Help with Press-ups?!

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workout_ninja
workout_ninja Posts: 524 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I have always wanted to do proper press-ups, I hate doing them girly style. I have completed insanity and I managed to do the whole thing, either doing press-ups girly style or only coming down a fraction of the way properly. I have been working on this for ages!! Are there any techniques where I can build up the strength to do these bloody things properly???

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  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    Try doing single negative push-ups. Start in the up position and slowly go down to the floor, back to the kneeling position and then to the up position and slowly descend again.

    Try for a few weeks like that and then test whether you can do a positive push-up.
  • mhfitbit
    mhfitbit Posts: 6 Member
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    You could try the 100 push ups challenge (honestly, it starts slowly!) lots of useful hints and tips:
    http://hundredpushups.com/index.html#sthash.CbFPw6k7.l5dGDmcz.dpbs
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    You can also do them against a counter, a table or something higher. As you get stronger, you can keep finding things to get lower to the ground, until you are doing them as normal.
  • YoBecca
    YoBecca Posts: 167
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    FTR: there's no such thing as "girly" push ups/press ups. They are modified push ups, and men and women both can do them (and often have to do them while working up to full push ups). Lots of us girls do them from our toes - so our "girly" push ups are the real deal.

    For me, what worked was doing a small number of push ups every day (like 20) and setting a goal if how many I was going to do on my toes before going to my knees. So, I started with 5 on my toes, 15 on my knees. Once I got up to 20 on my toes, I increased the total number but broke them into sets of 10 - so, I gradually did 30, 40, 50 + push ups a day, in sets of 10. Now its not an issue.

    For lots of folks, the challenge of full pushups isn't the upper body strength, it's keeping your core solid so you remain a straight line from toes to shoulders without snaking up. If you fund yourself snaking when doing pushups, fall back to modified pushups - there's no point in getting high reps with bad form. That's why i hate it when people dog modified push ups - a person doing a modified pushup with good form is often working harder than somebody doing a full pushup, but snaking, sticking their butt in the air, only going down a few inches, etc. Working on plank and push up plank will help you get to full pushups faster.
  • slatts75
    slatts75 Posts: 32
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    Thanks for posting this question, I was also wondering how to improve on my pushups.

    I will try some of those suggestions!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    100% with YoBecca.

    Unless I missed something in fitness class and anatomy- there is nothing that says you need a peni$ to do a regular push up.

    Or a vagina to do one on your knees.

    That being said.
    Do them elevated- practice them on your desk at work- or while you are cooking in your kitchen. Knee push ups themselves really aren't that good at helping you get to to doing them off your knees. You need to develop the strength to hold that tight core and straight body line all the way through- the way to do that is doing them elevated. - Hands UP.

    So if you have access to stairs that's best- so you can just walk yourself down a the stairs. Do a set on stair 5- do a set on stair 4- do another set on stair 5- and so forth and so on- alternating- or just working on one set of stairs a day- doesn't matter. Just keep working at it.

    Also - don't do that ridiculous girly turtle neck I'm practicing for blow jobs move. - I have no idea why girls do this- I think they think if they get their head closer to the floor- it makes it more complete- but it doesn't - keep your head in LINE WITH YOUR SPINE. Don't bob it up and down. It looks ridiculous and it's bad for your neck.

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