The differences and similarities of a push and pull movement are actually quite simple.
The main muscles used in a push movement are the chest muscles, the pectorals.
The secondary muscles used are the triceps located on the back of the arm.
The main muscles used in a pull movement are the back muscles, the lats and rhomboids.
The secondary muscles used are the biceps which are located on the front of the arm.
The most common mistakes/issues I see in a push movement is people flaring their elbows out. For example, when someone does a pushup, their elbows should be turned in like you’re trying to squeeze a tennis ball in your armpit. If you don’t have that squeeze your shoulder will likely be taking most of the movement unless you have very excellent control of your upper body muscles.
The most common mistakes/issues I see when people are doing a pull movement is shrugging so their shoulders are near their ears. This will engage your traps, cause some discomfort and in the neck (and possible headaches), and will certainly affect posture. When we pull we want to focus on using the big back muscles and not using the hands and forearms.
Push and pull are opposite movements and a good way to think of this is that when you’re working opposite sides of the body when we do these.
For any further questions, please ask me in the gym. I will demonstrate this until you fully understand.
-Kelli