These styles take the (wedding) cake.

You’ve likely been doing push-ups since childhood, but you may be less familiar with bench presses. However, both can be valuable tools in building a strong upper body—plus other muscles, like your core.

The good news is that you can incorporate both into your routine, but there may be certain cases when you want to opt for one over the other.

Here’s everything you need to know about the push-up vs. bench press, how to properly do these exercises, the muscles they target, and the pros and cons of each.

Push-ups

Here’s exactly how to do a push-up with correct form. Start with two to three sets of 10 to 15 reps. To advance, try four sets of 10 reps.

1. Start in a high plank position, with your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward. Your body should be in a straight line.
2. Keeping your head aligned with your back, bend your elbows and lower yourself down toward the floor.
3. Keep your elbows pointed back toward your hips, not flared or straight out.
4. Try to lower down until you almost touch the ground (or go as far as you can go without sagging your hips or flaring your elbows).
5. Press upward until your arms are fully straight and you are in the starting position.

Muscles worked

Push-ups primarily target the following muscles:

• Pectoral muscles (chest)
• Anterior deltoids (front shoulders)
• Triceps (back of your arms)
• Stabilizer muscles in your core, shoulders, and upper back

“Push-ups target the same muscles as bench press, but involve the core muscles even more,” says Anna Taylor, CPT, a USA Weightlifting certified coach and personal trainer at Life Time. “They are great for individuals who need to work on stabilizing the abdominals and back muscles, while improving upper body strength.”

“[Push-ups] can be done anywhere, improve upper-body strength, and enhance core stability and posture.” —Anna Taylor, CPT

Pros

The push-up is a comprehensive workout that’s also very accessible.

“They can be done anywhere, improve upper-body strength, and enhance core stability and posture,” Taylor says.

Even though you can’t do much to vary the weight in a push-up (like you would in a bench press), you can still try variations to mix up your workout.

“Push-ups offer numerous variations to increase or decrease difficulty and target different muscle groups,” says Jack Coxall, a UKSCA accredited strength and conditioning coach, Level 3 personal trainer, and co-founder of Fitness Lab. “Variations include standard push-ups, wide-grip push-ups, narrow-grip push-ups, decline push-ups, incline push-ups, diamond push-ups, and plyometric or explosive push-ups.”

Cons

Because push-ups rely primarily on body weight for resistance, they may not be challenging enough for more advanced training goals.

“Some individuals may also experience discomfort in the wrists, especially if they have wrist mobility issues or poor form,” Coxall says.

You may also find push-ups challenging or uncomfortable if you have shoulder or elbow injuries. Plus, you can exacerbate pain if you’re a beginner and don’t use the correct form, so it’s important to follow the steps listed above closely.

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