33 was my starting. I’m on day three. It’s pretty fun and it’s something I can do in the hotel when I’m traveling (besides surfing M4C and porn).
Guns and girls. What a night
Just being curious, i did as many as i could…60 even.
Not bad for a 210lb’er, but i’d like to be able to bust out an even 100. Only one way to do it…do more pushups.
I tried it last year, and got nowhere.
I tried it a while back…when I started out I couldn’t do 10 good solid push-ups…it didn’t get me very far…
I dropped that and started jumping rope/pull-ups/dips/push-ups…
I can do fifty now…in sets of 40 I can do a couple hundred…
Honestly…doing pyramids or steps is probably a better use of your time…it’s been working for me…
I’m training for general fitness though…not a scheduled test…
Just remember that if you’ve reached muscle failure (not when you’re tired but when you collapse when trying to raise your body up) drop to your knees and keep pushing. If you’re doing pull-ups/chin-ups and you reach muscle failure, either have a friend put your feet on their thighs or use something like a chair in front of you to rest your feet on and keep kncoking out reps.
You can do as many pyramids/timed sets as you want, but it’s the same deal as resistance training. If you don’t break your muscles down, give them time to heal, then keep going, you aren’t going to improve. It’s all fine if you can knock out 100 pushups in a set time limit, but it’s been my observation that you need to smoke yourself to continuously improve on pushups.
YMMV and all that happy shit. I still believe timed sets > pyramids for rapid and continuous improvement of any endurance exercise.
I’m starting today on the 3rd column of week three. Wish me luck. I’ll try to give weekly updates on my progress
My new way to increase pushups is resistance…
Backpack + 30lbs of books + Rep till failure = Higher max?..hopefully.
My 1st Sgt is a big fan of putting a 30lb dumbbell between my shoulder blades and doing sets of twenty. It’s the cost of admission to cross his doorway.
Try doing some sets, too.
I’ve found it doesnt really matter how much i bench (bar/dumbells/ect.) nothing increases pushup ability like…pushups.
I’ll use the backpack method untill it gets too easy, then i’ll invest in a weighted vest…
I’m not in any way in the kind of shape you guys are but i decided to start doing pushups regularly because I can’t get much exercise. I’m 56.
I started out and doing 10 was about it. Then I pushed trough to 20.
Then a couple of days I did 20, rested a bit, 19, rested 18, rested, etc… 1 finished.
Doing that every other day one week and then resting a few days really bumped things up for me. After that week I was on my way to 40 - 50 range. I can now go a week or so and at any time I can knock out 50 - 70 with no huge effort. Stick something in the microwave and knock out 60 while it cooks. That sort of thing. The other thing I did towards the beginning was simply knock out 25 every hour. Even if I could do more, I stopped at 25.
So that made me pretty happy. 60-70 at a go is fine with me. Then I figured maybe I’ll try some pullups. I had heard they are a really good test. I figure since I went from barely doing 10 pushups to doing 60 no problem that maybe I should be able to knock out some pullups. Sadly I struggled to get 3. I couldn’t believe it. It was embarrassing.
So I have to agree, if you want to be able to do a lot of pushups, then do a lot of pushups. … and in my case it looks like I need to set up a pullup bar.
Week 1 complete (week 3 on their list). The easiest day seemed to be Wednesday, which I could have something to do with the fact that I did some other chest and tri workouts after Monday’s workout. I think I’m going to try and work in these extra workouts and see how it goes.
I have not tried this program, and probably will not. I would get bored with it. I like and do lots of push ups though. There are so many variations, and I like to mix it up. Simply google any of the types I mention. Some that I like are the simple decline, but on your fingertips. I also vary the decline. I also like dropping my nose inside a diamond. Those are great for triceps. I sometimes do rotational T’s as they help with core strength, specifically the obliques. I just read about doing those with dumbbells. That is a great idea because they seem too easy with just bodyweight. I was doing lost of Charles Atlas pushups during the summer between a couple picnic tables. Those are so much harder than the classic, especially if you go slow and really drop deep. Of course you have the clapping type. There are just oodles of variations of the clapping type. The pseudo planche push up is a bear. I am extremely impressed with those that can do real planche push ups. Those are just crazy. My core strength will need to improve considerably yet if I am ever to do one of those.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqvOLHC-1sk Those planche push ups are just crazy! There’s no telling how many years of training it takes to do one of those. Good luck in getting there
Normally I do between 75 and 80 push ups on the APFT. I wouldn’t mind hitting 100 though, if for no reason other than knowing I can.
I think it may be easier to do them on parallel bars, like shown in the video. I would prefer to be able to do them on a flat surface. The thing I like about push ups is so many versions can be done almost anywhere with no equipment, or with some improvised devices. Bodyweight only exercises are often highly underrated IMO. This is a bit of a derail, but another bodyweight exercise I could not yet do last time I tried is the one legged, unsupported squat. Those are a great test of leg strength, core strength, and balance. If you cannot do those, and most people cannot, you can start out with your back supported against a wall. You need a slick interface between your back and the wall or these become incredibly difficult also, though.
Holy Cow, I’ve never heard of those planche push ups.
I can sort of push/jump myself up off the floor but can’t hold it, much less push through another one. That one seems very triceps and balance oriented.
You don’t have to follow the pushup plan to the T when it comes to rest periods of 60 seconds. I believe in letting my heart rate relax a little closer to normal before I spike it back up. I have done this type of program in the past but it is one of my own making. I do a max set and deduct a few each time for a total of 6 sets. APFT pushups rely on your fast twitch muscles to do your max in 2 minutes. Train by putting some weight between your shoulder blades and do slower pushups with a pause at the bottom, then explode up. What you get at the bottom is very close to your body weight plus the weight you are using. Elevate your feet to reduce body incline to add more resistance without weight. To tighten up your core even further and get your abs and hips to lock up, cross your ankles and stack your legs. I do this type of program every year until I reach sets of 80. It is not as tough as you would think. Keep training!
If the 100 pushup plan works then keep doing it… but the only way to get better at pushups is to do pushups. Once you get to where you want to be, check out Stew Smith’s 200 pushups workout