No, EVERY muscle can only pull... Your chest PULLS your upper arm bones in (and thus, raises you off the ground) when you do push-ups. Your triceps PULL your upper and lower arm bones such that they straighten relative to each other, which raises you off the ground when you do push-ups... Your lats PULL your upper arm down towards your side, which is what you resist with body weight when you do a wide-grip pull-up, or with weights during seated rows.
...I have no idea what you even mean by "pushups with a loose back", since those muscles aren't used in that exercise [save for minimal amounts for stabilization]. Your abdominal muscles are what are keeping you from collapsing onto your knees or the ground when you do push-ups.
I've also been lifting for around 10 years, broheim.
*by "pull" I mean that the power in a muscle comes when it contracts.
It's a pretty common thing to have sore Lars when starting to do push ups...just saying. No you're not going to get huge but they do work your lats among other things. Quick google search even will show you that
It's a pretty common thing to have sore Lars when starting to do push ups...just saying. No you're not going to get huge but they do work your lats among other things. Quick google search even will show you that
I agree. I have had sore lars from push-ups. Girlfriend plays roller derby and would always bitch about a sore back when they had to do a lot of push-ups. Just because it's secondary / stabilization / isometric, that doesn't mean it's not getting a significant work out.