push ups, planks, crunches....help please!

Elmo2205 · July 2012

Hey everybody,

I am pretty new to this board, and haven't posted much at all, but have been reading for a while now.

I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

About 16 weeks ago, I started exercising, pretty much for the first time in my life,ever.

I have been using Jillian Michael's DVDs as well as one of the Biggest Loser ones.

For the last few weeks, my daily routine has been 6W sixpack and 30DS, both level 1.
For the life of me I can NOT do a real push up ( or even the beginner version on the knees ), a plank or an effective crunch, and I don't know what I am doing wrong.
I use either 3 lbs or 5 lbs hand weights during the workouts.
I am currently 157 lbs, trying to get to 140 lbs ( or less )

I guess I am just looking for support and motivation, and maybe other people's experiences.
How long should it take to be able to do any of these moves?
Any tips on how to improve?

Thanks so much in advance!

Astrid

BerryH · July 2012

Here's how I steadily built up to 10 full push-ups after a shoulder injury:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH/view/how-to-do-10-full-push-ups-what-worked-for-me-126396

The core strength will come with time. Planks are probably the best place to start. If you can't do full-body do it on your elbows and knees and gradually move your knees out further.

Try reverse crunches - lie on your back and hug your knees then gradually lower your upper body and legs to the ground.

Hope that helps :flowerforyou:

ahigg396 · July 2012

I'm TERRIBLE at push-ups! I can't do them correctly either. When I do "girl" push-ups, even, I can only go down about 3 inches before I have to come back up. I know it is really hard and discouraging, but as we continue to exercise and out bodies get stronger, I think it will begin to get a little easier (or, at least, it will come more naturally). That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. Good luck!

islandjumper · July 2012

I understand your frustration....I can't do a push-up either and have never been good at it...I'm getting there with the help of yoga...just keep at it, do as much as you can and eventually you'll get there.
As for planks and crunches...I built up using yoga and Pilates. Just make sure you've got good form and keep at it!

stylistchik · July 2012

BerryH had good advice, it sounds like you need core strength first. Sometimes I still can't do "real" pushups especially when I'm tired but something is always better than nothing.

It's also important that you learn to feel what your core feels like when it is "engaged" and it takes some real practice. It's hard to explain but I'll do my best, you want to "flex" your ab muscles and hold it there. It's different than sucking in your stomach and you should still be able to breathe and move comfortably. This is how you want to hold your core whenever you're doing any workout really, because it strengthens your core and prevents back injury. It also takes a lot off stress of smaller muscle groups; you don't want to rely on your arms in a plank or your legs in a crunch because it wears you out and isn't as effective.

Just work on finding how to feel these muscle groups and start small. You can only get better! Good luck and congrats on your progress it sounds like you've been working hard!

impyimpyaj · July 2012

My post disappeared.

You're not doing anything wrong, you just need to keep practicing. For pushups, try doing them against a wall at first, with your feet back away from the wall so your body is at an angle when your arms are extended. When you get more comfortable with that, move on to doing them from your coffee table or an ottoman. Then do them on the floor from your knees, and eventually from your toes. You'll get there.

As far as the planks, just do them. Try them from your knees if you can't hold more than a few seconds from your toes. Hold the plank for as long as you can, then take a break for 15 seconds, then do it again. Do this whenever you think of it throughout the day, and you'll build that core strength up in no time. Then when you can hold the plank from your knees for 60 seconds without a break, try them from your toes.

Remember to breathe normally and deeply when doing planks, and for pushups, inhale on the way down toward the floor (or wall) and exhale on the way back up. I think of it as pulling the floor toward me with my breath, and then blowing it away again.

Just keep at it. You'll get it.

Killing_Perfection · July 2012

I started about 4 weeks ago with some strength training (body weight and dumbells, also 30 Day Shred) when I was barely able to do 2 correct push-ups, and probably only because I occassionally work at a supermarket and have to carry heavy stuff around. The second time my chest was close to the floor my arms would simply give up. By now I can do more than 10 in one go - room for more, but not bad for 1 month.

It works, the point is pushing. It doesn't matter if you can do many. Hell, it doesn't matter if you fail at even doing one. Think of pull ups, only few people I know can do one, and most start with highly modified versions. Push ups take some time because they really are hard.

Start off with planks - only few people like them, I'm not one of them, but they are effective. Listen to Jillian: You can do this.

knk1553 · July 2012

Pushups are CRAZY hard, if you can't do it on your knees at an angle, do a box pushup, which is where you are on your knees but instead of angling yourself out, create a 90 degree angle and do a pushup from that, move out to the ones at an angle and then to a regular pushup. I would say push yourself as much as you can, even if you can only do a few at a more advanced versioin, do those and then modify.

As far as a plank - it depends on who you ask, some say elbows is easier, others say all the way up on your hands with your arms straight is easier. Another modification is to be on your elbows and put one knee down as needed.

Crunches -- find the point where the top of the wall and the ceiling meet and don't move your eyes from it as you crunch, that way you're actually using your core versus your neck to do the crunch. If you can't come up far, don't worry about it! The strenght will come!

samba_sue · July 2012

yes forget the push ups on hands ,they can injure shoulder anyway .Just start with holding arms against wall ,feet away further and push with arms against wall so top half of body moves away ,hold and come back and repeat .The do same on a bench or lower part of chair .
You can build up power in arms and shoulders by doing bicep curls ,but start with 5 kg or less and check you are standing up straight and holding pelvis in place
Re sit ups /crunches -try using a pilates long thing ,roller i think its called ,lie on it length ways and lightly touch the ground wit h toes .Have bent legs ,Raise first one leg then the other -up down up down making sure your back is on the roller ,with a slight gap between lower back and roller .This will also help with core strength .you can progress to planks from that but do make sure you stay on elbows .I keep up the sit-ups on the roller all the time and find them effective in using stomach muscles properly whereas the sit ups i use back muscles and have often injured back by doing this , Im very fit and am wary now about doing a lot of the back movement exercises as its easy to cause injury .iIf you like swimming ,thats great and effective Hope this helps and good luck

coraliethomas · July 2012

I just joined the army, and really, the only way to get better at push ups.... is doing pushups!! Start with trying just 1 real push up, go down as far as you can and come up. Each day, try to go further down. Once you have exhausted yourself on real push ups, go down to your knees and do as many as you can from there, after that, do a knee/elbow plank.

Remember, you can ALWAYS do more than your mind will tell you it can do. As soon as you start thinking "I cant do this anymore"... try and pump out one more!

Good luck, it comes with time, and dedication

Elmo2205 · July 2012

Thanks so much for all your replies!
They are very helpful, and I really appreciate all the help and the encouragement.
I will incorporate your suggestions into my workout.
Thanks again!

ctooch99 · July 2012

Don't beat yourself up!!! The fact that you are even trying gives you an "A" for effort! My suggestion would be to cheat anyway you need to in order to do the exercise motions - each session try to do at least one strict rep without cheating - if you can't then you can't - just keep trying, the effort will still burn calories and help build muscle.

Once you get just one strict rep, the others will fall like dominoes!

For push ups, try variations until you can find one you can do. For example, Sphinx type pushups - lie on your stomach and put your arms in from of you (like a Sphinx), then just flex your arms until your upper body raises. From there go to a more standard type.

logdunne · July 2012

I discovered i couldnt do pushups when i did 30ds in febuary, by the time i finished the 30days i could just about do 5 pushups, then i started doing as many as possible every other night and got up to 20 pushups by april and am at 66 pushups now. It is definatly do able :-)

push ups, planks, crunches....help please!

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