I can't even do 1 "man" pushup :-(

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PlatinumPiggy
PlatinumPiggy Posts: 90
in Fitness and Exercise
how sad is that? i thought i was pretty strong but i struggle to do one normal push-up. can only do them on my knees. i am doing weight training for back,shoulders,biceps etc but even in a week i cant do more than one. What muscles are mainly used in a push-up, any ideas on how to improve strength? probably keep trying i suppose. i see some girls in the gym doing like 10-20 man pushups easily and I want to go over and clap for them

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  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    Push ups work pretty much every muscle group. Mainly abs, arms, back and chest. If you can do "girl" pushups, I would start with that. Keep working with those, and I would think that eventually you will be able to work up to a "man" pushup.
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
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    Join us!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/129878-so-i-m-thinking-about-doing-a-push-up-challen-for-nov-sinc
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    I'm doing the "hundred pushup" challenge!

    http://hundredpushups.com/

    I'm in week 4.... I'm doing this challenge on my knees and then will do it again doing "real" pushups. I can tell that I'm getting stronger because I can do more and more of the pushups.

    Check it out!
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
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    If you have a smith machine, try doing barbell push-ups. Because of the angle, they are easier than a normal push-up.
  • mizfit
    mizfit Posts: 118
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    Girl don't feel bad. Push ups are tough and at least you are trying to do them so be proud of yourself for that.
    Believe me I started out the same way and for the longest time I just stuck with the girly push ups but I feel so much stronger now that I do the regular push ups. Push ups will definately help with upper body strength. You mentioned other women in the gym doing more pushups well remember they probably started where you were and had to work their way up. Next time you see them go over and ask how they managed to get to where they are. They may be able to give you some good pointers and who knows you may even get some new friends out of it too.
  • bmoliv66
    bmoliv66 Posts: 47 Member
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    Dumbell chest presses will work a lot of the major muscles used in pushups as well as the smaller stabilizing muscles
  • soze
    soze Posts: 604 Member
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    Do the uh hmm, "Modified Pushup". I'm male and my trainer had me doing these. She was kind she called them Modified. Thank goodness. I think I weighed around 375 at the time.
  • CFAITH_WARD
    CFAITH_WARD Posts: 281 Member
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    Try taking a yoga class once a week or do a video....Yoga will work those muscles.
  • PlatinumPiggy
    PlatinumPiggy Posts: 90
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    im def going to try this. watch this space!!
  • carl1738
    carl1738 Posts: 444 Member
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    Pushups mainly involve the pectoral (chest) muscles, triceps and deltoid (shoulder) muscles. Bench presses and triceps dips will help develop greater strength in those areas. I know how you feel. A couple of months ago I could only do one or two full pushups myself, but after a couple of months of weight training, I can do multiple sets of 20 pushups. Don't be afraid to use heavier weights, either. Those little 3 or 5 pound dumbbells really aren't going to help you increase your strength much. Keep trying to increase the number of pushups you can do each week by one or two. Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    You can also try something like push downs or something that I can't recall the name of...

    Basically pretend you are going to do the push up, but instead start in the up position and slowly lower yourself down then push back up "girly" style (and for sanity, stop calling it girl/woman vs man...so lame...be prouder of yourself! :) ) or however you need to so you can get back into the starting position.

    Planks can help too - build some of the stabilizing muscles you need while also helping your arms n such.

    Good luck! And just remember it takes time
  • musclebuilder
    musclebuilder Posts: 324 Member
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    Just set small goals. If you can't do 1 pushup try to do a partial pushup. Maybe only lowering yourself down from the ready position will be all you can do. Who cares.. what matters is each time you practice them from that moment on you try to do a little more. Eventually you will do 1 pushup. And exercises can be awkward in the beginning and that also adds to the difficulty. muscles adapt very specifically according to the nature of the exercise stress..To improve your ability to perform pushups you should do pushups.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I used to be like you, and after 10 weeks of Crossfit, I am now able to do 5 sets of 10 with minimal rest between! It takes time to build up that strength, but keep practicing, every day if you have to, and eventually you will be able to do them!
  • tater8589
    tater8589 Posts: 616
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    I struggle with push ups too. The female body is built differently than men. Our strength is in our lower body where men are upper body. To help improve my pushups I have been doing small sets of pushups during the day and at the gym I'm doing the chest press, arm extension, incline press, and dips/pullups on a machine.

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