Do Pushups Work the Rear Delts?

Although pushups are an effective upper-body movement, they are not the end-all, be-all bodyweight exercise as they do not work all the upper-body muscles. Pushups work the chest, triceps and front shoulders. They do not target the muscles of the back, including the rear delts. For a balanced routine, include chest and back exercises in your upper-body workouts.

  1. Pushup Muscles Worked

    • Pushups target the pulling muscles of the torso. The chest muscles are the main movers, and the triceps and front delts are secondary movers. Other muscles, including the thigh muscles, abdominals and side delts, are involved as stabilizing muscles. You can change the muscle emphasis by adjusting your body stance. An incline pushup targets the upper, or clavicular head, of the chest muscles more than the lower, or sternal head, of the chest muscles. A close-grip pushup targets the triceps more than the chest muscles.

    Rear Delts

    • The shoulder is comprised of three muscle heads: the posterior, or rear, delt; the anterior, or front, delt; and the lateral, or side, delt. The rear delt is a small muscle that sits on the back of the shoulder. The main responsibilities of the rear delt is to pull the upper arm down from above and pull the upper arm out to the side and away from the chest. The pushup exercise does not involve any of these movements and it does not work the rear delt.

    Rear Delt Exercises

    • Exercises that isolate the rear delts include reverse flyes and bent-over rear delt raises. These movements involve pulling your upper arms out to the sides against resistance. Compound exercises that work your back muscles, such as bent-over rows and seated rows, also work the rear delts.

    Workout Routine

    • To avoid muscle imbalances, do exercises that work your back and chest muscles, such as pushups, chest presses, rows and rear-delt exercises. Always warm up prior to your workout. Do an aerobic activity, such as jogging or biking, for 5 to 10 minutes. Perform two light warm-up sets of each major exercise, completing 12 to 15 repetitions before moving on to your working sets of eight to 10 repetitions. At the end of your workout, stretch the muscles you just worked, holding each stretch up to 30 seconds