30 day shred...pushups??

Oh girl, I know what you mean. My kung fu class has push ups in every warm up. I couldn't do but two at a time with a break in between, GIRL PUSH UPS. My sifu said it's just cause I haven't done enough. Just keep doing them in any increment you can and you will grow to do more and more. I can do 50 girl push ups now. I can do 10 REAL ones, but I hate them and just haven't pushed myself into doing them. I really should, though.

Now pull ups, that's another story. I can't even do ONE. So sad. Upper body is not my strong suit. I can do 100 jump squats, though.

I do them on my knees!

Try this program: http://hundredpushups.com/index.html

If you can't do "real" pushups, try modified pushups on your knees rather than your toes. If those are too difficult, do wall pushups or pushups against your kitchen counters.

i find the jumping jacks hard-I cant jump anymore...anyone else?

i learnt how to do push ups by breaking them into stages, basically put a stop position half-way down and you get three stages 1=top 2=middle 3=bottom, its a lot easier to go 12321 than 13131 if that makes sense. good luck

Okay, let me tell you, I did the 30DS for about 2 1/2 wks and then stopped (got bored :yawn: and level 2 discouraged me :grumble: ) but I have to say that when I started I did maybe 1/2 a push up on my knees before I collapsed and realized I cant even do one but amazingly by day day 5 or 6 I was able to do about 5 of them :happy: so don't get discouraged, it will happen..!

OK, I help teach TaeKwon-Do and just about every beginner woman we get through the door cannot do a pushup - but they do get better at it, honest!

All of the above suggestions are excellent - start with pressups against a wall - slowly move your feet further away when you can manage to! Then graduate to press-ups on your knees (I get sore knees doing this so I make sure I have an exercise mat under there at least!) - you can start with putting your hands on something else low down if on your knees is too hard - such as a sofa etc!

Once you can manage press-ups on your knees slowly move your knees further away from your hands which gradually makes the press-up harder until you're ready to get your knees off the floor. If you do a few daily (aim at 4 sets of 10 roughly) you'll be amazed how quickly your strength will improve.

Two other things I would add though. Another huge benefit of press-ups which can be forgotten is working on your core stomach muscles. Even before you're ready to attempt full press-ups it would be beneficial to attemp holding 'the plank' move - basically press-up position but holding yourself on your forearms (arms bent with forearm flat on the floor). Keep your body still and straight (like a plank!) without your butt sticking in the air or dipping down towards the floor. You need to keep 'zipped up' - suck your tummy button in tight and clench your butt muscles tight, but keep breathing! Hold this for as long as you can - as soon as you feel your back starting to bend and butt going towards the floor then stop! Work up to 30+ seconds. If you can add this to your press-ups on the knees/against the wall it will really prepare your core muscles for the work they will need to do for full press-ups.

The other thing I would add is even if you can no-way manage a full press up do not give up immediately! The very act of TRYING to do one is going to work those muscles and you will see a bigger and quicker improvement than just doing press-ups against the wall or on your knees. So each day add just one attempt at a full press-up (at the end probably!) even if you only dip down by a millimetre it really WILL help!

For those interested in hitting the core muscles more, if you have a 'fit ball' then you can do press-ups on your knees (or if you're REALLY hard full press-ups) with your hands either side of the fit ball. This hits loads of core muscles while you try to keep your balance at the same time - really good work out!

Modified Push Ups -As I read your blog post, I couldn’t help but think of the Push Up Bench as the most effective way for people who struggle with push ups , to be able to do them correctly (with full range of motion). Most modified push ups make them easier but only allow one or two variations. The Push Up Bench has 11 different levels to work through on the way to a full push up. www.pushupbench.com

i find the jumping jacks hard-I cant jump anymore...anyone else?

I quit after 8 days in March because the jumping jacks and jump ropes were KILLING me. What a shock! I thought if anything defeated me, it would be the pushups, but no, it was the blasted jumping jacks and jump ropes. The strength training program I started soon after to head off a weigh loss plateau unexpectedly took care of that problem, though, and I can now jump without pain. It's amazing how much easier high impact aerobic exercises are when your core and legs are strong and stable. I can even run without serious pain now, which is why I haven't gotten back to the shred yet. I want to I finish C25K first.