Pushup Question

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Replies

  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Doing push ups on your knees is a waste of time... Doing them on a bench is much more beneficial.
    Push ups are the perfect exercise and I would keep trying until I could do a full push up.

    Agreed, you're not getting much out of knee push ups tbh
  • keithemp
    keithemp Posts: 71
    I'm going to regret having said that. I've re-thought this one and decided to eat my words!

    Curse the inability to edit posts!!!!

    No worries, I type before I think all the time!
  • ratherbeskiing
    ratherbeskiing Posts: 847 Member
    I have an app on my phone (Yes! an app for everything!) called pushups. It is a yellow square with a black silluete ?!sp?! man doing a pushup. It has you set a baseline and then increases ur pushups when you do them. You rate each workout so it knows when to increase or stay the same for the next day. With this app when you do a push up u have to hit ur phone with your noes. I guess thats close to the floor..... It has helped me and yes it is a free app

    (though I do not suggest the sit up one cuz sometimes it does not count them)
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    One way to build up to doing push ups is to use a stair case. (if you have access to one.) Push up against the 4th or 5th step, and try to do 5 sets of 5. Once you hit 5x5, move down to the next step and repeat the process. Eventually, you'll got to the point where you not only move down to the floor for regular full push ups, but you can turn around and started using the steps to elevate your feet for more advanced, decline push ups.

    ETA: I typically just go down until my upper arms are parallel to the floor. It approximates their position when I bench and the bar is just touching my chest.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    that's what we are trying to say- it's not any wear near as efficient as doing them on an incline and moving downward- they just do not compare in effectiveness. Few people rarely make the transition from knee to full push ups- and if they do it takes them forever.

    I'm 41 years old. I've tried to progress from my knees to full push-ups off and on through my life. I'm finally at the point where I can do full regressions. The incline pushups are hitting muscles I never realized were supposed to be engaged in the push-up movement. I know that you *can* engage everything in the knee position, but it just doesn't lock down the same way, if you know what I mean. I'm really enjoying what I can do now too. (72 pushups off the dining room table).

    ETA - it sounds like I'm not alone in my experience.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    One way to build up to doing push ups is to use a stair case. (if you have access to one.) Push up against the 4th or 5th step, and try to do 5 sets of 5. Once you hit 5x5, move down to the next step and repeat the process. Eventually, you'll got to the point where you not only move down to the floor for regular full push ups, but you can turn around and started using the steps to elevate your feet for more advanced, decline push ups.

    ETA: I typically just go down until my upper arms are parallel to the floor. It approximates their position when I bench and the bar is just touching my chest.

    Yes, this is what I was planning on doing until I read Convict Conditioning.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    I'm going to regret having said that. I've re-thought this one and decided to eat my words!

    I appreciate that you said that because I'm learning stuff about bench presses that I never knew (not even when I had a trainer).
  • ambelote
    ambelote Posts: 2 Member
    Oh the negative push-up is a good technique! I've been wanting to get into doing push-ups, but I can't even do modified ones! I have next to no arm strength. I think I could do this though...Thanks!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    that's what we are trying to say- it's not any wear near as efficient as doing them on an incline and moving downward- they just do not compare in effectiveness. Few people rarely make the transition from knee to full push ups- and if they do it takes them forever.

    I'm 41 years old. I've tried to progress from my knees to full push-ups off and on through my life. I'm finally at the point where I can do full regressions. The incline pushups are hitting muscles I never realized were supposed to be engaged in the push-up movement. I know that you *can* engage everything in the knee position, but it just doesn't lock down the same way, if you know what I mean. I'm really enjoying what I can do now too. (72 pushups off the dining room table).

    ETA - it sounds like I'm not alone in my experience.

    nope- it's incredibly common for people to never get anywhere with knee push ups. Hysterically people could bang out several knee push ups- and then you put them at an incline about 18-24" off the floor and they couldn't do any- their core just couldn't take it.

    Now- that's not to say the table position doesn't have it's place- you can do the bird dog thing from that position quiet easily.

    Do your push ups on your knees- but instead of both knees down- push one foot back into an horizontal/level but essentially elevated position- nice easy variation to take that knee push up to another level.

    This can obviously done on an incline as well- but it's a nice variation.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    ambelote - I started with doing them on a wall and have progressed to doing them off a dining table. If I can do them anybody can!

    BTW - I really appreciate all the advice that I've gotten. I feel much more confident now. I'm really, really appreciating that a lot of it is coming from women. The world really has changed from when I was young!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    that's what we are trying to say- it's not any wear near as efficient as doing them on an incline and moving downward- they just do not compare in effectiveness. Few people rarely make the transition from knee to full push ups- and if they do it takes them forever.

    I'm 41 years old. I've tried to progress from my knees to full push-ups off and on through my life. I'm finally at the point where I can do full regressions. The incline pushups are hitting muscles I never realized were supposed to be engaged in the push-up movement. I know that you *can* engage everything in the knee position, but it just doesn't lock down the same way, if you know what I mean. I'm really enjoying what I can do now too. (72 pushups off the dining room table).

    ETA - it sounds like I'm not alone in my experience.

    nope- it's incredibly common for people to never get anywhere with knee push ups. Hysterically people could bang out several knee push ups- and then you put them at an incline about 18-24" off the floor and they couldn't do any- their core just couldn't take it.

    Now- that's not to say the table position doesn't have it's place- you can do the bird dog thing from that position quiet easily.

    Do your push ups on your knees- but instead of both knees down- push one foot back into an horizontal/level but essentially elevated position- nice easy variation to take that knee push up to another level.

    This can obviously done on an incline as well- but it's a nice variation.

    Love the variation. Makes my core hurt just thinking about it :)

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