Pushups daily?

[punisher73]

I do daily pushups and, back awhile ago (last year? year before?) started to have the same problem.

My instructor suggested it was because I was developing an imbalance (too much tricep, not enough bicep).

Curls with a dumbell DID correct the problem.

To correct the imbalance, you need to do an exercise that does the opposite of the push up exercise. In this case it would be a bent over row. You are pulling with the arms/back muscles. If you don't have a weight bar and want to stick with bodyweight. Put a sturdy stick between two chairs and and lay under the stick and pull your self up to the bar (feet stay on the ground or you can elevate them with a 3rd chair).

 

[zDom]

To correct the imbalance, you need to do an exercise that does the opposite of the push up exercise. In this case it would be a bent over row. You are pulling with the arms/back muscles. If you don't have a weight bar and want to stick with bodyweight. Put a sturdy stick between two chairs and and lay under the stick and pull your self up to the bar (feet stay on the ground or you can elevate them with a 3rd chair).

Ah yes -- he ALSO recommended (and I also did) bent over rows. Thanks for reminding and pointing that out.

I think the curls also helped though.

 

[CuongNhuka]

I've got one word for "perfect push-ups": towel. :lol:

(Two towels, actually, one for each hand. Put them on a smooth floor, put your fists in them, and you can do pushups with the same motion as those "perfect" ones......)

Alright, now do that with the perfect pull up? Oh, I know, rope handles on a pull up bar. Also how you fix that muscle imbalance.

 

[elder999]

Alright, now do that with the perfect pull up? Oh, I know, rope handles on a pull up bar. Also how you fix that muscle imbalance.

Actually, I use chains. I also do push ups from hanging chains. I'm not too worried about "muscle-imbalance," because in addition to my other body weight exercises, I have a couple of weight routines-and I use my muscles in a variety of functional ways, like swimming, climbing, running, walking, drawing a bow, swinging an axe, chopping and carrying wood, hoeing the garden, sweeping the floor, etc., etc., etc......

....and pull ups actually deal with that "muscle imbalance" from push ups for me, quite nicely, thanks.....(no one should take exercise advice from me; I am a freak of nature.....:lol: )

 

[exile]

For biceps, I find the following excercise outstanding:

Bring a bench over to a chinning bar. Hang a 25lb dumbell (to start with) around your waist, grip the bar in with your palms facing towards you, hop up into a strongest-leverage range and hang there for no less than thirty seconds. When you can do this for the full count, add 5 lbs, till you can get to half a minute again, then add another five, and so on. The overload on the biceps is phenomenal, and the added strength definitely percolates down to your non-optimal leverage ranges, so that a conventional barbell curl at what was once a struggle, or even a prohibitive weight, will become comfortably doable. The catch, of course, is that you are going to be in the serious pain zone on the weighted hanging chin for what feels like a very... long... time...

For triceps, do the same thing on a dipping rack. But use a much heavier weight—you can, because the triceps are significantly larger than the biceps.

The bottom line, for arm training, is that a chain belt is the weapon of choice. Just keep the reps short (or use a static contraction system) in the optimal leverage range, and the weights very heavy.

 

[tahuti]

Regarding not gaining strength from pushups, you need to change leverage or move to one limb exercises, it seems that everyone thinks you need to do same movement over and over, while with weights you can add them. High numbers are good for endurance, but for strength you need to progress like, change position of hands, raise feet (hand stand pushup), or do one armed pushup (how about one arm-one leg pushup).

 

[CuongNhuka]

....and pull ups actually deal with that "muscle imbalance" from push ups for me, quite nicely, thanks.....(no one should take exercise advice from me; I am a freak of nature.....:lol: )

Same here. It takes less time then a variety of weighted exercises also.

 

[Lynne]

We did 110 pushups during our test today (throughout the test, not at once). I'm not sore yet. Tomorrow, I will be sore and wondering why I haven't followed the advice given by you all! Ok...Monday I begin doing pushups more often.

 

[David Weatherly]

I do pushups daily along with a kettlebell routine. As other posters have stated, work to it gradualy to give your body time to adjust.

David

 

[sjansen]

If you are trying to build muscle, then doing them every day is not beneficial. If you are trying to build stamina then it is. The reason that it hurts the next day when you do triangle pushups is because you are using different muscles. To build strength you need to increase the amount of resistance i.e. use more wieght. Your muscles will take longer to recuperate by doing this. You can actually get weaker by doing high reps with low weight. However, your muscles will not fatigue as easily in everyday activities. It's a balancing act and you have to decide what your goal is. If you want more power and more muscle, increase the weight and lower the reps. If you want more stamina, decrease the weight and add more reps. Look at long distance runners. They have little muscle, but great stamina. Sprinters have the opposite.

 

[David Weatherly]

Try doing Hindu pushups to build both stamina and strength.

David

 

[Yoshiyahu]

Very interesting thread. So How many push ups is should one do a day. My Sihing says one should one thousand push ups a day and one thousand sit ups a day!

 

[sjansen]

Very interesting thread. So How many push ups is should one do a day. My Sihing says one should one thousand push ups a day and one thousand sit ups a day!

This will certainly build your stamina, but without ungodly amounts of protien it will not build much muscle. Even then, increase the weight and decrease the frequency if you want to build muscle and power. Some professional athletes have been documented doing 500 of each a day, but steriods (which help the body recover) were probably used.

 

[Lynne]

Very interesting thread. So How many push ups is should one do a day. My Sihing says one should one thousand push ups a day and one thousand sit ups a day!

That's not unheard of. I know a martial artist who does 1,000 pushups every morning (no, it isn't me!) and 1,000 crunches every morning (that isn't me either, lol). He has been in the art for over 30 years however.

 

[Dao]

Are you guys talking about palm pushups or knuckle pushups? Also do you do them fast or slow? If you want to build muscle do them slower. I highly doubt people do 1000 push up with proper form. If you're not using proper form you can lead to injury.

 

[zDom]

Are you guys talking about palm pushups or knuckle pushups? Also do you do them fast or slow? If you want to build muscle do them slower. I highly doubt people do 1000 push up with proper form. If you're not using proper form you can lead to injury.

Yes, (SOME) people DO do 1,000 pushup with proper form. Not very many people — certainly not ME. (At least not daily).

But there ARE people who CAN and DO.

Probably NOT slow But after a couple hundred, I'm sure they aren't cheating themselves out of a good workout even if they are fast instead of slow pushups.

 

[SteffenBerg]

I do them every other day or so... anywhere from 200 - 350 reps, broken up into 4 - 8 sets. I also do other bodyweight exercises on the same days. I vary the types of push-ups (and pull-ups), and alternate between 8 variations depending on the day.

I did them every day for quite some time (5 - 6 years), then got injured doing BJJ and just eased my way back into them this summer. Started with sets of 20 reps, then increased them over a period of 90 days.

FWIW, I focus most of my efforts on bodyweight training and kettlebell training and have never really seen the need to go to a gym. Only other training implements I have are: a dip / pull-up station, ab wheel, push-up bars, weighted vest, weighted jump rope, and power-blocks (that I rarely use)...

I also do Yoga on alternate days so I don't lose my range of motion (particularly in shoulders and spine).

/Stef

 

[geezer]

Very interesting thread. So How many push ups is should one do a day. My Sihing says one should one thousand push ups a day and one thousand sit ups a day!

Your Si-hing is a total lunatic...

...That said, he may be right. LOL

BTW...I've come up with a solution to increasing the resistance (or load) when doing push ups. I have my son sit on my shoulders (like riding a horse) when I do them. He's only 10 and very small for his age...maybe 70 lbs.? It's tough, but I can crank out maybe 8 reps.

...And, just think how strong I'll be in fifteen years when he weighs about 160. Heck, how about in thirty years when he's overweight, married and has kids....Let's see, about 190lbs. for him, another 125 for his wife, maybe another 120 for a couple of grandkids... add a couple of pets... well anyway, For a guy in his eighties I'll be freakin' scary strong, right?

 

[CDKJudoka]

What about wearing a weight vest, as opposed to the chain belt? I have a 40 lbs weight vest that I got from a friend of mine, and he used to do pull ups and chin ups with it everyday!! I am going to start using that when I am doing bag training, as well as push ups, pull ups, and crunches.