Push-ups Club

[JohnLarson]

How is everyone doing with the push-ups? Tonight, the trainer had us do 4 sets of 5 pushups followed by a walk-up and a walk out (you walk your hands towards your body and push up to a standing position and then forward bend and walk back out to push up position), It was actually kind of cool and fun! So I did those - full prone pushups. Then, we also did 2 more sets of 30 pushups and I did most of those as "cheaters" from my knees.

Sharon

Like this: http://youtu.be/rMNjTHHxkU4

My push-ups are getting better. I have three set times I do them: morning, afternoon, and bedtime. I also will do random ones focusing on going low and keeping good form. Sometimes it is just one.

[JohnLarson]

How is everyone doing?

Before posting, drop and do some push-ups! Even if they are on the wall or on a counter.

I can now do 20 in a row with my gut touching the floor before going back up. I try to do at least five sets of 20 a day.

[Waingapu]

How is everyone doing?

Before posting, drop and do some push-ups! Even if they are on the wall or on a counter.

I can now do 20 in a row with my gut touching the floor before going back up. I try to do at least five sets of 20 a day.

I'm still doing my push ups. I was just thinking about updating this thread last night. Thanks for bringing it up.

Good to see you are keeping it up. I also do about 100 total on my push-up days ( I only do them every other day)

When we last wrote, I was up to about 30 maximum in one set and making slow progress. Then about 10 days ago I had a break through and have been advancing more quickly.
Saturday I did 41 and probably could have done one or two more, but I don't like to break my record by more than one, so I can keep motivated in the future.

It seems as the muscles build up and then you suddenly gain new strength and even more important, endurance.
I've also slowed down my first 20 to introduce some pacing.
Seems to allow the muscles to restore for about half a second at the top.

At age 63 I try to not over do, or advance too rapidly nor do excessive numbers in one day.
I read this article am being a bit cautious

http://articles.philly.com/2012-11-06/n ... ohn-fenlin

So I will err on the side of caution. If I feel any unusual pain, I give it a break. But I am continuing.

Also, with regard to injury, I am only doing the offical push-ups, not the low...to the floor types.
The armed services and other official organizations seem to use the same criteria for a official push up.

One of the two is acceptable

1. elbow bend to 90 degrees or less. meaning elbow bend at the bottom is not 100 degees or 110 degrees, but a tighter angle.

OR

2. Chest down to height of clinched fist. For me that is about 3.0 inches ( I use two phone books for the exact 3.0 inches)

I do that both because its the official criteria, but also because that range of motion is not so extreme as to risk injury to the shoulder.
Younger people may not have to worry about this.

Time--- Some tests and services measure the time. When they do, they ususally use 2:00 minutes. I'm usually out of steam by about 2:10 anyway. As I get to 50 pushups and more, I may end up initially going to about 2:30 as the last few are slower.

Keep doing your pushups and down the road you'll suddenly be able to do more as your muscles catch up with the new workload.
It will be interesting to see how many we can do a year from now.

Also, keep in mind your age and weight. I'm 63 but I'm only about bmi 19.6 so that load is much easier for me compared to some others. On the other hand, I don't have much upper body strength.

Hope a few others are keeping up their progress.
-----------------------------------------------------------
PS, Almost forgot this great site for seeing how you are doing

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/PushUps.html

On that site it tells you what percentile you are in for your age group.
At 41 pushups, I am in the 96th percentile for my age.
I need to get to 53 push ups to hit the 100th percentile.

Of course one's weight would also be a factor.

[JohnLarson]

I think going slow and steady makes a big difference. When I get home tonight from work I am going to see how many I can do at once. I think I have done 26 before. My arms are wobbly just typing this.

I think I am doing mine military style as far as the elbows go. My goal is to be able to pass the Army Physical Test for my age in late July. Maybe in early June I will take a pre-test. Since I am near Fort Bragg and have many customers who are in the Army, finding someone to score me should be easy.

[Waingapu]

I think going slow and steady makes a big difference. When I get home tonight from work I am going to see how many I can do at once. I think I have done 26 before. My arms are wobbly just typing this.

I think I am doing mine military style as far as the elbows go. My goal is to be able to pass the Army Physical Test for my age in late July. Maybe in early June I will take a pre-test. Since I am near Fort Bragg and have many customers who are in the Army, finding someone to score me should be easy.

Here, from Wiki is the military definition for the Army

"On the command ‘go,’ begin the push-up by bending your elbows and lowering your entire body as a single unit until your upper arms are at least parallel to the ground."

Parallel is usually equal to a 90 degree elbow angle.

I see from the Army APT that the acceptable for this one test is a mark of 50 which equates to the following

Age 32-36 = 26
Age 27-31 = 30

http://www.military.com/military-fitnes ... core-chart

Not sure of your age, but from where you are, until late July, that should be easy to pass. But don't let up.

BTW, Wiki says the Army does use the 2:00 time criteria, but unless you 17 to 21 and need 35 pushups for a 50 score, then time should not be a problem.

Of course your overall score needs to be at the 60 average from what I understand. That means a extra 7 to 9 pushups above the 50 score average. Seems you can make that in a couple months.

In case you didn't see the edit to my prior post, here is a useful calculator that I also use

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/PushUps.html

[SecondHalf]

Military pushups are the only kind I do. Comes from my papa being a Master Sergeant in the Army, I guess. The gym teacher always wanted me to do "lady" pushups. . . uh, no. Nothing at all wrong with those, but not sure why I would want to do something less strenuous if I could handle the harder kind. Part of growing up when I did, I suppose.

I can do 20 or 25 (on a good day) at a time, but I just got back into doing them. And my wrists seem to give out before my strength does (by just a nose) so I'm not sure what I can do about that. But pushups are a terrific way to work all the upper body muscles obviously, plus core muscles. And a quick way to get flabby upper arms in shape, plus no equipment needed!

I would suggest starting out with as many as one can do without killing themselves, consider that a "set" and then try to increase one per week. Do a couple of sets a day and it makes a big difference.

[Waingapu]

But pushups are a terrific way to work all the upper body muscles obviously, plus core muscles. And a quick way to get flabby upper arms in shape, plus no equipment needed!

I would suggest starting out with as many as one can do without killing themselves, consider that a "set" and then try to increase one per week. Do a couple of sets a day and it makes a big difference.

Good idea.

In fact, even those who don't imagine they want to do push ups should give themselves a test.

Either regular push ups or the women's type.
Make yourself take a test and just see if you can do one, or three, or perhaps 5.
See how difficult it is.
A very simple test you can do in one minute.

The reason you should do the test is that many people will simply be SHOCKED , at how weak they have become over the years. So shocked at how much the muscles have weakened, that they will begin a long slow muscle recovery program.

I know, after having done no pushups for years, I did about 10 and my body felt like it weighed a ton, even on the first two or three. That made me start a long slow recovery of my muscles.

So the test should be like when someone goes into the doctor and gets a cholesterol test that comes back at say, 290 TC, with 160 LDL.
A call to action.

So test yourself. See what your status is. Now or never!

[SweetPea]

Two sets of 10 full push-ups today. I could definitely do one more set today. I think.

[Waingapu]

Just checking in on how folks are doing with the push ups.

I have not raised my record number which was 44 in about 2:20 though I have not really tried a full-on attempt since that last record.

However my regular numbers have been getting easier.

I can now regularly do about 32 to 33 in 60 seconds

And if I go a bit slower I can always do 40 to 41 within 120 seconds, 2:00

Both require good efforts but those I can do with confidence on a regular basis.
I'm still doing from 80 to 100 total every other day.
Sometimes every day, but I pay close attention to any soreness.

I don't want to injure my shoulder or rotator cuff which I am told is possible if one over trains or over does.
Being 63 I pay close attention to indications of pain and injury so as to not be thrown off exercise by needless injury.

I keep this article in mind.

http://articles.philly.com/2012-11-06/n ... ohn-fenlin

Not so sure how high I want to go. I had thought about doing my age in push ups (63), but I may top out at 50 in 2 minutes and not strive to do any greater number.
No real value in going ever higher and possibly developing a injury.

The highest charts I see for my age tops out at maximum value at 53 and 57. Those for military testing and such. Those numbers get you 100 points or put you in the top 1%.

Oh BTW, I was recently looking at youtube and sites where people make fantastic claims about so many pushups in 60 seconds.
60, 80, even 130 in 60 seconds.

In EVERY case they are fake push-ups where they either don't go far enough down, or they don't go all the way up to lockout of the elbows.
The "official" down side is either of the following.
1. Upper arms parallel to the ground
or
2. Down to the height of a fist to the ground, about 3" in my case.
I place some books at that height.
( using this method is most accurate as you can feel the books as you hit bottom)

OK... just checking in. Stay safe. Give yourself a day or two off if pain developes, especially in the shoulder or elbow.

[SecondHalf]

I can do about 30 relatively easier. Every one above that gets a lot harder, but I try to add one a week if I can, meaning if I have no pain or other reason not to.

[Waingapu]

I can do about 30 relatively easier. Every one above that gets a lot harder, but I try to add one a week.

I know what you mean. I do a certain number and then all of a sudden they become much much harder.
Unlike running where you gradually get tired, doing push ups seems to be like running out of gas, all of a sudden, and then I slow way down and have to grind out the last few. My legs start shaking on the last few.

I'm hoping I can establish a set rate wherein they gradually become more difficult instead of hitting a wall all of a sudden.
Muscle endurance rather than muscle strength.

I think increasing one a week is very good. Perhaps even one every two weeks after the initial 25 or 30 level is hit.
I was going up fast, until recently. Now I still get tired at about 30 and have to work hard on all the ones above that.

I'm looking for a break-through where I get a new burst of ability.
Not sure if that will happen.

[SecondHalf]

I can do about 30 relatively easier. Every one above that gets a lot harder, but I try to add one a week.

I know what you mean. I do a certain number and then all of a sudden they become much much harder.
Unlike running where you gradually get tired, doing push ups seems to be like running out of gas, all of a sudden, and then I slow way down and have to grind out the last few. My legs start shaking on the last few.

I'm hoping I can establish a set rate wherein they gradually become more difficult instead of hitting a wall all of a sudden.
Muscle endurance rather than muscle strength.

I think increasing one a week is very good. Perhaps even one every two weeks after the initial 25 or 30 level is hit.
I was going up fast, until recently. Now I still get tired at about 30 and have to work hard on all the ones above that.

I'm looking for a break-through where I get a new burst of ability.
Not sure if that will happen.

Good luck with your goals - sounds like you're making great progress.

It's amazing how much this simple been-around-forever exercise requiring no equipment and just a few minutes can change your body. Arms and upper back muscles show pretty fast improvement, core is strengthened, benefits to legs and gluts, too. And they can be done about anywhere. I often close my office door and do a quick set. There's nothing wrong with investing in weights or anything, but I love that own body weight is sufficient to add strength and definition. And I happen to have it wherever I go!

[Waingapu]

It's amazing how much this simple been-around-forever exercise requiring no equipment and just a few minutes can change your body. Arms and upper back muscles show pretty fast improvement, core is strengthened, benefits to legs and gluts, too. And they can be done about anywhere. I often close my office door and do a quick set. There's nothing wrong with investing in weights or anything, but I love that own body weight is sufficient to add strength and definition. And I happen to have it wherever I go!

Agree, it helps in so many areas.
That must be why my legs are shaking during the last few I grind out. My legs seem to get even weaker than my arms in preventing me from doing one more.

Such a easy exercise to drop down and do.... You could do 5 or 10 sets of 10 or 15 during the day and not even take up any time.
Just a refresher between tasks. Up out of the chair, do a quick 10 to 20 and then back to your work.
Just need the habit to be developed.
Since you don't have to touch the ground except for your hands and feet, you could just about do it in any clothing and in brief numbers of 5 or 10 or 15 you won't even sweat.

Perhaps others will join in. Exercise in a Box... or Exercise in your back pocket...

As handy as your cell phone..

There, in the doctors waiting room, drop and do 10
There in the church aisle, drop and do 10
There in the frozen food section, drop and do 10

[JulieS]

Bumping to come back to this!

[JohnLarson]

I just dropped and did 20.

I have slacked off lots from doing push-ups and sit-ups. I will do four more sets of 20 before bed.

As far as doing more, I think I was able to do 36 at once. Right now, I am sure 24 would be hard. I can relate to hitting a wall.

Thanks everyone for posting. I have gotten slack.