Push-ups Club

[waingapu]

You can be fit and never step foot inside a modern gym but if one wants to develop muscularity to the fullest potential, you have to workout in a gym with machines and free weights unless you have some of the necessary equipment at home. American fitness trainer and choreographer Shaun T has some of the most amazing abs I have ever seen but I can almost guarantee you in addition to his insanity workout DVD, this guy watches what he eats and he also lifts weights in a gym.

I know to some who frequent gyms, that it may sound strange, but most of us don't want to develop muscularity to the fullest. We don't want amazing abs.
In fact, and I don't know your age, but the entire "amazing abs" thing is a recent phenomena, if I may call it that.
Going back to the 50's , 60's, and 70's, no one was trying to get abs. Not football, or baseball, or other sports stars. No one except a tiny percentage of muscle builders wanted abs.
When you went to summer beaches and lakes, even among young fit athletes, no one was trying to get abs.
It was a oddity. Then some time in the eighties, perhaps with the advent of steroid induced body building contests, there came this urge to get abs.

I think muscularity when it comes with fitness for athletic tasks is fine. You build muscles for a given purpose, just like a animal in the wild. But to build muscle for appearance seems a waste of time.

Of course most here would just like some basic fitness. In fact, I'm gonna have to watch myself so as to not get caught up in reaching some useless goal for push ups. I'm probably close to that now, doing 40 in one minute at age 63. Certainly doing more than 50 in a minute or even 2 minutes, serves no useful purpose, though for a younger person perhaps 60 in a minute could be a goal. Beyond that it starts to be for vanity. I know about that kind of stuff as for years I was caught up in cycling where my goals were well beyond fitness. Racing up climbs with others into levels of fitness that were of no use in the real world except for competition.

I would say this though, regarding gyms and equipment. Some equipment can serve a useful transition that you can't find easily in nature.
For example doing those pull down... I'm not sure what they are called... lat pulls. Using less than full body weight that is needed for a pull up. I wish I had a pulley cable with bar to pull down on to do the motion of a pull up, but without needing to lift my entire body weight.
Machines are good for that. Building up safely until one could do a series of regular pull ups without strain.

If one likes gyms, and they are close at hand, I think they are great.
For the vast numbers of folks from age 40 to 85, I think at home routines are better mainly because they are close, and convenient. Of course they are also easy to put off and discontinue.

I wish everyone over age 60 would just start getting up and getting down, a few dozen times each day, or every other day. All the way down on the floor on your back, then getting up to full standing position.
Do that 20 times a day and you'll still be able to do it at age 80. Neglect it and you'll become helpless in your 80's. If you know anyone over 80, test them. Most can't get up, or at the very least require a piece of furniture to lean on. The situation is much worse than you think.
Simple tasks like that are what forces seniors out of their independent living, yet almost NO ONE is urging them to practice those exercises.
Sooner or later, they'll be saying "I've fallen and I can't get up"....
99% of the emphasis in on fall prevention and almost nothing on how to get up.
Local fire departments make many many calls, just getting seniors off the floor.
I have many elderly neighbors and I've been called many times to help get the husband or wife off the floor.

It is such a basic skill and yet goes unpracticed and untaught. There is almost ZERO attention paid to this very real problem. Minimal practice, along with stepped up transitional push ups could alleviate this wide spread problem.
Push ups during one's earlier life, if continued, are a key part of keeping that strength.
Even the "girl" push ups can do wonders.
People who get up and down on a regular basis are also more agile and less likely to fall in the first place.

Hmm, looks like I've gotten off track.
OK back to push ups.
Everyone can do them and they provide far more than just building up shoulders and arms.

[waingapu]

I have been doing "girlie" push ups (bum in air) on and off for years. My son who is in the Marines, has tried to teach me the "real" push-ups to no avail. I think there is some physiological reason why women have a hard time with real push-ups. Anwyay, I will continue with bum in air for now. At least my shoulders look good!

Good what you are doing.

I think you could practice the following exercise for a while and then incorporate it into your push ups after some time.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/ ... kout-plank

Even doing the plank for short periods will build up those other muscles that a woman may be lacking.

If you Google plank and planking you'll find hundreds of sites

The plank enables you to make even more usefulness out of your push ups. Great for your back and torso.

[waingapu]

I'm still on the wall, the counter, and a little on the floor, but very simple. Have to do everything I can to build strength and muscle. It all helps. Thanks for starting back on this subject. I like the encouragement. Today I'll see where I am and then make a plan. Gotta start somewhere.

Yes, start. Think about at least a one year project. Going from the wall to the counter, to the floor in the "girl" style and then perhaps one or two full "mens" push ups. Then 3 and perhaps 4.

Look at page 7 or 8 of the Cooper test results for women entering police and other agencies.

For women it only goes up to the 40 to 49 age group, but the 50th percentile is 11 "mens" push ups done by women.

http://publicsafety.utah.gov/post/pdf/PT.pdf

Think about that as one year, or even a two year plan. Adjust a bit if you are over age 50.

When I first started back I was feeling tired at about 10 or 12 and am certain I couldn't do more than 15.
Now, only about a year later, I can do forty in 60 seconds and am up the 99th percentile for my age.

Oh, don't forget, during the interim you can do some plain planks when your arms are too tired to do a full push up. Planks are good for your core and legs and back, while also doing a bit for the shoulders.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/ ... kout-plank

[greentea]

I have been doing "girlie" push ups (bum in air) on and off for years. My son who is in the Marines, has tried to teach me the "real" push-ups to no avail. I think there is some physiological reason why women have a hard time with real push-ups. Anwyay, I will continue with bum in air for now. At least my shoulders look good!

Good what you are doing.

I think you could practice the following exercise for a while and then incorporate it into your push ups after some time.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/ ... kout-plank

Even doing the plank for short periods will build up those other muscles that a woman may be lacking.

If you Google plank and planking you'll find hundreds of sites

The plank enables you to make even more usefulness out of your push ups. Great for your back and torso.

Yup, planks are a fantastic exercise. When I first started them a couple of years ago, I could only do 10 seconds and I thought I was going to die! Now I can hold for over 1 minute.

[parishmp]

Folks be careful on pushing this pushup thing to high numbers on a daily basis. You’re asking for repetitive injury damage to the shoulders, elbow joints and wrist joints. The same goes for those that participate in long distance and endurance sports. I don’t know one person (and I know a bunch) who don’t suffer today from the abuse they put their bodies through with endurance sports due to repetitive injury damage. The body isn’t designed for it, and it’s just that simple. We like most animals are designed for low impact walking and lifting with occasional bursts of speed and strength when required. That’s the reason the body responds so well to Tabata interval training if you don’t push even that to the level of stupid.

[JOJO1947]

I guess you could call this PUSHUPS 101, a good way to start for a beginner. I was 58 when I started and at 66 I have no problem knocking out over 30 without killing myself. The way I quickly increased the number of (real) pushups I could do was through something called eccentric training. I would start in the 'up' position on my toes and hands with a straight back, and s-l-o-w-l-y lower myself down to where my chest was almost on the floor. Then I would put my knees on the floor, lever back up to the original position using my knees, and repeat. Keep in mind that the wider the hands are, the easier it is because you are using more of your pecs. The closer your hands are to each other, the more you are recruiting your triceps, which are weaker than the pecs. Over time you'll increase the number of pushups you can do, and gradually you'll be able to bring your hands in to shoulder width for a classic pushup. This eccentric training works for many muscle groups to increase strength, example biceps curls.

[eXtremE]

Folks be careful on pushing this pushup thing to high numbers on a daily basis. You’re asking for repetitive injury damage to the shoulders, elbow joints and wrist joints. The same goes for those that participate in long distance and endurance sports. I don’t know one person (and I know a bunch) who don’t suffer today from the abuse they put their bodies through with endurance sports due to repetitive injury damage. The body isn’t designed for it, and it’s just that simple. We like most animals are designed for low impact walking and lifting with occasional bursts of speed and strength when required. That’s the reason the body responds so well to Tabata interval training if you don’t push even that to the level of stupid.

Yeah, I know. I really abused my body during my running years and was injured a lot. It is great to be enthusiastic about exercise and fitness but rest and recovery are critical to keep making gains and to avoid injury. I only lift weights now every other day or sometimes every two days between workouts and I always alternate bodyparts to avoid injury. Pecs, deltoids, biceps and forearms were always my fav bodyparts to workout but I have also had over use injuries in these areas too by not allowing enough repair time after stressing these things with weights. I worked only my lower bodyparts (legs) during my last workout. When I go back again, it will be upper. I don't seem to have a problem as long as I do this plus I don't try to lift heavy anymore. I train with mostly light weights and high reps but no more usually than 15-20 reps unless I am working my abs.

[eXtremE]

Not much chance of overdoing it here..lol..Just trying to get some muscle use and build a little back that has been lost with weight loss and lack of use, over time.

I have to say my push ups aren't really deep, but doing what I do is better than not doing them. Yesterday I did 10 on the wall and 10 on the counter/bar height shelf. I have crunching in my wrists and tenderness in the heel of my hands from carpel tunnel surgeries, so I do my best. The key is doing something.

Today I will continue doing 10 on the wall and counter and am going to try getting back to the floor. I want to do at least one girl style. I'll let you know how it goes. It's good to get down on the floor, because it forces me to use the muscles to get up and that's important to keep in shape. Even doing that again and again can be life saving. You never want to be one of those people who can't get up.

That is good Lynn. The key is to do something each day or most days and keep active. I am having a huge problem with motivation now. I still like to exercise but I feel like I almost have to force myself sometimes.

[JohnLarson]

I have returned to doing push-ups regularly again. Starting my day off with 20. I went a few weeks without doing any at all. I like the idea of doing them slowly with control.

I do not think I need to worry about over doing it.

[eXtremE]

Yeah, I hear you...today is the 1st day of the rest of your life. We should all try and make the most of it. I did not do anything yesterday either even tho my plan was to do something. I am about to go stationary bicycling for about 30 minutes right now.

[waingapu]

Not much chance of overdoing it here..lol..Just trying to get some muscle use and build a little back that has been lost with weight loss and lack of use, over time.

Today I will continue doing 10 on the wall and counter and am going to try getting back to the floor. I want to do at least one girl style. I'll let you know how it goes. It's good to get down on the floor, because it forces me to use the muscles to get up and that's important to keep in shape. Even doing that again and again can be life saving. You never want to be one of those people who can't get up.
. Lynn

Good to keep doing what you are doing. Keep a 12 month to 24 month frame of mind for improvement.
As I reported, I am already over 12 months into my slow improvement in push-ups and I imagine I'll continue to improve slowly over the future 12 months.

Interestingly, my muscles are only now beginning to show some growth. As we get older, muscles seem to take much longer to react. Thus the need for keeping that goal well out in the future.

You might try what I do. I take a fresh calendar and just mark down my push ups every time I exercise.
I mark each type of push up. My warm up "girl" types and my regular full types. I also mark my time, but that isn't so important. Then as I flip the calendar I can see my progress in clear numbers.
That gives me inspiration and is kind of like when in school, my teacher would have us move our car along chart/track as we read more books.
A visual clue for extra input to the brain. You gain satisfaction from seeing progress on paper.
This is most important when doing the exercises at home where you don't get feedback from others.
That is part of the reason why I share here with my push up progress.

I've been looking for some video.
I can't find the guy on youtube who was doing multiple variations of getting up off the floor.
He would do it to the left, then the right then ....several other variations.
His idea way down the road, was to do it 50 times each session. That is a awful lot, but perhaps 10 to 20 times per session during he first year would get those muscles and balance and technique in proper form.

I'll keep looking around the internet for video.

Here is one example of how it helps a 90 year old woman (the mother). She isn't even using a chair for support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzOjr6gmV9A

Then one more amazing woman at age 86
(please note, none of us can expect to be this good, not even in our 60's, but I still find this woman inspirational to watch. Just don't be discouraged because none of us is as able as she is. I believe she was a champion gymnast in earlier years. )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgAdBr-3opU

As you have indicated, we've all really got to get this getting down and getting up exercise in our minds.
If we practice it many times a week, we'll keep the ability to do so well into our aging years.
Partly from muscles being better, partly from balance, and partly from just learning the technique.
It uses so many muscles getting up in various ways.

BTW, yesterday I took 2 minutes instead of my usual 1 minute test and was able to do 50 push ups for the first time. That is the 99th percentile for my age. 3 more and I am at the 100% tile for my age.
But I am light and have been at it for a year, and started with no real physical problems.
Everyone must go up their own ladder of improvement.
Still, I am at 50 up from only about 12 to 15 a year ago.
(of note, a couple times during that year, I was off for a week or more, so don't get discouraged if a gap happens once or twice. Just start right back up and soon you'll be making more progress)

Long slow progress. BTW, looking at some video, what I really need to practice is flexibility.
I could use a year on flexibility which also is very lacking in folks past age 50.

Anyway find a little trick that makes you want to do your exercises. Like my calendar giving me a visual feedback as I thumb through the pages and see the progress.
I also write down my bike riding miles and times.

[Healthiswealth]

You are ALL so inspiring. I'm in!

[Werner1950]

So I have begun. After looking at my droopy triceps and the folds in my skin, I said.. that's enough.
I am up to a whopping 6 push-ups per day!

Do you guys go until you can't anymore? Is there a method to this?Six is my maximum, at which point the biceps turn to jelly..
I am 63 and am 5'4 and weigh 162 lbs

[amgmmg]

What is teh benefit of doing push-ups? I am not keen on them

[dteresa]

sounds like a lot of work. I was thinking of hiring some young person to do them for me.

didi