the pushup thread

[johnlvs2run]

This thread is inspired by comments on the birthday thread.

In the meantime I found this amazing video of different ways to do pushups.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=neN_uDYeQTA

How many pushups can you do, and how often do you do them?

[RowtheRockies]

I used to do them about 4 days a week and would do sets randomly throughout the day. The most I ever remember doing in one set was 80. I have not done pushups since I started rowing about a year and half agolthough I know I should. Just tired to bang out a set and managed 42. Proof positive that erging does nothing for the pecs and tri's

Rich

[dszil]

When I was competing...sets of 100 with a few minutes between sets were part of a good number of our dryland conditioning workouts. Don't recall ever going for a single set max though. Now...I do the same workout every now and then but with sets of 50 or 60 and usually just 5 sets or so. I'm not really sure how many I'd get out if I just kept rolling till failure on that first set.

Pushups are like any other strength exercise. If you're using a weight that you can do more than 20 reps on (which most of us can do with our body weight)...it doesn't really take additional strength to do more reps...just conditioning of those muscles to the repetative use. That's why there are relatively weak looking people who can knock out literally thousands in a single set! If you care to practice enough...you could too!

[Lincoln Brigham]

I've done workouts where the total number of pushups was something north of 150 reps, but for total in one go my best is around 40.

One of my favorite workouts is ten rounds of: 1:40 row, 10 pushups in 0:20, 2:00 rest

[johnlvs2run]

I managed to do 6 pushups this morning!

Walmart has pushup handles for 8 bucks, and swivel ones for 20. Do any of you see a benefit to using either of these?

Pushups are like any other strength exercise. If you're using a weight that you can do more than 20 reps on (which most of us can do with our body weight)...it doesn't really take additional strength to do more reps...just conditioning of those muscles to the repetitive use.

I've been thinking the same thing. Usually when I can do 20 of an exercise, comfortably, then it's possible to work up to more of them, provided that I'm taking my time. The difference from 4 to 20, is the same as from 20 to 100.

[dszil]

The difference from 4 to 20, is the same as from 20 to 100.

That's really what I was getting at. When I started with the team that did the sets of 100 all the time...I remember not even being able to hit 100 on the first set. It didn't take all that long of continually doing them though before I was able to do set after set just like everyone else. Was I any stronger? Marginally at best. Was my body better conditioned to that activity?...definitely!

I really don't see much of a gain in the handles...provided you don't have any wrist pain, etc doing standard pushups with your hands flat on the ground. Your goal sounds like it's more conditioning than strength focused so I don't really see much benefit from the additional range of motion you COULD use them to achieve. Other than that benefit...the only ones I've ever heard were related to the decreased stress on the wrist (with either) and shoulders (with the rotating ones).

Besides...when you're drunk in a bar and someone thinks they're callin' your bluff...you won't have the handles with you when you pop out the 100+ set to prove them wrong!:)!

[RowtheRockies]

Dszil or anyone that can do 100 pushups. How often do you do them in a week and how many sets do you do in a session. As I said before, I used to do a lot of pushups, some times 300 - 400 in a day but never got to more than about 80 straight.

Would it be better to do less sets but going to complete failure each time? I would really like to be able to do 100 pushups.

Rich

[dszil]

Rich,

The best suggestion I can give you would be to start doing sets of 100+ right now...and not just one...several. Before you start cursing me off...hear me out

Like I said above...when I started with the team that did them routinely I couldn't even hit 100 on the first set. However...the coaches weren't much for letting you just sit there either. So I still had to do all 100 reps of each set. When I hit the point where I couldn't make a "real" rep...I had to finish the set with reps with my knees on the ground (if you don't know what I mean...just picture a normal pushup but with your knees as the point of contact in the back...not your feet). If I got to the point where even that wasn't happening (which was the case...especially in the very beginning)...I still had to stay in the pushup position for the duration. I think this did wonders for teaching my body to endure the stress for the necessary time. As the weeks went on...the knees dropped less and less...until I was able to pop out the sets pretty much at will. So I think the best thing you can do to train your body for sets of 100+ is to start doing sets of 100+...however you have to do them to get there!

Other suggestions that come to mind:
1) Sets that start with normal pushups and then continue from the knees...taken to failure (shouldn't take long before you can get well over 100 in a single set this way...keep going till you drop!).
2) Vary the body position (close hands/wide hands/inclined/etc...check the video above for some ideas) to hit some of the different muscles with different intensities from time to time

I have no doubt that you can do 100+ if you work at it. Practice them with this specific goal in mind for a few weeks and I think you'll find yourself well on your way!

-Dan

[johnlvs2run]

I did 6 more last night.

They create a lot of pressure in my head. Is that usual?

My goal is to work up to 20 pushups, but I'm focusing more on rowing now so am going to wait till next summer to do them.

With the rollerboard, I started out with about 65 pullups in 5' with 31 pounds and worked up to 105 pullups in 5'. Then I went to the 2nd level which was around 42 pounds, started out at 65 or so reps again and worked up to 97 reps in 5 minutes. Then I went to doing 20 reps in 5' with 10" holds at the top and 5" at the bottom, which are quite challenging and so these are complimentary to the reps.

For the pushups I'll probably start with 5' of light bench presses first, then test myself now and then with the pushups.

On another note, there are quite a few videos of guys doing pushups on youtube but most all of them are barely moving their arms and not doing real pushups, where you graze the floor and go back to arms straight. Quite a few of them just move their arms a few inches and bob up and down, which is quite ridiculous to see them doing that. In my view it's better to do them all with good form, and then increase the numbers with every one of them being done the right way. Whatever the exercise I think it's much better to use the full range of motion of the exercise.

[RowtheRockies]

dszil,

Great Suggestion. I like it. Do as many as you can standard then drop knees and continue until get to 100. I will do this and hopefully come Feb. will be able to do 100.

John,

I agree, the only way to do them is with correct form. Back straight and come down all the way. I try to graze my nose on the ground when I come down then all the way back up.

Rich

[RowtheRockies]

dszil,

By the way, how many sets would you do? and what kind of masochistic team were you on that did sets of 100!

[hjs]

On another note, there are quite a few videos of guys doing pushups on youtube but most all of them are barely moving their arms and not doing real pushups, where you graze the floor and go back to arms straight. Quite a few of them just move their arms a few inches and bob up and down, which is quite ridiculous to see them doing that. In my view it's better to do them all with good form, and then increase the numbers with every one of them being done the right way. Whatever the exercise I think it's much better to use the full range of motion of the exercise.

John, they do this to work there chestmuscles more, Fitness/BB training is all about conditioning the muscles, totall of reps or weight is not the main goal.

[johnlvs2run]

On Wikipedia is stated that a pushup is pressing up approximately 70% of a person's weight, and pushups from the knees are approximately 50% of one's weight. However, pushups bring in more muscles than the bench press, have the fulcrum effect of rotating from one's toes and the changing incline, so are "easier" per a given weight than the bench press.

This being considered, I am sure of never being able to bench press 100 pounds 100 times in perfect pushup position. However, from doing 6 pushups already, I can see that 20 "might" be possible.

Here you go!
http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library ... ushups.pdf

This is an informative pdf summary about pushups. Interestingly it states that "not one in fifty guys with a 300 pound bench press can do 50 honest pushups!" ... An honest pushup moves slowly from full extension to a point of maximum depth, without reaching for the ground or perturbing the body's taut, rigid, straight-line posture, and then returns rigidly to full extension... the parallel bars or parallettes are better than the floor because they allow for another six inches of travel."

Check out their "10 pushup milestones and challenges"! They include the inspirational Charles Linster story that I've posted before, and a link to making pushup handles, i.e. parallettes! I have thought of making them in this same manner and will do this now that they provide the instructions. Excellent article and very useful material. Thanks!
http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/ulysses.html
http://drillsandskills.com/images/displ ... lettes.gif

My method will be to work up to 100 bench presses with light weight, then increase the weight and/or tension, then test myself again with the pushups. Whatever I get will be whatever I do.

[dszil]

dszil,

By the way, how many sets would you do? and what kind of masochistic team were you on that did sets of 100!

Anywhere between 3 and 10

Masochistic really doesn't do the program justice. We did a 24hr practice every 6 months or so. We trained every day except Christmas and Easter. At my prime I was spending 40-60 hours a week training. Even for swimmers...we took overtraining to a world-famous level !:)! I did some things back then that still give me nightmares! But the pushups? They really were just a conditioning drill...usually just a small part of an overall dryland routine. Once you get used to them...they really do become easy to pop out!

[Bob S.]

After reading some of the rules, I doubt that purist would say that my pushups are "honest." I called them true pushups in that I pivot from the toes, not the knees and that I keep my body as straight as I can. I have never had anybody check to see how well I actually succeed in keeping straight, but it feels right.

There were several rules for "honest" pushups that I routinely violate. I don't have my hands at shoulder width. The width varies, but it is usually wider than that. I suppose that it makes it easier, since I don't go quite as high, but I have long arms, so I feel that it sort of makes up for it. Too wide a spread is quite a disadvantage since it messes up your leverage. I also do them faster than the rules state. Again, I am not sure how much of a disadvantage this is. It sort of reminds me of the guy who is low on gas and is driving as fast as he can go so that he can get to the next gas station before he runs out. I also do not maintain a steady pace. I slow down with about 10 or 15 to go and I often pause at the top with about 5 left to go in order to gulp in a couple of deep breaths. Sometimes the last few are done with 2-3 seconds of pausing in between. And there is the matter of pushup bars. I don't know what the rules are on the use of these, but I would be lucky to get off 20 without them because the arthritis pain in my thumb would force me to stop. I have never measured just how far I go down. My nose doesn't get to the floor and I don't push my head forward to try to get it there, but then, with the bars, my hands are 5 inches off the floor to start with.

I feel no sense of cheating about this. It is not a competition with others. It is merely a matter of trying to meet very personal goals.

Bob S.

P.S. Even though it would seem that the same muscles are used, there doesn't seem to be much correlation between bench pressing ability and doing large numbers of pushups. When I was younger, my normal weight was generally about 172 pounds and I can't remember ever being able to bench press more than 135 pounds. My weight is in the mid 160s nowadays, but I haven't done any bench presses for many years, so I don't know what I could do now.