Pushups 5x10 vs 50

HeidiThe9

So I have for the first time in years discovered that I can do full on pushups with pretty decent form. But only 5 or 6 at a clip. I have decided on the random arbitrary number of 50 pushups without stopping as a short term fitness goal.

My question is, do I reap ANY benefit of doing sets of 5 pushups throughout the day? So far I have done 21 in 4 sets several hours apart and I feel I could bang out 29 more the same way before tonight with the hopes that by the end of the week I could increase my max rep. A co worker of mine claims that this offers me no significant strength gains, and that I should weight train until I can perform 50 consecutively.

For the record, I am a 35 year old female. SW 280, CW 250

KrystinaMTL

I would love to hear an answer to this too.... Come on people, we're waiting !

rybo

You absolutely are benefitting from all those push ups, even if spread throughout the day. There's no real way to estimate how fast you will get to 50 consecutive, but if you keep increasing your daily total or reducing the number of sets it takes to get a prescribed number you will make improvements.

JoRocka

YES- it's called greasing the groove- it's an actual training technique (to an extent) certain things (push ups/pull ups) respond very well to that type of training.

Continue to do sets- but what I would do as you continue to do them daily- instead of just saying "I'm doing 5 x 10 of them- do as many as you can in the morning- comfortably- say it's 7. Then do as many as you can at 9:30- say it's 8. Then at noon you can only do 5- but don't JUST do 5- do as many as you can.

Also- notice- that when you do them there will come to be a point- where you find a natural pause- usually for most people it's between 12-15.

For you right now it may be 8- whatever it is- just do that many- then do 2 more. And as you feel confident- add- so by next week that natrual pause MAY be 10- so do 2-3 more after that. And so forth and so on.

You'll get there- it takes some time and consistent training- but it's totally do it.

HeidiThe9

Thanks JoRock!
I am not actually setting out to do 5x10, 5 is just my current max point. I did manage one set of 6 this morning.

OK! So I will give this a shot! Max reps a few times a day until I can see a true improvement. I guess I will play rest days by ear. I cant imagine needing to rest on sets of 5, but sets of 10 may do me in. I did do a set right after my daily 2 mile lunch hour walk, and that one was pretty shaky.

musicfan68

I shoot for 100 push ups. My first set is however many I can do until I can't do it anymore, usually about 25-35. Then I rest for a minute. Do another set to exhaustion. Usually about 10 less than the first set. Then I do Sets of 10 to complete the 100. I went up from being able to do about 20 to 100 in a short amount of time doing this.

KrystinaMTL

JoRocka wrote: »

YES- it's called greasing the groove- it's an actual training technique (to an extent) certain things (push ups/pull ups) respond very well to that type of training.

Continue to do sets- but what I would do as you continue to do them daily- instead of just saying "I'm doing 5 x 10 of them- do as many as you can in the morning- comfortably- say it's 7. Then do as many as you can at 9:30- say it's 8. Then at noon you can only do 5- but don't JUST do 5- do as many as you can.

Also- notice- that when you do them there will come to be a point- where you find a natural pause- usually for most people it's between 12-15.

For you right now it may be 8- whatever it is- just do that many- then do 2 more. And as you feel confident- add- so by next week that natrual pause MAY be 10- so do 2-3 more after that. And so forth and so on.

You'll get there- it takes some time and consistent training- but it's totally do it.

AWESOME !! Thank you for taking the time

troytroy11

This is a cool topic and I appreciate you posting it. I agree that doing lots of sets with smaller reps will get you a nice benefit. Just be sure that as with anything, you are always aiming to improve in some way shape or form. That could be going from your max of 6 to 7, or it could mean one more set in a day, or it could mean firing up those push ups fast on each rep. You could try slow down negatives on one set. There are many ways to increase your total reps. Try and push to failure on at least on of your sets per day.
You will without a doubt increase your max rep as long as you stay at it. And you may need a rest day if you get sore to help rebuild and repair so you can have the new strength to push another day.

SIMAKRA

My PT said the same. And he said try to push yourself for one more each time, however stop when the form suffers.

rileysowner

HeidiThe9 wrote: »

So I have for the first time in years discovered that I can do full on pushups with pretty decent form. But only 5 or 6 at a clip. I have decided on the random arbitrary number of 50 pushups without stopping as a short term fitness goal.

My question is, do I reap ANY benefit of doing sets of 5 pushups throughout the day? So far I have done 21 in 4 sets several hours apart and I feel I could bang out 29 more the same way before tonight with the hopes that by the end of the week I could increase my max rep. A co worker of mine claims that this offers me no significant strength gains, and that I should weight train until I can perform 50 consecutively.

For the record, I am a 35 year old female. SW 280, CW 250

Your coworker is completely wrong. That is exactly how people lift weights to increase strength. You could do the same thing with a minute of rest between those sets of five as well. The whole idea is to stress the muscle and that will cause adaptation and increased strength. Ignore your co-worker. If you want a good book on bodyweight training try to get your hands on You Are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren.