Push-ups are a brilliant bodyweight exercise for strengthening your pectoral muscles, shoulders, and triceps, and even your core muscles. But there are other exercises I prefer if you want to focus more on your shoulders than your pecs. Are push-ups the best upper-body bodyweight exercise for building shoulder strength? Nope.
Push-based exercises, such as the bench press or push-ups, focus on the frontal deltoids (shoulders) but really are chest-centric, whereas pull-based motions, like rows, target the back of your shoulders, known as the rear deltoids. Additionally, moves like lateral raises work the medial deltoids; so a well-rounded shoulder routine builds equally well-rounded, strong, and sculpted shoulders.
