Push ups....HELP

2

Replies

  • lizzie1030
    lizzie1030 Posts: 60
    Surprisingly yoga helped me do push ups. All the planks, side planks, downward facing dogs that you do in yoga help to strengthen your wrists and your arms.
  • isowill
    isowill Posts: 1
    trick is to start small. just do 5/10 every day, when this is easy move up to greater numbers and then move off your knees, after a couple weeks you will be able to do looads more! its surprising how quickly your body gets used to it
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!

    No. It is running that can make your uterus fall out. Also, your fallopian tubes can get tangled. Push ups are okay.

    Duuuude.... I totally had to untangle my BFF's fallopian tubes the other day. It was worse than untangling my 1980's gold chains. Seriously ladies. Don't make this mistake.

    Do. Not. Run.

    I love when my friends help!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    I feel like I get more out of doing the push-ups on an incline - I have a desk that is the perfect height! When I do them on my knees, it just doesn't seem like I can ever get any better at them.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!

    No. It is running that can make your uterus fall out. Also, your fallopian tubes can get tangled. Push ups are okay.

    Duuuude.... I totally had to untangle my BFF's fallopian tubes the other day. It was worse than untangling my 1980's gold chains. Seriously ladies. Don't make this mistake.

    Do. Not. Run.

    I am lifting heavy so the damn thing can fall on the floor......after all my pregnancies I am so done with it
  • Halleeon
    Halleeon Posts: 309 Member
    I started out with a goal of 10 wall push-ups. I would do as many as I could when I went on bathroom break at work. Eventually, I could do 30 fairly easily.

    I moved onto push-ups on the ground with my knees on the ground (modified push-ups) and went from a whopping 1 to being able to do 3 sets of 15.

    Took me about 2 months.

    I found that I couldn't really progress beyond that point and I am pretty sure it is because of the caloric deficit. Basically, I think our bodies can only progress but so far while we still have fat to lose and are doing a caloric deficit.

    My best suggestion is to do as many as you can just keep trying. If you get to a point where you feel like you aren't improving, then just keep maintaining - eventually your body will give and you will be able to do more.

    Other than that...I don't have any suggestions on specific ways to do the pushups.
  • ChrisC_77
    ChrisC_77 Posts: 271 Member
    Lots of good advice on here. I just started the 100 push up challenge this Monday. My initial test was 25 so I started in week 3. I am going to see it through and see how it goes. If I get stuck on a certain week, then I will repeat that week until I pass all three days. I know there is really no need to do 100 consecutive push ups. But I love the challenge.

    As far as doing them on your knees or anything, I personally think it puts to much pressure on your knee joints. But if you have other limitations that make (knee form) push ups safer, that might be a better option. Just take you time and use good form.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I found doing chest/bench press to be very helpful. It's basically the same motion, you're just on your back versus your belly. Losing weight also helped a lot :P

    Honestly I don't even bother with them anymore. Once you get good at them they are too easy. I prefer the progression of using dumbbells or barbells.

    I have been lifting also. I seem to be able to progress at bench, but can't do a decent pushup to save my life. I'm SURE it's partly my weight...that's a lot of damn weight to push off the floor!
    Just keep doing them. Even if you're only doing three - try to do four next time. Don't overexert and try to do like 100 in a month or anything... just try to do a few every day.

    Yea, I figured "practice makes perfect" was going to be the popular answer. :happy:

    I have heard that doing a pushup is roughly half your bodyweight. Doing a little testing with weights equal to half my body weight, I could do almost exactly the same amount of reps as I could do push-ups. So I'd say it's pretty similar.
    Put your scale on the floor, and get in pushup position, with your hands on the scale. Now you know how much weight you are lifting to do a pushup. (I weigh 188, for me it's ~90 lbs with legs extended, and ~60 lbs if I put my knees on the floor.)
  • bgraz1994
    bgraz1994 Posts: 56 Member
    I was in the same boat, I couldn't even do 1 pushup! But in my program at university we have to do conditioning class which invovled pushups. We started with knee pushups (proper form is important! Straightline from your head to your knees, arms should width or more apart, lower legs stay flat on the floor throughout exercise). Do a few of these everyday. Ie first week, do 4 everyday. Next week do 8. Once you feel comfortable and stronger, try full pushups with the same method..2 a day, then 4 a day, etc.

    The only way you'll be abe to do pushups is by doing them, even if you can only do 1 or 2.
    Goodluck!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    I found doing chest/bench press to be very helpful. It's basically the same motion, you're just on your back versus your belly. Losing weight also helped a lot :P

    Honestly I don't even bother with them anymore. Once you get good at them they are too easy. I prefer the progression of using dumbbells or barbells.

    I have been lifting also. I seem to be able to progress at bench, but can't do a decent pushup to save my life. I'm SURE it's partly my weight...that's a lot of damn weight to push off the floor!
    Just keep doing them. Even if you're only doing three - try to do four next time. Don't overexert and try to do like 100 in a month or anything... just try to do a few every day.

    Yea, I figured "practice makes perfect" was going to be the popular answer. :happy:

    I have heard that doing a pushup is roughly half your bodyweight. Doing a little testing with weights equal to half my body weight, I could do almost exactly the same amount of reps as I could do push-ups. So I'd say it's pretty similar.
    Put your scale on the floor, and get in pushup position, with your hands on the scale. Now you know how much weight you are lifting to do a pushup. (I weigh 188, for me it's ~90 lbs with legs extended, and ~60 lbs if I put my knees on the floor.)

    Genius, why didn't I think of that? Curious now....
  • aminswife
    aminswife Posts: 29 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!

    No. It is running that can make your uterus fall out. Also, your fallopian tubes can get tangled. Push ups are okay.

    Lol I didn't realise I would start such a hot topic! Well supposedly it puts strain on it which can damage it. Dunno but the seed of doubt has been sown into me by someone whose job it is to make teenagers to exercise safely. I'd rather be safe than sorry :)
    Duuuude.... I totally had to untangle my BFF's fallopian tubes the other day. It was worse than untangling my 1980's gold chains. Seriously ladies. Don't make this mistake.

    Do. Not. Run.

    I love when my friends help!
  • _the_feniks_
    _the_feniks_ Posts: 3,412 Member
    Get on the floor, hands shoulder-width or narrower works more of your triceps while wider works more of the chest. Get off your knees--this may be the only time I've said this to a woman--and straighten your legs. With your back straight, lower yourself down and then push yourself up again.

    Just keep doing them. You'll be doing one-arm clapping push-ups in no time. :wink:
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
    bump for later
  • toomuchbootyindapants
    toomuchbootyindapants Posts: 811 Member
    Probably been answered already but doing them on your knees isn't helping you at all. Better to start at an angled edge of something - countertop, the smith machine fixed bar, etc....and as you make progress and get stronger, drop the bar lower and lower. Eventually you will be on your toes and doing full push-ups and you'll think "why didn't I do this before?" They are hard but doing them on the knees doesn't really add progression to make you stronger.

    Also, when doing them on your toes - really try to contract your abs tight, squeeze your butt, it just makes it easier overall. The placement of your hands will make a big difference as well. It's usually easier to start with your arms out a bit further and as you get stronger you bring your arms in, elbows more tucked toward the body. Make sure your palms are flat and splayed out for good balance.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    my experience was that doing them on my knees did NOTHING to help me.

    i started with the wall. 3x10

    then the edge of the sleigh bed

    then the kitchen counter

    then the sofa

    and now i am on the 2nd step...hopefully moving to the first step soon,

    i think it works better this way because you are in the straight plank position for all of the stages

    just my experience :)

    you got this
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!

    :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh:

    lmao..wwwwuuuutttt???

    Well, that's okay either way. I'm not using my womb and I doubt I ever will..hahahaha!
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    The only way I can connect the womb with pushups is that babies come from the womb, and are frequently seen doing pushups (cue adorable babies doing pushups)

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRfIO-BKPOcA62Vky4QSJT-xHtYYIuMfdtBJAPgDoeXlbBcBZEZig

    As for actual advice:

    As with anything else, start small, work your way up. Every other day try to do a few pushups with perfect form. Every other time you do it, try to add 1 rep.
  • skinnybitchbarbie27
    skinnybitchbarbie27 Posts: 306 Member
    My strength coach is amazing at teaching us techniques on how to do many floor moves (it's her job but boy she rocks at it). I started out on my knees. Of course I was 330lbs at my heaviest and started doing some more body work at 270. There was no way my arms were ready to try to hold up that weight. She told me on my knees but make sure to keep my toes on the ground tucked slightly as if I didn't have my knees down. After awhile when I was feeling stronger she had me put my left leg out and do x amount, switch and put the right leg out and finish my set. Did this for a long while. After that I graduated to knees up. Didn't do a lot at first but you should have seen the smile on my face when I was able to do 1.

    I can now do 10-15 without knees down. It just took training my body, practice, and TIME :)


    never give up.
  • bpn80
    bpn80 Posts: 43
    Push ups are super hard! I gave up on the floor ones, but now I use a bar (like a squat bar) so that I'm at more of an incline and off the floor (saves the knees, too), and I always lay on my back and throw a weight ball up in the air to work the same set of muscles.
  • Kabijots
    Kabijots Posts: 218 Member
    Bump :)
  • manasicaje
    manasicaje Posts: 3
    It's not unusual even for tall men to have trouble doing pushups-- it's just a matter of where the lever is placed, making the work much harder.

    So that explains it! I'm not weak... I'm just too tall :)

    Thank you!

    But seriously, this does actually make sense. I find the barbell bench-press and vertical chest machine really useful exercises, but push-ups have ALWAYS been a challenge for me... I don't give up on them though.
  • Felicias64
    Felicias64 Posts: 15 Member
    Jillians Shred It is on youtube so you don't even have to pay for it. When I started I could not do ONE girl push up! It was soooo hard by day 3 I was doing most of the girl ones and now I can do real push ups. They are still hard and I am still working on it. I am on Level 3 day 2. But it is pretty awesome to see the improvement that I have made. Hope this helps!
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!


    :huh: :noway: Um...I served in the Army and have done a good deal of military style push-ups. I have NEVER met another woman who said they injured their womb doing a push-up, 'girly style' or otherwise. So.....I don't know if the research would hold up in a large study.

    That being said, as previously mentioned, you will need back, chest and core strength to get good at push-ups. It does little good to strengthen one area and not the others. Most often, it is the core that is neglected. Incorporate exercises like the plank, crunches, and supermans into the routine. Building the core up will help you hold the proper push-up form. Start with push-ups on your knees, but don't cross your feet. Crossing your feet can add pressure onto the knees that could lead to injury. Start out with small reps and if you need to do them at an incline then start there. Attempt to get the full push-up range with whatever method you are doing. Start with arms extended and bring your chest down until your upper arms are parallel to the floor (should look like you could put a board across your back and it be level from elbow to elbow). Then push-up into the starting position. Even if you can only do one with correct form it is better than 10 that don't really work the proper muscle groups.

    Other strength exercises that will benefit are a bench press, triceps extensions, chest flys, low rows for the back, and of course core work.
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!

    No. It is running that can make your uterus fall out. Also, your fallopian tubes can get tangled. Push ups are okay.

    ^^^Yeah, running is the root of all evil. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • Digby
    Digby Posts: 27 Member
    i started doing inclinded pushups with my trainer. She gradually got me to keep going lower until I could to them off the floor. If you have stairs in your house, start a few stairs up and do them all at that incline and as you get better go down a stair until you are on the floor. Also do them off you knees, no shame in that at all.

    Also try negative pushups

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pHvvD7oqA&feature=youtu.be
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
    Just do them. Every day. You will get good at them with persistence. There's no trick to it.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    I stick to the 'girly style' with the knees because my Phys Ed teacher once told me that new research had shown that the military style ones can damage a woman's womb. Thanks very much but I want my womb working perfectly!

    ???
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    I've recently worked up to being able to do ten. I can't isolate for you what helped the most, but I've been doing NROL4W, planks, and I went from knees, to a high incline, to lower incline, to the floor.
  • sfichter
    sfichter Posts: 5 Member
    Yes for girls pushups can be rough, especially if you are heavier of a person. I started with doing them on my knees until you max out and cannot do anymore. Then gradually see if you can do 1 guy style,if not just do them on your knees, gradually you will be able to add in more and more of the regular guy style push ups. I did P90x and got really good at them for awhile, doing pullups are a hell of an upper body work out too, you start with your feet on a chair, gradually adding in one here and there. Lifting weights for upper body will also help! Good Luck :smile:
  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
    I've known women that can do 50 broken into sets but 100 seems like an unrealistic goal to me.

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