Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT. Cogley, R.M., T.A. Archambault, J.F. Fibeger, M.M. Koverman, J. W. Youdas, and J. H. Hollman. Comparison of muscle activation using various hand positions during the push-up exercise. J. Strength Cond. Res. 19(3):628-633. 2005.- Popular fitness literature suggests that varied hand placements during push-ups may isolate different muscles. Scientific literature, however, offers scant evidence that varied hand placements elicit different muscle responses. This study examined whether different levels of electromyographic (EMG) activity in the pectoralis major and triceps brachii muscles are required to perform push-ups from each of 3 different hand positions: shoulder width base, wide base, and narrow base hand placements. Forty subjects, 11 men and 29 women, performed 1 repetition of each push-up. The EMG activity for subjects' dominant arm pectoralis major and triceps brachii was recorded using surface electrodes. The EMG activity was greater in both muscle groups during push-ups performed from the narrow base hand position compared with the wide base position (p < 0.05). This study suggests that, if a goal is to induce greater muscle activation during exercise, then push-ups should be performed with hands in a narrow base position compared with a wide base position.
KEY WORDS, electromyography, pectoralis major, triceps brachii
INTRODUCTION
The standard push-up can be used either in the assessment of muscle performance or as an exercise to increase chest, shoulder, and arm strength. The push-up maneuver requires a combined movement of horizontal adduction across the shoulder and extension at the elbow. As a form of exercise, therefore, its primary purpose is to develop increased strength in the pectoralis major and triceps brachii muscles. As a tool for assessing muscle performance, the push-up is incorporated in a battery of tests designed to assess individuals' fitness levels, such as in the Army Physical Fitness Test (12). Performance on the push-up therefore measures strength and endurance of several upper-extremity and trunk muscles. Whether used as an assessment tool or a strengthening exercise, it is important to understand activation patterns of the muscles that perform the movement so that maximal benefits can be realized.
Popular fitness literature has asserted that performing push-ups from different hand positions may better isolate either the pectoralis major or the triceps brachii. For example, Weede and Kraemer (22) and others (11, 17,...