having trouble adding reps

[DiamondDarryl]

sorry if this has been covered but im really having trouble increasing my pushup reps.

at the start when i was only doing 12, i quickly progressed every day. now im at 23 and i seem to have hit a wall of sorts. i have been training just as hard if not harder yet im not making much progress. i know when your weight lifting you should be resting the certain body muscles for a while after each workout.

I am currently doing 100+ pushups every day. should i be pushing myself harder on some days and then breaking for a few days?

As for diet, i have been drinking lots of milk obviosly and trying to take in atleast 3 eggs a day. Any tips on some meals would be great. I am the tall and thin if that helps. 6'3 and 185lbs.

thanks in advance :cheers:

 

[darmil]

If you go push-ups everyday and don't rest thats the problem.Push-ups work the Pectoralis major,Deltoideus anterior part and Triceps brachii.They are the push muscles, just like in weight training you have to rest the body parts you exercise. Give atleast a days rest, you will see progress.A good book is Strength Training Anatomy (its a illistrated guide to muscles at work) and heres a good site on strength training.http://www.labrada.com/

 

[DiamondDarryl]

alright ill make sure to take some break days. and i checked that website but they seem to be pushing alot of suppliments. any ideas for meals that are relitivly cheap, and high in protein? i would prefer stuff thats basic or can be cooked in under 30 mins.

 

[Jonathan]

I dint like supplements either, I do have a protein drink in my house but I dint like to drink it, I eat a lot and I dint think I need more stuff, does anyone no if I am going to see less gains, when I don't drink it I usually see more off an improvement, It is possible to improve without extra protein right? I weight 140, how much protein should I have?

 

[foerestedwarrior]

Protein is used to assist in muscle recovery.

Common protein drinks are also high in sugar(ie, due to the fruit you put in it, well this is how I make them), so unless you are planning on doing something like running, lifting, cycling, ect. within a few hours of drinking this. Dont use it. That is only if you make like a fruit flavored milkshake with protein additives.

High protein foods. Hint, google is your friend.
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=high+protein+foods&spell=1

 

[darmil]

Yes that site has supplements just sign up and find the lean body challenge it has no supplements.Just everyday meals.You can get protein from chicken breasts,turkey breasts.The amount of protein intake is based on your body weight 1g of protein for 1 pound of body weight 140BLS man =140 grams  of protein a day.Protein contains 4 calories per gram.This means a 140 pound man needs to consume 140x4 =560 calories from protein daily,spread over 5 meals.Thats if your serious about packing on the muscle.You have a computer use it!!!!

 

[Jonathan]

thanks, but only eat 3 meel a day, I am only 16 and my mom still cooks most of my meels, do I really deen to eat 5 meels a day, I would rather just eat 3

 

[DiamondDarryl]

awsome tips guys. putting it into motion right away. thanks again

 

[derael]

Yeah, don't work the same muscle groups day after day...for the most part its just counter-productive. Also you just have to make sure you push those extra bit of reps out as best you can. What I would do is do as many as I can then rest 7-10 seconds and then do as many as I can again and repeat. Don't wait too long between sets because you don't want your muscles to recover completely. You want them to recover just enough so they don't hurt and then you can go at it again so 7 secs should be enough. You want to tire your muscles as much as you can in your workout and then rest them afterwards so they can come back stronger. By doing this I was able to increase my rep count on my first set usually by 5 every 4 days(2 workout, 2 rest) I started somewhere around 45 and ended up at 85 and I really never thought I would ever be able to do that many, so don't give up. You'll amaze yourself with what you can do if you keep to a good routine and push yourself towards your goal. Just don't get lazy or go on holidays without keeping to it. I made that mistake and I lost a good 20 pushups off my max. Best of luck! 

Anthony

 

[Jonathan]

My muscles dont heal in 7 seconds. I can do like 30 the first set, wait even 7-15 seconds and then I can only do like 10-15

 

[derael]

Where in my whole post did I say "heal"?

The purpose of only waiting 7-10 seconds between sets is to tire your muscles out as much as possible. Then rest a day and repeat. Your muscles should come back stronger everytime. For me I was able to add an additional 5 reps on my first set every 4-6 days.(including rest days)

 

[DiamondDarryl]

i guess i have not been training hard enough, but i did do that method of the 10 second rest between each set and it did work. I'm up to 25 now so I'm feeling alittle more confident for basic. I used the same tactic with my chinups and pullups and the results have been very satisfying.

 

[Jonathan]

OK, I think I am going to try this 7-10 second rest periods, I just realised that when I started working out like 4 months ago I could do 24, now I can do 17, not much progress. I would like you to tell me how many sets doing the 7-10 second rests, do I keep on going till I cant do 1 or is that going to result in overtraining? Another question, do you only do this once a workout, or do you do it, and then do something else then do it again?  Thanks for the info!

 

[Jonathan]

just tried it, waited 10 seconds in between each set, I got
27,11,8,5,5,4,4,4,3,4,5,4,3,1

I am not used to rested so little in between sets, I usuall rest about 90 seconds
I actually got a little sore though , haven't got sore in a long time
Is what I did good, should i have kept on going or should I have just stopped there
I added it up, it equals 88, I would like to do more than that, I am just going to repeat the process again and ma by once more throughout the night

 

[spoon man]

I would suggest adding some resistance to some of your sets. If you have one of those yoga balls, you can prop your feet up on it so that you are inclined while doing your pushups. This will also work some core musucles becasue you have to stabilize the ball. If you don't have one of those, improvise, use a foot stool, the edge of your bed, whatever, doing some of your sets like this well help your regular pushups improve quicker.

Use this thread from now on: http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/20897.30.html

 

[Jonathan]

thanks

 

[derael]

Sorry for the delay in reply.

Usually I'd only do 2 or 3 sets, although I was putting down a lot more reps(ex: 70,40,20),so do about 3 or 4 sets in your case...5 max. You do not want to over do it. Like above mentioned you can also add resistance etc. which may help. In the end only persistance will get the job done...do not be discouraged if you don't get immediate results, some people have "walls" at certain levels. You just got to keep at it and break through them. BTW this is not a professional opinion so do not take it as such, its just what has worked for me. You may need to modify what I do to meet your own personal needs etc.

 

[Jonathan]

ok ,thanks, If I only do 3-5 sets of those I will not do many pushups, so I think I will do that once every workout(3 times a week) and then do pushups between other things, like in breaks between sets on other things

 

[Jonathan]

Is that all the pushups you do, you dont do these every night do you?
70,40,20  is still only 170, is that really all you do for pushups
I dont meen to sound meen or anything, you can kick my ass but I thought it took a lot more than 170 every workout to get up to 70 in a row. I guess I am wrong. Could you tell me if you do anything else for your tricepts.

On a good note, I am actually sore today, just a bit but it actuall feelss like I did something

 

[derael]

It takes a while to build up your count. It took me a good month and half to go from 50 to 85 on my first set. The only added thing I do are dips (you can do these using a chair or your bed) and a different type of pushup at the end of my workout. Hands are together under you forming a diamond shape with the inside contours of your hands together. Other then that I was only doing my workout every second day.(doing it everyday seemed to yeild no progress) Oh and make sure you don't go a while out doing your pushups...its easy to lose your ability to do them if you slack off. I went for holidays over Christmas and when I came back I could only do about 60-65 on my first set.