and deltoid contraction, their involvement in the pushup is reduced.
What remains is mainly a shoulder adduction movement. This movement is where the upper arm is moved from the side of the body to the front and it is brought about by the pectoralis major muscle. As a result, wide pushups primarily target the chest muscles.
Learn how to use pushups to build muscle here.
How to do Wide Pushups?
- Get down on all fours.
- Place your hands a bit wider than shoulder width apart.
- Bend your arms at the elbows in order to lower your chest to just above the floor.
- Pause at the bottom.
- Extend your arms at the elbows in order to lift your chest back into the starting position. This is 1 repetition.
Tips for Proper Form on Wide Pushups
1. Hand Placement – How Wide?
Keep your hands placed under shoulder level in order to avoid any shoulder injuries. Going excessively wide will limit your chest’s range of motion and make the exercise ineffective at stimulating growth.
Aim to place your hands about a hand’s length wider than shoulder width, but make sure to experiment with the width to see where you feel your chest the most. If your wrists hurt, then you can try using pushup bars to keep them in a neutral position.
2. Don’t Flare your Elbows
If your elbows are flared too far out to the side, this puts a lot of pressure on the shoulder joint. The closer your elbows are to your body, then the less risk of shoulder injury. However, it is difficult to keep your elbows close to your body during wide pushups.
A good rule of thumb is to position your elbows so that your upper arm forms a 450 angle with your body.
3. Pull your Shoulders back
If you allow your shoulders to roll forwards during wide pushups, then the shoulder muscles will be forced to perform most of the movement. This takes the focus away from the chest muscles you’re targeting. In addition, this is unsafe and makes the exercise much harder.
Pull your shoulders backwards and retract your scapulae when you are performing any pushup variation.
4. Keep your Body Straight
If you allow your hips to sag when performing wide pushups, then the movement will become very inefficient as your bodyweight shifts to your lower back. This is unsafe, uncomfortable and takes all of the focus away from the chest.
Make sure to engage your abdominal and gluteal muscles in order to elevate your hips and keep your body in a straight position.
Although you may be tempted to raise your head, it is safest to keep your neck in a neutral position in order to keep your spine straight during the movement.
Benefits of Wide Pushups
1. Great for Chest
As we already discussed, the hand positioning limits the input of the shoulder and triceps muscles during the wide pushup, making it very effective for stimulating chest muscle growth.
Learn how to workout your chest at home with no equipment here.
2. Adds Variety to Workouts
Wide pushups make a great alternative to traditional pushups or other chest exercises, adding variety and excitement to workouts.
3. Great for Beginners
The wide pushup is harder than a regular pushup, but not by much. This can make it a great variation for beginners to start experimenting with early.
4. You can do Wide Pushups Anywhere
You don’t require any equipment to do this exercise. All you need is your bare hands and you’re set to perform wide pushups anywhere you choose.
5. Great Core Workout
Use this exercise as an alternative to traditional planks to work your chest and abs at the same time.
Disadvantages of Wide Pushups
1. Decreased Range of Motion
The wider hand placement decreases the range of motion of the shoulders, triceps and also the chest. Although the chest is not as affected as much as the other muscle groups, it is still affected. This reduction in range of motion means that some chest muscles are not stimulated.
2. Less Shoulder and Triceps Stimulation
If your major goal is to grow your shoulders and triceps then this pushup variation may not do this as optimally as other variations.
Wide Pushup Variations
Use these simple variations of wide pushups in order to add variety to your workouts.
1. Incline Wide Pushups
Perform the exercise as usual but place your hands at an elevated position. This is a great variation for beginners to target their chest. Learn more about incline pushups here.
2. Decline Wide Pushups
Perform the exercise as usual but place your feet at an elevated position. This is a more challenging variation for advanced trainees. Learn more about decline pushups here.
Should you do Wide Pushups?
Whether or not you include wide pushups in your workout routine is entirely up to your goals. If your goal is to prioritize chest growth and development, then it is the perfect exercise for you. You should also try this great home chest workout.
Even if your immediate goal is not to grow your chest, it can still fit into your upper body or upper body push workouts. However, in this case it will not be a priority.
References:
Cogley, Robert M ; Archambault, Teasha A ; Fibeger, Jon F ; Koverman, Mandy M ; et al . Comparison of Muscle Activation using Various Hand Positions during the Pushup Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ; Champaign Volume 19, No. 3, (Aug 2005): 628-33. DOI: 10.1519 / 00124278-200508000-00024
Youdas, James W; Budach, Brian D; Ellerbusch, Jay V; Stucky, Craig M; Wait, Kevin R; Hollman, John H Comparison of Muscle-Activation Patterns During the Conventional Push-Up and Perfect· Pushup™ Exercises, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: December 2010 – Volume 24 – Issue 12 – p 3352-3362 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181cc23b0
