Neither, when the load and effort are matched: in an 8-week trial, push-ups set to the same load as a light bench press grew the chest and triceps by about the same amount2. A second trial with heavy loads found similar strength gains1. The catch is the word "matched": an easy set of push-ups is not the same stimulus as a hard bench.
This article walks through what the trials did to make the comparison fair, what they found, and where they stop.
How the trials made it a fair fight
The obvious objection is that a push-up is "just body weight" and a bench press can be loaded forever. Both key trials got around this by setting the push-up to a known load.
Trial 1 (light loads). Kikuchi and Nakazato randomised (assigned by chance) 18 men aged 19 to 22, all with at least a year of resistance training, into two groups of 92. One group did the bench press at 40% of their one-rep max (the most they could lift once). The other did push-ups with the body position adjusted, knees bent or hands raised, so the load on the arms matched that same 40%2. Both did 3 sets to failure (until no clean rep was left), with 2-minute rests, twice a week for 8 weeks2.
Trial 2 (heavy loads). Calatayud and colleagues took 30 university students with advanced training experience and split them three ways for 5 weeks: a 6-rep-max bench press (a load you can lift 6 times), push-ups made just as hard with an elastic band, or no training1. They matched the two exercises using EMG (electromyography: sensors on the skin that read how hard a muscle is working). Before training, muscle activity did not differ between the heavy bench and the band push-up1.
| Trial 1 (2017) | Trial 2 (2015) | |
|---|---|---|
| People | 18 trained young men | 30 students, advanced training |
| Load | 40% of one-rep max, both groups | 6-rep max, band on push-ups |
| Effort | 3 sets to failure | matched muscle activity |
| Length | 8 weeks, twice a week | 5 weeks |
| Measured | muscle thickness and strength | strength only |
In plain terms: in both trials the push-up was made as hard as the bench, which is the whole point of the comparison.
What the trials found
Muscle size. In Trial 1, ultrasound (a scan that shows how thick a muscle is) found the chest thicker in both groups after 8 weeks2. Chest thickness went from 17.0 to 20.8 mm with push-ups and from 17.8 to 22.5 mm with the bench press2. The paper reports average rises of 18.3% and 19.4%; the group means above work out to about 22% and 26%. Triceps (the back of the upper arm) grew from 27.5 to 30.4 mm with push-ups and from 26.3 to 27.8 mm with the bench2. There was no significant difference between groups at any site2.
Muscle thickness before and after 8 weeks, by exercise · mm
Before After 8 weeks
One site did differ within groups. Biceps thickness increased only in the bench-press group (28.4 to 31.5 mm); the authors suspected the grip2.
Strength. In Trial 1, bench-press one-rep max rose in both groups, from 61.1 to 64.2 kg after push-ups and from 60.0 to 65.0 kg after bench pressing, with no difference in the percentage gain2. Note that the push-up group improved on a lift it never practised. In Trial 2, both training groups improved their one-rep max and 6-rep max significantly and by similar amounts (gains of about 14% to 22%), while the untrained group stayed the same1.
The authors of Trial 1 concluded that push-ups and bench pressing at 40% of the one-rep max "are similarly effective for increasing muscle thickness and strength gain"2.
In plain terms: when the push-up was as hard as the bench, the chest could not tell the difference in these trials.
Why a light load could grow muscle
Trial 1 used light loads, which surprises people. It fits a larger body of evidence. A 2017 meta-analysis of 21 studies, in which every set went to failure, found muscle growth was similar with low loads (60% of one-rep max or less) and high loads3. The same analysis found one-rep-max strength rose more with heavy loads3. Light versus heavy loads has its own article.
That is why "to failure" matters so much in Trial 1. A light set stopped far from failure is a different workout. The mechanism usually offered is that sets taken close to failure recruit most of the muscle's fibres whatever the load. That is the field's explanation, not something these trials measured.
What happens when push-ups are not matched
Not every trial matched effort as tightly, and the results show it. In a 4-week trial, 23 moderately trained men were randomised to progressive push-up variations (14 men) or bench pressing (9 men), 3 days a week4. Bench one-rep max rose in both groups4. But muscle thickness did not change significantly within either group, which is not surprising over 4 weeks4.
So the evidence is not "push-ups always equal bench". It is "push-ups loaded and pushed as hard as a bench gave similar results over 5 to 8 weeks".
What people in these trials actually did
These are descriptions of the trials, not a program. The push-up group in Trial 1 changed the push-up's difficulty with body position (knees down, hands raised) to hit a set load2. Trial 2 added an elastic band to make push-ups as heavy as a 6-rep-max bench1. In both, the sets were hard: to failure, or at a load that allowed only about 6 reps.
For how hard a set needs to be and how to judge it, see RIR vs RPE. For weekly set counts, see how many sets per muscle group per week. For which muscles the bench press itself works, see bench press muscles worked.
What the studies found
| Study | Who was studied | Key result | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calatayud et al., *J Strength Cond Res*1 | 30 students with advanced training, 5 weeks | Heavy bench and band push-ups matched for muscle activity gave similar strength gains; control unchanged | 2015 |
| Kikuchi & Nakazato, *J Exerc Sci Fit*2 | 18 trained young men, 8 weeks, 40% load to failure | Chest and triceps thickness rose in both groups, no group difference; bench 1RM rose in both | 2017 |
| Schoenfeld et al., *J Strength Cond Res*3 | Meta-analysis of 21 studies, all sets to failure | Muscle growth similar across low and high loads; 1RM favoured high loads | 2017 |
| Kotarsky et al., *J Strength Cond Res*4 | 23 moderately trained men, 4 weeks | Bench 1RM rose with both push-ups and bench; muscle thickness did not change significantly in either | 2018 |
| van den Tillaar et al., *J Strength Cond Res*5 | 11 resistance-trained men, one testing session | Loaded push-up and bench 1RM strongly linked (r = 0.92) | 2025 |
Limits worth knowing
- Small samples. Nine people per group in the main trial; 30 people across three groups in the heavy-load trial.
- Young men only. No women, beginners or older adults were studied in these trials.
- Short. Five to eight weeks, which says little about years of training.
- Strength only in Trial 2. The heavy-load trial did not measure muscle size1.
- Uncontrolled factors. Trial 1 did not control diet or daily activity outside training, and did not measure the back muscles2. Both groups had the same standardised drink after each session.
- An error in the paper. The Trial 1 abstract prints the push-up group's chest values for the bench group too; we use the full-text Table 1.
- Abstract only for the 2015, 2018 and 2025 studies and the 2017 meta-analysis; the 2017 trial was read in full text.
Latest research
The newest study we found is a 2025 testing study, not a training trial5. Eleven resistance-trained men did push-ups with a vest of 10, 20 and 30 kg and bench presses at matching loads, and the team measured the force on the hands and the speed of each rep5. The measured push-up one-rep max was significantly higher than the bench press one-rep max (112.4 against 106.4 kg on average), and the two were very strongly related (r = 0.92)5.
That supports the idea behind the training trials: a loaded push-up and a bench press test much the same pushing strength. It does not tell us anything new about muscle growth, and eleven men is a small sample. We found no training trial newer than 2018 comparing the two head to head.
How the push-up vs bench evidence built up
- 2015Calatayud et al.Heavy bench vs band push-ups, 30 lifters: similar strength gains
- 2017Kikuchi & NakazatoLight load to failure, 18 men: chest and triceps grew alike
- 2017Schoenfeld et al.21 studies: growth similar across loads when sets reach failure
- 2018Kotarsky et al.4 weeks, 23 men: bench 1RM rose in both; no thickness change
- 2025van den Tillaar et al.Loaded push-up and bench max strongly linked (r = 0.92)
The short version
- Matched for load and effort, push-ups and the bench press grew the chest and triceps about equally over 8 weeks in young trained men.
- Push-ups also raised bench-press strength in both trials that tested it.
- "Matched" is the key word: the push-ups were made harder with body position or a band, and sets were hard.
- The trials are small and short, so read the result as "either worked here", not a promise.
Educational overview only — not medical advice.
