Scapula Push Ups: Muscles Worked, How To Do & Benefits

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Scapula Push-Ups, or Scap Push–Ups are one of the best exercises for strengthening the upper back muscles and improving shoulder strength and mobility.

Incorporating Scap Pushups into your exercise routine can help to build additional strength, muscle mass and improve weak areas in your shoulders and upper back.

Scapular retraction push-ups are one of the greatest conditioning exercises for the outdoor athlete. They can be performed regardless of where you are, and best of all, they are completely free—no expensive equipment required. You just need a flat surface, like a table, desk, or wall.

In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about how to perform the scapula push ups correctly. You will also learn its benefits, how to avoid common mistakes, and what are the best variation of scapular retraction push ups and how to do them.

Scapula Push Ups
Table of Contents

What Are Scapular Push-Ups?

Scapular push-ups—also known as scapula retraction push-ups or scap push-ups—use a small range of motion to strengthen your scapular muscles.  

The scapular pushup is considered to be more challenging than a conventional push up because you need to hold a good position on your plank while performing the movement of pushing yourself up.

The scapula also known shoulder blade, is a large triangular-shaped bone that lies in the upper back. There is a complex system of muscles that work together to help you move your arm and shoulder. The scap push-up promotes natural scapula motion and better shoulder mobility.

The serratus anterior muscle is the main muscle worked out during scapular push-ups. Working out these muscles can help you build up the strength and flexibility of your shoulder blade. 

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Scapula Push Ups Muscles Worked

The serratus anterior, upper and middle trap and rhomboids are the primary muscle worked during scapula push-ups.

While these muscles are the main ones that are worked, several other muscles around the shoulders and core can be used to stabilize the body during the exercise. These stabilizers include the:

Scapula Push Ups Muscles Worked

How To Do Scapula Push Up

The scapula push up is known for being an advanced variation of the traditional push-up. It is also often recommended for people who want to improve their shoulder mobility and core strength and stability.

  1. You should get in the standard push up position.
  2. Keep a neutral spine, tuck your chin, and put your elbows under your shoulders.
  3. Keep your abs tight and let your chest sink towards the ground.
  4. Do not allow your neck to shoot forward or your lower back to cave in.
  5. Keep your arms straight and retract your shoulder blades by pulling them back and together and squeezing them at the top of the movement.
  6. Keep your arms straight and protract your shoulder blades by pushing them away from each other. Pause again.
  7. Repeat for the prescribed number of sets and repetitions.
Scapular Push Ups Rhomboid exercises

Benefits Of Scapula Push Ups

The Scapula push ups exercises are a good choice for training: Benefits of regularly performing scap push-ups include:

  • The shoulder and shoulder blades are powered by the scapula muscle. Working out this muscle group helps keep your shoulders strong and healthy.
  • The scapular pushup calls on strength in the serratus anterior, helping to keep your shoulders working with both power and full range of motion.
  • The benefit of using scap pushups is that they help to develop core strength, since you can perform them while in the plank position. The scap push up is also a great move to help improve your posture.
  • They can help you improve your balance, coordination, stability and flexibility, it is an excellent choice if you want to get better at any sport or form of exercise.
  • The Scapular Push-Up is an excellent exercise for building stabilizing strength and mobility in your shoulder blades. Thereby improving the effectiveness of the golf swing and preventing injuries.
  • You don’t need any special equipment to practice the scap push-ups workout. All you require is the right technique and some willpower.

Make It Easier Or Harder (Regression & Progression)

If you want to make Scap Push Ups easier, place your hands on a wall or do scapular push ups on your knees. Just about anyone can do this beginner version because you’re not lifting a large percentage of your bodyweight, and it doesn’t require as much flexibility. 

To make Scapula retraction Push Ups harder, you can increase the number of sets and the number of times you do them. You are not to take scap push-ups to failure or heavily load it. You can make the exercise harder by slightly elevating your feet.

1. Wall Scap Push Up

Push-ups on the wall are a low-impact exercise that people of all fitness levels can perform. So, they are a good choice for people who are just starting to do strength training.

Scapular push up on the wall is a beginner-friendly exercise for building stabilizing strength and mobility in your shoulder blades. Try the wall scapular push up exercise to develop muscle control and mobility.

Wall Scapula Push Up

How To Do Wall Scapula Push Up

  • Stand in front of a wall with the arms outstretched, hands about shoulder width apart, and lean in to the wall.
  • Keep your arms straight and pull your shoulder blades back and together. Hold for 1 breath.
  • Keep your arms straight and protract your shoulder blades by pushing them away from each other.
  • Repeat the process for 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.

2. Knee Scapula Push up

Bent Knee push-ups are one of the most basic and rewarding exercises you can do. It’s always beneficial to do them regularly.

The knee Scapula Push up, also known as a modified scapula push-up, is a bodyweight exercise that works the muscles throughout your upper body.

The kneeling scapula push-up is a brilliant exercise for beginners. If you’re having trouble performing a standard scap push-up, practice an easier push-up variation, the bent knee push-up.

Knee Scapula Push up

How To Do Knee Scap Pushup

  • Lie face down on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground about hip-width apart.
  • Keeping your arms close to your body, raise them off of the ground as high as you can.
  • Keep your arms straight and retract your shoulder blades by pulling them back and together and squeezing them at the top of the movement.
  • Keep your arms straight and protract your shoulder blades by pushing them away from each other. Pause again.
  • Continue to retract and protract your shoulder blades for your desired number of repetitions.

3. Elbow Scapula Push Up (Plank Scap Push Up)

The plank is a brilliant bodyweight exercise that helps you to develop the strength and stability of your core.

The elbow scapula push up is a beneficial strengthening exercise that targets scapular stability through the retraction, anterior tilt, and protraction positions.

Simply perform the small movement of your shoulder blades (Protraction and retraction) to feel your upper back and keep your Abs braced.

Elbow Scapula Push Up (Plank Scapula Push Up)

How To Do Elbow Scap Push Up

  • Take a position with your knees underneath your hips, hip-width apart, and your hands underneath your shoulders.
  • Your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your knee.
  • Keep your arms straight and retract your shoulder blades by pulling them back and together and squeezing them at the top of the movement.
  • Keep your arms straight and protract your shoulder blades by pushing them away from each other.
  • Then repeat. Down and up, slowly. Be sure to breathe in on the way down and out on the way up.

Scapula Push Ups Proper Form And Mistakes

Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program.

  • Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
  • Keeping your back in a straight line and without bending your elbows.
  • Use a small range of motion do not lower your chest all of the way to the floor.
  • Ensure you maintain some tension in your abs and don’t allow your lower back to excessive arch.
  • To see continual progress and build body strength, incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program.
  • Ultimately, your results will depend on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. It is recommended that you allow at least 36 to 48 hours of rest before training the same muscle groups again, in order to allow for sufficient recovery.

Takeaways

Scapula Push Ups exercise is one of the most classic ones for strengthening the muscles in the back of the body.

It also makes it perfect to connect with your core, which is why this exercise is so important for athletes who need to be able to transfer power from their upper body into their lower body.

References

25 Different Types Of Push-Ups for Beginner

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