Push Up Progress

clicketykeys

clicketykeys wrote: »

I can do floor push-ups ... up to about 30 in a row? But I have trouble getting ALL the way down. Is it better to move back to slightly elevated push-ups to get past 90 degrees, or to work on doing more floor push-ups?

jayemes wrote: »

It's better to stop doing 30. Do 3 on the floor. Increase every few days/week. Don't increase to 30 until you're doing them all with proper form.
I can do 100 pushups off a wall, but that's not progressing at all. I can do 15 on my knees or 3-5 straight. Much better to do those 3-5 and work on getting to 6.

If I could do 3 all the way down, I'd do that - but I can't even get all the way down for 1! I'm wondering what a good way to scaffold is - if it's better to do floor push-ups with a partial press, or if it's better to go back to chair push-ups and try to get all the way down. (The chair is braced against the wall, btw! Safety first. ;D )

AudreyJDuke

Oh boy, I can do five but want and need to do more! Great inspiration here!

stanmann571

clicketykeys wrote: »

clicketykeys wrote: »

I can do floor push-ups ... up to about 30 in a row? But I have trouble getting ALL the way down. Is it better to move back to slightly elevated push-ups to get past 90 degrees, or to work on doing more floor push-ups?

jayemes wrote: »

It's better to stop doing 30. Do 3 on the floor. Increase every few days/week. Don't increase to 30 until you're doing them all with proper form.
I can do 100 pushups off a wall, but that's not progressing at all. I can do 15 on my knees or 3-5 straight. Much better to do those 3-5 and work on getting to 6.

If I could do 3 all the way down, I'd do that - but I can't even get all the way down for 1! I'm wondering what a good way to scaffold is - if it's better to do floor push-ups with a partial press, or if it's better to go back to chair push-ups and try to get all the way down. (The chair is braced against the wall, btw! Safety first. ;D )

Mix it up.

Do partial floor reps. Both knee and distance. Do leaning. If you've got some moderate dumbells/kettlebells, you can also try floor/bench press with the bells.

For floor knee reps reps, start in the down position and drive your feet and knees into the floor while keeping the rigid plank(head to knee) from the side it should look as if you're doing a full pushup with your feet going through the floor.... rather than a crawl position.

Most people when doing knee pushups were taught that it's acceptable to hinge at the waist as well as bending the knees... that's not a pushup.

spiriteagle99

I did a push up challenge a year ago, increasing my pushups each week. It ended up destroying my shoulder. Now I can't do any. :-(

clicketykeys

stanmann571 wrote: »

clicketykeys wrote: »

clicketykeys wrote: »

I can do floor push-ups ... up to about 30 in a row? But I have trouble getting ALL the way down. Is it better to move back to slightly elevated push-ups to get past 90 degrees, or to work on doing more floor push-ups?

jayemes wrote: »

It's better to stop doing 30. Do 3 on the floor. Increase every few days/week. Don't increase to 30 until you're doing them all with proper form.
I can do 100 pushups off a wall, but that's not progressing at all. I can do 15 on my knees or 3-5 straight. Much better to do those 3-5 and work on getting to 6.

If I could do 3 all the way down, I'd do that - but I can't even get all the way down for 1! I'm wondering what a good way to scaffold is - if it's better to do floor push-ups with a partial press, or if it's better to go back to chair push-ups and try to get all the way down. (The chair is braced against the wall, btw! Safety first. ;D )

Mix it up.

Do partial floor reps. Both knee and distance. Do leaning. If you've got some moderate dumbells/kettlebells, you can also try floor/bench press with the bells.

For floor knee reps reps, start in the down position and drive your feet and knees into the floor while keeping the rigid plank(head to knee) from the side it should look as if you're doing a full pushup with your feet going through the floor.... rather than a crawl position.

Most people when doing knee pushups were taught that it's acceptable to hinge at the waist as well as bending the knees... that's not a pushup.

Thank you so much! I'll try this and post here with how it's going. What do you mean by floor/bench press? I have dumbbells but not kettlebells.

stanmann571

clicketykeys wrote: »

stanmann571 wrote: »

clicketykeys wrote: »

clicketykeys wrote: »

I can do floor push-ups ... up to about 30 in a row? But I have trouble getting ALL the way down. Is it better to move back to slightly elevated push-ups to get past 90 degrees, or to work on doing more floor push-ups?

jayemes wrote: »

It's better to stop doing 30. Do 3 on the floor. Increase every few days/week. Don't increase to 30 until you're doing them all with proper form.
I can do 100 pushups off a wall, but that's not progressing at all. I can do 15 on my knees or 3-5 straight. Much better to do those 3-5 and work on getting to 6.

If I could do 3 all the way down, I'd do that - but I can't even get all the way down for 1! I'm wondering what a good way to scaffold is - if it's better to do floor push-ups with a partial press, or if it's better to go back to chair push-ups and try to get all the way down. (The chair is braced against the wall, btw! Safety first. ;D )

Mix it up.

Do partial floor reps. Both knee and distance. Do leaning. If you've got some moderate dumbells/kettlebells, you can also try floor/bench press with the bells.

For floor knee reps reps, start in the down position and drive your feet and knees into the floor while keeping the rigid plank(head to knee) from the side it should look as if you're doing a full pushup with your feet going through the floor.... rather than a crawl position.

Most people when doing knee pushups were taught that it's acceptable to hinge at the waist as well as bending the knees... that's not a pushup.

Thank you so much! I'll try this and post here with how it's going. What do you mean by floor/bench press? I have dumbbells but not kettlebells.

If you don't have a bench(for bench pressing), you can do single side "floor presses"
While laying on your back.
Using a moderately/comfortably heavy dumbbell
Take both hands(to reduce injury risk on wrist and shoulder) and bring the weight over your chest/shoulder.
Press the weight straight up(like a pushup or bench press motion) 5-15 reps.
Pass the rep "over your head" rather than across your face or chest.... this matters more as you progress to heavier weights.

You may also recognize this drill as the first step of the "Turkish" getup.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/dumbbell-bench-press
You can do the presses wide as in the above photos or more narrowly
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-turkish-get-up.html

If you progress to really heavy weights you'll need to do the exaggerated fetal position roll up(as shown in the link) vs a two handed cross body curl/row(as described above. Either way, respect the weight and always bring it from the floor to "rack" with both hands.

Vune

I made a push-up goal a couple years ago! I have a lot of scar tissue on my torso from surgeries, so I started with planks and wall push-ups. Now, I have improved enough to do a couple sets of 11 against my bed. Sometimes, I'll get down on my yoga mat and start from my belly, but it's still a struggle to do 10 of those. DOMS in my chest feels weird, but there has been genuine improvement in my carriage and musculature even though I still can't do an actual push-up!