An update on my workout

[Ivan]

Hello. I am more or less two weeks into my new workout routine of attempting 500 push-ups daily. I have never actually managed to get to 500 pushups within one sitting. My personal record is 400 normal pushups in around 35-40 minutes. After around the 300 mark, I get a really intense tearing feeling on the sides of my pecs, a few reps before the pain is so intense I am afraid to push on. After this, I drop down and do as many pushups on my knees as I can. My chest seems to have grown a little bit, but I imagine it is just a pump, as it takes months to see any effects. Overall though, my progress has been fast. My first day, I managed 361 within 55 minutes. Just a few days ago is when I managed the 400.

I have also continued to do my squats. I have just finished 300 hindu squats today, right before writing this. My quads are killing me. I am hoping I will build up the strength in my legs for unorthodox positions found in wrestling, judo and jiujitsu. Originally, just the though of doing 100 seemed impossible. In a few more days, I will push for 500 hindu squats.

Every now and then I take a few days off to let my muscles rest. On a side note, for any of you that have heard of the Great Gama, a legendary Indian wrestler, how did he perform such a high amount of reps daily? Supposedly he performed 5000 hindu squats daily, with a 200 pound apparatus on him, and 3000 hindu pushups. How can I achieve such a high volume and strength? Thanks.

 

[Oily Dragon]

Hello. I am more or less two weeks into my new workout routine of attempting 500 push-ups daily. I have never actually managed to get to 500 pushups within one sitting. My personal record is 400 normal pushups in around 35-40 minutes. After around the 300 mark, I get a really intense tearing feeling on the sides of my pecs, a few reps before the pain is so intense I am afraid to push on. After this, I drop down and do as many pushups on my knees as I can. My chest seems to have grown a little bit, but I imagine it is just a pump, as it takes months to see any effects. Overall though, my progress has been fast. My first day, I managed 361 within 55 minutes. Just a few days ago is when I managed the 400.

I have also continued to do my squats. I have just finished 300 hindu squats today, right before writing this. My quads are killing me. I am hoping I will build up the strength in my legs for unorthodox positions found in wrestling, judo and jiujitsu. Originally, just the though of doing 100 seemed impossible. In a few more days, I will push for 500 hindu squats.

Every now and then I take a few days off to let my muscles rest. On a side note, for any of you that have heard of the Great Gama, a legendary Indian wrestler, how did he perform such a high amount of reps daily? Supposedly he performed 5000 hindu squats daily, with a 200 pound apparatus on him, and 3000 hindu pushups. How can I achieve such a high volume and strength? Thanks.

The baithak is an ancient Yogic squat exercise that made it's way around Asia, and eventually the world, which is why it's called a "Hindu" squat.

Want to know the secret?

Just do it as slowly as possible. Spend more time going through, time in tension. Practically every video of the baithak online is fitness people doing it quickly. But rushing it, you are losing out. You don't rush Yoga for the same reason. This is also solid advice for any sort of bodyweight or weighlifting exercise. There are always those dudes who think lifting a lot of weight fast is a big deal. But they can't sustain it.

You won't need 3,000-5,000, but you'll be able to easily, once you can make doing 1 last a long time.

 

[Oily Dragon]

Almost forgot the most important part.

Keep your mouth shut and only breath through your nose, with the tip of the tongue lightly pressed into the hard palate at the roof of your mouth.

Also good Qigong advice.

 

[RobertAnthony]

You’re definitely on the right track with resting and allowing your muscles to recover, as that’s when the growth happens. As for the Great Gama, his ability to perform such high reps was likely due to years of training, incredible genetics, and discipline. Building up to those kinds of numbers will take time, so don’t rush it—gradually increase your reps as your body adapts.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

The baithak is an ancient Yogic squat exercise that made it's way around Asia, and eventually the world, which is why it's called a "Hindu" squat.

Want to know the secret?

Just do it as slowly as possible. Spend more time going through, time in tension. Practically every video of the baithak online is fitness people doing it quickly. But rushing it, you are losing out. You don't rush Yoga for the same reason. This is also solid advice for any sort of bodyweight or weighlifting exercise. There are always those dudes who think lifting a lot of weight fast is a big deal. But they can't sustain it.

You won't need 3,000-5,000, but you'll be able to easily, once you can make doing 1 last a long time.

Also, if you like you can try doing a 30 second negative air squat (you will need a stopwatch), lowering yourself as slowly as conceivable, then as many air squats as you can actually do- shoot for 10, but prepare to be surprised- then doing another 30 second negative. Then stand up- if you can! Be sure to moderate your language, the first time I tried this my neighbour's girls learned some new words. You can also do this with pushups. Also, if you're getting horrible tearing sensations in your pecs, seriously stop doing so many pushups. At your level there are other, more productive variations of the exercise.

 

[RobertAnthony]

You’re definitely on the right track with resting and allowing your muscles to recover, as that’s when the growth happens. As for the Great Gama, his ability to perform such high reps was likely due to years of training, incredible genetics, and discipline. Building up to those kinds of numbers will take time, so don’t rush it—gradually increase your reps as your body adapts.

A friend of mine was really dedicated to strength training, and after hitting a plateau, he decided to purchase steroids after getting advice from a professional. It helped him break through his limits, but he was careful to do it safely and under guidance.

 

[Gyakuto]

A friend of mine was really dedicated to strength training, and after hitting a plateau, he decided to purchase steroids after getting advice from a professional. It helped him break through his limits, but he was careful to do it safely and under guidance.

What an idiot your friend is and how immoral of the professional.

 

[HighKick]

Hello. I am more or less two weeks into my new workout routine of attempting 500 push-ups daily. I have never actually managed to get to 500 pushups within one sitting. My personal record is 400 normal pushups in around 35-40 minutes. After around the 300 mark, I get a really intense tearing feeling on the sides of my pecs, a few reps before the pain is so intense I am afraid to push on. After this, I drop down and do as many pushups on my knees as I can. My chest seems to have grown a little bit, but I imagine it is just a pump, as it takes months to see any effects. Overall though, my progress has been fast. My first day, I managed 361 within 55 minutes. Just a few days ago is when I managed the 400.

I have also continued to do my squats. I have just finished 300 hindu squats today, right before writing this. My quads are killing me. I am hoping I will build up the strength in my legs for unorthodox positions found in wrestling, judo and jiujitsu. Originally, just the though of doing 100 seemed impossible. In a few more days, I will push for 500 hindu squats.

Every now and then I take a few days off to let my muscles rest. On a side note, for any of you that have heard of the Great Gama, a legendary Indian wrestler, how did he perform such a high amount of reps daily? Supposedly he performed 5000 hindu squats daily, with a 200 pound apparatus on him, and 3000 hindu pushups. How can I achieve such a high volume and strength? Thanks.

That sounds like a very good, albeit ambitious approach. As to the pushups, I did 300 daily and 500-600 on strength days for about 6-years. Of course, it took time to get to this level and still be able to maintain the rest of my daily demands. ***I never desired to get 'big', but rather have useable strength.
Like you, I struggled getting my rep count up. My trainer showed me that alternating hand position makes a huge difference in Pec strength development. 100 narrow, 100 shoulder-width, 100 wide, 100 back, 100 forward completely changes the muscle focus. They were actually one of the few focused upper body/shoulder exercises I did in isolation.

The only workout supplements I Ever used were amino acids for recovery. Yes, I believe steroids can be used safely for some people, but the ease of abuse and the lack of supervision to verify safe efficacy is just not worth the risks in most situations.
By focusing on diet, hydration, and recovery, you can get near same results unless you are trying to look like Schwarzenegger used to.