Pushups- Try Reading Here First- Merged Thread
- Thread starter nULL
- Start date
ballz said:
Upper body
5 minutes on eliptical then fluid stretching
Push up from knees to start 6 reps 3 sets (all I can)
Hanging from pull up bar 15 seconds x 3 times
The TRX for tricep, bicep, rowing, chest press, reverse fly exercises
Then I go to a counter do diamond, regular and wide grip pushups till failure
Lower body
Trx hamstring curl and hip press
Squats, both legs and then each leg isolated
Regular Planks from knees and elbows 30 secs x 3
Dolphin planks 30 secs x 3
Side lying leg lifts
Then I do 60 crunches x 3 (20 straight ahead then 20 to each side)
The little I know from the guys I follow have led me to believe to keep the workouts between 30 to 45 minutes.. so trying to keep them in that limit.
Abdullah
ballz
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
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I have no formal education or training in this, everything I know is self-learned and that ain't a whole lot. If you're doing all this with a trainer ignore what I am saying. Maybe they are looking at your long-term goals of weight loss and just getting your body used to moving / doing work on a consistent basis to start. If you are overweight and the goal is to lose almost 80 lbs over 2 years then sure, 2 days doing muscular work, 1 day doing cardio, and 1 day rest is going to go a long ways towards weight loss if combined with proper nutrition, and if you've lost 14 lbs so far that's great.
But, when it comes to performing more push-ups, etc...
You are not putting nearly enough stress on your body to cause it to have to adapt and therefore grow / improve.
Calisthenics are low-weight and do minimal damage to the muscles. If you want to improve your ability to do push-ups simply through calisthenics, you need to do them *a lot,* and since they don't do a lot of damage to muscles you can do them a lot and still adequately recover. So yes, if you are going to rely solely on calisthenics, then you need to be doing them much more frequently than once every four days if you want to see any improvement. Upper body / lower body splits are usually used by people who are using a lot of weight and therefore need 2+ days to recover after they've put their muscles through a meat grinder.
One thing I did when I wanted to improve my push-up count was start doing sets with a weighted vest. My max was at about 35. If I just kept doing push-ups it seemed like I felt no improvement. When I added a 40lb vest and started doing 3 sets of 8.. then 3 sets of 9 ... then 3 sets of 10... the extra stress from the strength component started adding up quick and within 2-3 workouts I was already seeing results. And that's because I introduced a strength component to it (the vest).
Personally, I think you should be doing something as simple and effective as the "starting strength" program. One of the base components of muscular endurance (which is what push-ups are a measure of) is strength. After the base components are achieved, then it's just "conditioning" after that to get what you want. You're a big guy but if you can't do one actual push-up you are clearly lacking strength. The 3 or 4 simple compound lifts involved in "starting strength" will hit every muscle group you are trying to hit in those work-outs. You will improve your strength throughout your entire body far more effectively than by doing calisthenics and rubber band workouts.
After building up a solid base of strength you will probably find that it is much easier to then condition your muscles to perform low-weight, high-volume calisthenic exercises. As you would already have the strength at that point necessary to perform, they will respond to the new stimulus of higher volume and adapt pretty quickly.
But, when it comes to performing more push-ups, etc...
You are not putting nearly enough stress on your body to cause it to have to adapt and therefore grow / improve.
Calisthenics are low-weight and do minimal damage to the muscles. If you want to improve your ability to do push-ups simply through calisthenics, you need to do them *a lot,* and since they don't do a lot of damage to muscles you can do them a lot and still adequately recover. So yes, if you are going to rely solely on calisthenics, then you need to be doing them much more frequently than once every four days if you want to see any improvement. Upper body / lower body splits are usually used by people who are using a lot of weight and therefore need 2+ days to recover after they've put their muscles through a meat grinder.
One thing I did when I wanted to improve my push-up count was start doing sets with a weighted vest. My max was at about 35. If I just kept doing push-ups it seemed like I felt no improvement. When I added a 40lb vest and started doing 3 sets of 8.. then 3 sets of 9 ... then 3 sets of 10... the extra stress from the strength component started adding up quick and within 2-3 workouts I was already seeing results. And that's because I introduced a strength component to it (the vest).
Personally, I think you should be doing something as simple and effective as the "starting strength" program. One of the base components of muscular endurance (which is what push-ups are a measure of) is strength. After the base components are achieved, then it's just "conditioning" after that to get what you want. You're a big guy but if you can't do one actual push-up you are clearly lacking strength. The 3 or 4 simple compound lifts involved in "starting strength" will hit every muscle group you are trying to hit in those work-outs. You will improve your strength throughout your entire body far more effectively than by doing calisthenics and rubber band workouts.
After building up a solid base of strength you will probably find that it is much easier to then condition your muscles to perform low-weight, high-volume calisthenic exercises. As you would already have the strength at that point necessary to perform, they will respond to the new stimulus of higher volume and adapt pretty quickly.
I am not working with a trainer at all, live in a town that doesn't even have a gym so any and all advice I can find I take.
I will start being more aggressive with the workouts then, I was taking the feeling a bit sore to mean I needed to rest. I will try to get to a full body workout 3x week and doing pushups daily. Took a look at the starting strength program, I will need more equipment for it, once the new years resolution used sales start I'll pick what I need up to expand. Whatever I need to effectively train, or well realistically train, compensating for the fact I may prefer some systems to others, I will get.
I am focusing very heavily on my diet, I took the advice I got here to heart and started cutting down on carbs, sugars etc...
Any rate thanks for shedding light on this for me, I am trying to avoid the set backs of injuries so had to ask and I appreciate the insight.
Abdullah
I will start being more aggressive with the workouts then, I was taking the feeling a bit sore to mean I needed to rest. I will try to get to a full body workout 3x week and doing pushups daily. Took a look at the starting strength program, I will need more equipment for it, once the new years resolution used sales start I'll pick what I need up to expand. Whatever I need to effectively train, or well realistically train, compensating for the fact I may prefer some systems to others, I will get.
I am focusing very heavily on my diet, I took the advice I got here to heart and started cutting down on carbs, sugars etc...
Any rate thanks for shedding light on this for me, I am trying to avoid the set backs of injuries so had to ask and I appreciate the insight.
Abdullah
ballz
Army.ca Veteran
- Reaction score
- 444
- Points
- 910
Sorry to hear that, that it is a hard limitation to deal and you may have to get creative.
If you having any luck at all, you will find the following:
1. Power rack w/ built-in pull-up bar such as this https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B014CGZQKG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B014CGZQKG&pd_rd_w=5wHo1&pf_rd_p=dd8bce25-0727-4a5d-b121-eef3dd7bc606&pd_rd_wg=csild&pf_rd_r=M7K21FQYD8JT9G25F9S7&pd_rd_r=285149a5-204c-11e9-9467-7d8fa144a26c
2. A standard 45-lb barbell
3. A bench (so you can slide it under the bar and use it for bench press.... or incline/decline bench if you are inclined to add those lifts eventually)
4. Some cast iron... A pair each of 2.5s, 5s, 10s, 25s, and 45s. You'll need more 45s as you go up in weight but at least you can buy those as a reward for your strength gains
If you are saavy you can probably get all that for less than $1000... which is a big commitment, and it requires dedicating some living space that you may not have, but you'll never need a gym membership again if you've got those things. It's old school, simple, and effective.
If that's not workable, you can get creative to add more of a strength component. Start doing push-ups with a plate or sandbag on your back or in a backpack that you are wearing, etc. Start doing your squats while holding the kettle bells or other heavy object in your arms (goblet squat) or above your head (overhead squat), etc. Running up hills, stairs, etc. are all strength exercises.
And, lastly... don't jump to follow my advice. If what you are doing is working (you are losing weight, etc), don't feel like you need to change. If you lose 50 lbs I guarantee your calisthenic performance is bound to improve simply from the weight loss.
If you having any luck at all, you will find the following:
1. Power rack w/ built-in pull-up bar such as this https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B014CGZQKG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B014CGZQKG&pd_rd_w=5wHo1&pf_rd_p=dd8bce25-0727-4a5d-b121-eef3dd7bc606&pd_rd_wg=csild&pf_rd_r=M7K21FQYD8JT9G25F9S7&pd_rd_r=285149a5-204c-11e9-9467-7d8fa144a26c
2. A standard 45-lb barbell
3. A bench (so you can slide it under the bar and use it for bench press.... or incline/decline bench if you are inclined to add those lifts eventually)
4. Some cast iron... A pair each of 2.5s, 5s, 10s, 25s, and 45s. You'll need more 45s as you go up in weight but at least you can buy those as a reward for your strength gains
If you are saavy you can probably get all that for less than $1000... which is a big commitment, and it requires dedicating some living space that you may not have, but you'll never need a gym membership again if you've got those things. It's old school, simple, and effective.
If that's not workable, you can get creative to add more of a strength component. Start doing push-ups with a plate or sandbag on your back or in a backpack that you are wearing, etc. Start doing your squats while holding the kettle bells or other heavy object in your arms (goblet squat) or above your head (overhead squat), etc. Running up hills, stairs, etc. are all strength exercises.
And, lastly... don't jump to follow my advice. If what you are doing is working (you are losing weight, etc), don't feel like you need to change. If you lose 50 lbs I guarantee your calisthenic performance is bound to improve simply from the weight loss.
Tee hee
We bought a 5 bedroom house.. adding a 6th this spring. I plan on converting half the garage into a gym, I will be picking things up as I go and yes never needing a gym again would be a nice thing.
But sadly.. we will be renting this monster out after I enroll and will likely be downsizing. So for now I will make the best use of it.. but if I get posted to the west coast.. downsizing will be in order if we get to the east we wont need to.
I see one or all three of those things almost weekly up for sale, I will pick one up when I see one for a good deal.. or I will spend my Canadian tire money and just go get it. Plan on getting a treadmill eventually too.
Thanks again for the advice.
We bought a 5 bedroom house.. adding a 6th this spring. I plan on converting half the garage into a gym, I will be picking things up as I go and yes never needing a gym again would be a nice thing.
But sadly.. we will be renting this monster out after I enroll and will likely be downsizing. So for now I will make the best use of it.. but if I get posted to the west coast.. downsizing will be in order if we get to the east we wont need to.
I see one or all three of those things almost weekly up for sale, I will pick one up when I see one for a good deal.. or I will spend my Canadian tire money and just go get it. Plan on getting a treadmill eventually too.
Thanks again for the advice.
sarahsmom
Sr. Member
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That's great. You will only have to do pushups as part of PT, or as
