A bench and a loaded barbell are among the larger purchases in a home gym, and push-ups need neither. Three published trials have compared push-up training with bench press training directly. This article reports what each found, how they matched the load between the exercises, and why the results cannot be stretched into a general verdict. It covers general findings in healthy adults and is not advice for anyone with an injury or health condition. No pooled analysis of these trials is cited here, since the sources are three separate small studies.
Trial one: bench press against elastic-band push-ups in experienced trainees
Calatayud and colleagues (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2015) first measured muscle activity by electromyography (EMG) during a six-repetition-maximum (6RM) bench press and a push-up with an elastic band adding resistance. At baseline the EMG amplitude showed no significant difference between the two. Thirty university students with advanced resistance training experience were then randomly allocated to a 6RM bench press group, a 6RM elastic-band push-up group or a control group for five weeks, using the same loads as in the EMG measurements.
Both training groups improved their 1RM and 6RM significantly and by similar amounts, while the control group did not change. The authors conclude that when EMG values are comparable and conditions are reproduced, the two exercises can provide similar strength gains.
Trial two: low-load bench press against load-matched push-ups
Kikuchi and Nakazato (Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness, 2017) recruited 18 men aged 19 to 22 and randomly assigned them to bench press at 40% of one-repetition maximum or to push-ups with the position adjusted, for example kneeling, to match the same load. Both groups trained twice a week for eight weeks.
The authors report significant increases in 1RM and in muscle thickness of the triceps and the pectoralis major in both groups. Biceps thickness increased significantly only in the bench press group. Medicine-ball throw power and the maximum-repetition test showed no significant change in either group, and the change in muscle thickness did not differ significantly between the groups. The authors conclude that push-ups at a load similar to 40% of 1RM bench press are comparably effective for hypertrophy and strength over eight weeks. They also note that push-up intensity can be altered with variations such as bent knees or hand and foot elevation, and raised further using an elastic band or a weight plate on the back.
Trial three: progressive calisthenic push-ups against bench press
Kotarsky, Christensen, Miller and Hackney (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2018) studied 23 healthy, moderately trained men, randomly assigned to a progressive push-up group (n = 14) or a bench press group (n = 9), training three days a week for four weeks. They measured muscle thickness, a seated medicine ball put, bench press 1RM and a push-up progression. The abstract reports significant increases in 1RM, and the authors describe the study as the first to show that calisthenics, using progressive variations to maintain programming variables, can improve upper-body muscle strength.
What the trials have in common
- All were short (four to eight weeks) and small, with between 18 and 30 participants in total. Two explicitly enrolled men, and the abstract of the third does not state participants’ sex.
- All matched load between the exercises by design, through EMG matching, a fixed percentage of 1RM or progressive variations. Push-ups performed at whatever load a person happens to choose were not tested.
- All reported comparable strength improvement between push-up and bench press training.
- Kikuchi and Nakazato is the only one of the three whose abstract reports thickness at several sites, and it found a difference at the biceps that favoured the bench press group.
What the trials cannot show
None of the trials followed participants for longer than eight weeks, so they say nothing about long-term progress once a person can do many push-ups with a body weight that cannot easily be increased. Kikuchi and Nakazato themselves note that further studies are needed in highly trained subjects. The trials are also small enough that the absence of a significant difference between groups is not proof of equivalence. Findings in the male participants cannot be assumed for women, and none of the abstracts reports separate results for women.
The trials do not compare cost, space or convenience. They say nothing about the range of exercises a bench and barbell make possible, such as heavy loading of the chest at higher intensities. Kikuchi and Nakazato state that push-ups can be loaded further with a band or plate, which means some equipment can still be relevant to push-up training.
What this means for a buying decision
The evidence supports a narrow conclusion: in short trials with matched loads, push-up variations produced upper-body strength gains and pectoral and triceps thickness gains similar to bench press training. It does not show that push-ups replace the bench press for someone seeking to lift heavy loads, or that a bench is unnecessary. For readers weighing this against other options, related articles on this site cover resistance bands and suspension trainers as equipment substitutes and weight benches.
Frequently asked questions
Can push-ups build the same strength as the bench press?
In these three trials, with matched loads and short durations in male participants, both exercises improved bench press strength by similar amounts.
Do push-ups build the biceps?
In the trial that measured it, biceps thickness increased significantly only in the bench press group.
The bottom line
Three small randomised trials found that push-up training and bench press training, at matched loads, produced similar strength gains and similar gains in chest and triceps thickness over four to eight weeks. They were short, small, mostly in men, and did not test push-ups at self-selected loads, so they support cautious substitution and not a general claim that push-ups make a bench unnecessary.
Sources
- Calatayud J, Borreani S, Colado JC, Martin F, Tella V, Andersen LL, “Bench press and push-up at comparable levels of muscle activity results in similar strength gains”, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2015
- Kikuchi N, Nakazato K, “Low-load bench press and push-up induce similar muscle hypertrophy and strength gain”, Journal of Exercise Science and Fitness, 2017
- Kotarsky CJ, Christensen BK, Miller JS, Hackney KJ, “Effect of Progressive Calisthenic Push-up Training on Muscle Strength and Thickness”, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2018