Pump you Up (Pushups)

[Blarg]

Heh, glad you like them. I like them a lot too. My form could be a lot better too, but I've just accepted that and don't feel bad about it anymore. I'll work up to good form in however long it takes, that's all. Meanwhile, I get pretty damn good thigh work-outs with them in a really short amount of time, and without even using any equipment, which is more than good enough for me.

Man, those grippers are taking a while to get to you. You'll like 'em when they come, though. Frustrating as hell, but a fun challenge. You'll probably want to get one above and one below your strength level when you can. If you've checked out the grippermania and gripboard sites, you've seen that it's a pretty common strategy to progress by using a harder gripper than you can handle, and to grind the heck out of the easier one, and use it to warm up. The one in the middle, at your true strength, isn't even used much by a lot of people!

[Stuey]

Week 7 is over.

This week I can do 5 more pushups than last week!
That's a total of 31 more than 7 weeks ago.

I'm happy with my progress it has been hard but all that pain is behind me now. Sure there is more pain in the future but it is worth it when I look back and see how much I have gained.

My form could be better but I felt good this week and tried to push myself as far as possible. Very good chance I will not improve as much next week if I improve at all. But maybe I can squeeze a few more out next week if not I will just try to do the same number but with better form.

How did this week go for everyone else?
And please anyone and everyone regardless of current strength level join me in this torture. It is fun I promise. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Here is the challenge for those that did not read the whole thread or got distracted and forgot! [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

1. Do as many pushups as you can. Record that number.
2. For 1-week train like an animal to increase the amount of pushups you can do.
3. Do as many pushups as you can. Record that number.
4. Post how many more pushups you can do now.
5. Do this every week. Forever.

It is not important how many pushups you can do. The improtant part is trying to improve each week. Forever!

[Blarg]

My one-arm cheating push-ups(elevated) are coming along great. I've been doing imitation deadlifts by using Jumpstretch bands, and read that helps you put on muscle everywhere because the heavy loads stimulate your central nervous system, and you can find yourself stronger in other exercises too. Maybe it's true, becuase I actually have been doing various presses and working one-armed push-ups a little less this last week, but I still seem to have gotten a hair better in them. I do them in sets of five and was rattling them off pretty well on Thursday. Shoulders were real sore yesterday and are still a little sore today.

[phil_ivey_fan]

[ QUOTE ]
Week 7 is over.

This week I can do 5 more pushups than last week!
That's a total of 31 more than 7 weeks ago.

I'm happy with my progress it has been hard but all that pain is behind me now. Sure there is more pain in the future but it is worth it when I look back and see how much I have gained.

My form could be better but I felt good this week and tried to push myself as far as possible. Very good chance I will not improve as much next week if I improve at all. But maybe I can squeeze a few more out next week if not I will just try to do the same number but with better form.

How did this week go for everyone else?
And please anyone and everyone regardless of current strength level join me in this torture. It is fun I promise. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Here is the challenge for those that did not read the whole thread or got distracted and forgot! [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

1. Do as many pushups as you can. Record that number.
2. For 1-week train like an animal to increase the amount of pushups you can do.
3. Do as many pushups as you can. Record that number.
4. Post how many more pushups you can do now.
5. Do this every week. Forever.

It is not important how many pushups you can do. The improtant part is trying to improve each week. Forever!

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm curious about your results. My improvements were much faster than yours, you might be overtraining. That's not bragging, its constructive criticism. Over-training is a serious flaw in a lot of ppl's training.

[Stuey]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious about your results. My improvements were much faster than yours, you might be overtraining. That's not bragging, its constructive criticism. Over-training is a serious flaw in a lot of ppl's training.

[/ QUOTE ]

I welcome any advice you might have. I have been guilty of overtraining in the past.

I have lowered my total body workout since I started this pushup quest. I used to lift 3 times a week and do 45 min of cardio 5 days a week. This was my normal workout for over 2 years with brief periods of focusing on cardio if I was training for a race of some type.

I started with the pushups when I found out I would not have time to go to the gym for the next 3-4 months due to increased hours required at work.

So I am doing less than I used to, but it is all targeting the same muscle groups and I might not be giving them time to recover between workouts. I only do pushups, chinups, and pistols currently.

I am also trying to use very good form so my progress might seem slow to others but to me it seems fine. I don't pause during any of the reps. And I keep my back straight throughout. I put a roll of toilet paper under my chest and I don’t count it as a rep unless I touch it on the bottom of the rep.

I still do 3 days of cardio per week.

[Blarg]

Cool, Stuey. Your concentrating on form is absolutely the way to do it.

I wouldn't worry about hitting a plateau or going slightly negative. Like you note, it happens. It's the norm, not the exception.

You might try some one-armed push-ups to see if you can stimulate your muscles differently. It might spark progress in your regular push-ups. It's definitely difficult, and I can see it's putting some meat on me. Also, some push-ups on your fingertips or with your feet elevated add more difficulty, and at this point maybe that would be really good for your training.

[Stuey]

[ QUOTE ]
Cool, Stuey. Your concentrating on form is absolutely the way to do it.

I wouldn't worry about hitting a plateau or going slightly negative. Like you note, it happens. It's the norm, not the exception.

You might try some one-armed push-ups to see if you can stimulate your muscles differently. It might spark progress in your regular push-ups. It's definitely difficult, and I can see it's putting some meat on me. Also, some push-ups on your fingertips or with your feet elevated add more difficulty, and at this point maybe that would be really good for your training.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good points I will try more one handers but I really hate them. rofl They really hurt.

I have also been doing the grippers and will be posting in the other thread tomorrow, but now I need to get some sleep!

Thanks for the support it really does make it harder to quit knowing someone else is trying hard also.

[Stuey]

Week 8 is over.

This week I can do 3 less pushups than last week.
That's a total of 28 more than 8 weeks ago.

I have been doing lots of cardio this week I might just be tired. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
I'm not worried, somedays you are just not up for it.

So how many pushups can you do total now?

I would like to get in on this but am curious as to what exercises you want me to do in between these weekly counting sessions.

[Stuey]

[ QUOTE ]
So how many pushups can you do total now?


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't state my total as I don't think it is important. I want people who can only do 5 or 10 pushups to feel comfortable joining the challenge. If they know they only have to post how many more pushups they did compared to the previous week I thought it would be less intimidating.

The idea is to try hard and stick with it for a long time.
I am struggling myself and I exercise regularly.

[ QUOTE ]

I would like to get in on this but am curious as to what exercises you want me to do in between these weekly counting sessions.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have been experimenting with different methods. I have found at lower reps you can make the best progress if you do 1 set to failure about 5 days a week. Once you reach 50 or 60 reps you need to switch to something like this program I think.

I don't know and I am not an expert and my advice should not be taken as such. Part of the reason I started this thread was to learn. And several of the posters here have made very good suggestions.

I'm going to keep trying different things until I find what works best for me and it would be great if you joined in on the torture. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Just try hard for a week and report your results here.