Will I ever be able to do guy push ups?

7

737flyhighgirl

Cathlete
I have good upper body strength but I just can't seem to do those guy push ups like Cathe. I do girl push ups. Am I just lazy or will I ever master more than 8 or 10 guy style. What has helped some of you out there in fitness land?


Christie
 
Christie, that was how many I could do when I first started out.

I can drop down and do 50+ straight without stopping. I know that I did 96 straight for the fitness challenge at my gym. When I want to increase my numbers, I just start doing pushups. I notice that next time gets easier and easier. My strength increases very fast and by the end of two weeks I'm up another 20 or 30. You just have to keep doing them.

I started out doing what I could and then I added one more the next time. I did this every other day. Some days you will not be able to increase 1 more rep, but that's still fine. You build up strength really fast.

Namita
 
Hi, Christie. YES, you CAN increase your straight-leg push-ups reps! To do so, understand a few things:

Straight-leg push-ups, in addition to placing much greater demands on the motive muscles (pectorals, triceps and anterior delts) also place much greater demands on the core muscles and the hip flexors including the quads. You need to be prepared for that when you're trying to do more of these babies.

I've read many, many excellent suggestions from others here on this forum on how they made the transition and increased their reps.
Several vary the placement of the feet. Many have started with straight-leg push-ups by placing their feet wide; this creates a wider base of support which can enable the exerciser, again, to segue into the straight-leg push-up more gradually.

Several have also varied the width of the hand placement. Understand that the wider the hand placement, the greater the recruitment of the pectorals, which are much bigger muscles than the triceps. Then, as they have gotten comfortable with this and the tris and anterior delts have gotten accustomed to the new greater workload, they have gradually narrowed the hand placement to increase the workload on the tris. To increase the workload on the anterior delts, you actually want to increase the elevation of the feet; I actually prefer to do my push-ups with my feet on a 6" to 8" bench. This takes some working up to.

At the end of the day, however, is this: you can only increase your straight-leg push-ups rep count by just doing them. Start with your 8-10 set, rest at the top of the push-up position and then do one more. Just one more. Then, after a break or the next workout, do two more. Then gradually increase your push-up rep numbers one or two at a time, as you can safely. You will be surprised at how quickly you train up to them, as long as you are consistent with doing them on a weekly basis. It isn't easy, but it's more doable than you think.

When I was making the transition, it surprised my how much my own psyche was my own worst enemy. I had a number in mind and told myself (sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously) that that was the max I could ever do. Breaking through your mind's own glass ceiling is half the battle.

HTH -

A-Jock
 
SO...should you do them every day, or every-other-day? And how do you mix in pushups if you're doing heavy chest work once a week? Sorry to be so dense on this.

I'm up to 20 pushups, but I really want to be able to do 50! }(
 
Step One: never call them "guy" pushups and "girl" pushups ever again. Ever. They are "straight-leg" or "bent-leg". That is the only difference.

Step Two: Try!!

LOL, so that sounds harsh but YOU CAN DO THEM!!! I agree with all the form pointers you've already gotten. Try them with your hands on a step first with maybe 3-4 risers, and gradually get yourself more horizontal by lowering your step, etc. Have fun!
 
Hi, Lisa / GovtGirl:

I don't think yours are dense questions.

I've found that when I do push-ups every day, I really burn out the muscles unduly with no real increase in benefit. In my experience, 2-3 times per week is plenty. That's with the understanding that different training stimuli and protocols affect different exercisers differently. Also, you do run the risk of overdeveloping the pectorals, triceps and anterior delts creating strength (and perhaps muscle mass) imbalances compared to each muscle's opposing muscles IF you don't work those opposing groups equally.

Re doing heavy chest work, here's what I would suggest for scheduling: on those sessions where you DO plan on doing push-ups but DON'T plan on doing heavy chest work, use those sessions to build up your rep count / endurance. For your heavy chest day, use the push-ups to warm up the pecs and triceps, rather than to max out your reps.

JMHO -

A-Jock
 
Christie,

I had this problem a few months ago. I thought I would NEVER be able to do even one pushup on my toes. I started with negative pushups, which I think Cathe does in LIC. Do 1 set going down on your toes and up on your knees and the next set reverse with going down on your knees and up on your toes. When you are able to do a full one on your toes, increase the number by 1 or 2 more each time. 2-3 x a week works best for me. Also tighten your core and glutes.

Good luck! You can do it!
Gin:)
 
Hi Christie,

What helped me was to to do as many as I could full body and then drop to my knees.

Every week, I would try to do another rep or two.

Most of the time I can do them all full body, but some days I still have to drop to my knees...
 
As a card carrying male, I proudly say that I have zero intention of doing straight leg pushups. I do bent knee pushups, can totally concentrate on form and tightening my abs, and these provide a great challenge for me...:7
 
What helped me has pretty much already been mentioned.

1. I strengthened my core muscles.

2. I added one extra "guy" pushup to each set each week. I gradually was able to do more and more this way. I'm no where near 50, though and now I'm pregnant, so back to "girl" pushups for a while.

Maggie
bent on politically incorrect terminology}(
 
>I have good upper body strength but I just can't seem to do
>those guy push ups like Cathe. I do girl push ups. Am I just
>lazy or will I ever master more than 8 or 10 guy style. What
>has helped some of you out there in fitness land?
>
>
>Christie
:D Yes, you will! I could only do 5 when I started. A friend of mine told me to do as many straight-leg pushups as I could, then bend one leg and do some more. It really helped. I think I was able to do a set of 15 combining both styles. Every week I would just try to add 2-3 more straight leg pushups until eventually I could do 30. Now I'm starting all over again! My goal is to be able to beat my 14 y/oson, who does 60 every day!

We shall prevail!:)
 
Thanks for all the great advice and especially the words of encouragement. I'm going to put it all to good use before bed tonight.


Christie
 
>>>[font color=red]Step One: never call them "guy" pushups and "girl" pushups ever again. Ever. They are "straight-leg" or "bent-leg". That is the only difference.[/font]

This is really important!!! You need to get out of the mindset that straight-leg pushups are for guys and bent-leg pushups are for girls. You've gotten some really good advice about how to be able to work up to doing straight-leg pushups. Just make sure to stop calling them "guy" pushups - that's half the battle right there!!! :)
 
I have to say, when I discovered I could do "full-form" pushups, I was thrilled. One day when I was feeling good, I cranked out a shakey 7 before I collapsed. I'll never forget it. What a rush!

My younger sister (who is a runner and doesn't do weight workouts very often) can NOT do them. HAH!!! Another rush!

My advice: Keep trying; keep working out with weights. One day, you'll do it. :D
 
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