Pushup Question

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  • blably
    blably Posts: 490 Member
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    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.

    not much truth in that. by keepin on doin them on your knees, you can build up your strenght so you can make the regular ones.
  • blably
    blably Posts: 490 Member
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    I know this is a serious question and I, too, wanted to know the answer. However, I just gotta say it: My boobs are bigger than a softball, so should I just be happy if my boobs touch the floor? :bigsmile:

    you can give me some of your boobs... allways in for some boobs...ahhh soon the day will come that ill have some given by a doc :D
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Yes - lowering in a push-up to the level where your sternum would touch a tennis ball ensures that your upper arms are about paralell to the floor which is mechanically safe. Any lower and you put excess strain on your elbow joints which is not good and you get no better results for going lower.

    The only time I would go to the floor would be if I was going to lie right down and do a backbending movement - like Cobra in Yoga - then push back up from the floor.
    Except that I really like what balancing on my toes is doing for my waist
    Pushups are similar to bench press in that they hit the core, quads, glutes, calves and obliques and are great if you can't get to a gym or prefer not to use weights.
    A properly performed bench press hits all those muscle groups as well.

    edit: Fixed above - because I often get over-enthusiastic about bodyweight training, because it's awesome!.

    And so does a bench press.

    That is why it is a full body compound move.

    People forget- or don't realize the bench can be performed in isolation - back flat on the bench or as a compound- with an arch- pushing through the whole body through the heels.

    I often get glute/hamstring cramps with heavy bench- because I'm pushing... with my whole body.

    That being said- nose to the ground is wildly over rated- sternum about 3-5" depending on your structure is fine.
    not much truth in that. by keepin on doin them on your knees, you can build up your strenght so you can make the regular ones.
    that's what we are tryign 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.
  • FindingMyPerfection
    FindingMyPerfection Posts: 702 Member
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    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.

    not much truth in that. by keepin on doin them on your knees, you can build up your strenght so you can make the regular ones.
    You can build upper body strength but not the needed core strength. I was up to 50 knee push-ups and couldn't do 5 toe push-ups because my back would collapse. Two weeks of working from the wall down and I am now at 20 toe push-ups.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    @JoRocka - agreed - that's why I fixed my own earlier post.
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
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    This was an interesting read on the variations and how low people go. I don't think I ever touch the floor. I think I'm a few inches off. It would kill my shoulders to touch the floor because I have zero chest and they would be in a very compromising position. My husband has a chest like a barrel though and routinely touches. We usually throw them in at the end of training as core work - much less boring than planks. I also think of it as should pre-hab for bench.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Yes - lowering in a push-up to the level where your sternum would touch a tennis ball ensures that your upper arms are about paralell to the floor which is mechanically safe. Any lower and you put excess strain on your elbow joints which is not good and you get no better results for going lower.

    The only time I would go to the floor would be if I was going to lie right down and do a backbending movement - like Cobra in Yoga - then push back up from the floor.
    Except that I really like what balancing on my toes is doing for my waist
    Pushups are superior to bench press in that they hit the core, quads, calves and obliques so you get more returns for your efforts.

    If your bench press doesn't hit your core and legs, you're not doing it right lol
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
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    Yes - lowering in a push-up to the level where your sternum would touch a tennis ball ensures that your upper arms are about paralell to the floor which is mechanically safe. Any lower and you put excess strain on your elbow joints which is not good and you get no better results for going lower.

    The only time I would go to the floor would be if I was going to lie right down and do a backbending movement - like Cobra in Yoga - then push back up from the floor.
    Except that I really like what balancing on my toes is doing for my waist
    Pushups are superior to bench press in that they hit the core, quads, calves and obliques so you get more returns for your efforts.

    If your bench press doesn't hit your core and legs, you're not doing it right lol

    True. I know I'm finished a set on bench when my quads cramp up.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    I'm going to regret having said that. I've re-thought this one and decided to eat my words!
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    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.

    I agree. I never went anywhere with pushups from my knees. A year of nothing and then as soon as I switched to an incline it progressed really fast. Keep doing it, you'll get there sooner than you think!!
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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!

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