Pushups- Try Reading Here First- Merged Thread

[Snb]

What are you benchpressing?  At 6'6 and 285 I have no doubt you are strong but are you strong relative to your size?  Which is really what a pushup is a measurement off anyways.

I had trouble cranking out more than 40 pushups and had pretty much plateaued.  I started lifting weights (followed Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength Program) and added 30+ pushups to my total.  The last time I ran an Expres Test, I cranked out 78 consecutive pushups.

I am 5'10 and weigh 192lbs; however, my max benchpress at that time was 260lbs. 1.35x my bodyweight

My advice to you, if you want to improve your pushups would be the following:

1.  Lose 20lbs - Being heavy works for football but not so much for the Army.  If you shed down to 260ish with your height, your pushups will get better.

2.  Aim to benchpress at least 1x your bodyweight as a minimum, goal to strive for is between 1.3 and 1.5x your bodyweight.  You will crank pushups out like nothing then.

3.  What are your pullups/chinups like?  Your pushup problem could also be related to your back as these muscles tend to compliment each other.  You should aim to be able to do 12 to 15 consecutive chinups if you also want to rock at pushups.  These will also strengthen your core which will help with pushups. 

Last thing I would also do is everytime you lift weights, squat!  Squats are the most important exercise their is and if crush squats every weight session, the rest of your body will also get strong. 

My max bench is at 315lb. Not exactly where it should be, but it is something that I struggle with (again with the long arms thing).
As for squats, I squat once a week normally. My other lower body day usually consists of power cleans and/or deadlifts. Also, I do plan to drop as much as 30lbs once I'm done with football. However, I have 3 more years of university to go.

 

[Snb]

Also, how picky will they be on having a high butt or say an arch in your back while doing them?

 

[MJP]

Also, how picky will they be on having a high butt or say an arch in your back while doing them?

There is no test on them, so while form matters it isn't an issue!  Worse case is someone will tell you to get your butt down.  You are really worrying about the wrong thing.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

My max bench is at 315lb. Not exactly where it should be, but it is something that I struggle with (again with the long arms thing).
As for squats, I squat once a week normally. My other lower body day usually consists of power cleans and/or deadlifts. Also, I do plan to drop as much as 30lbs once I'm done with football. However, I have 3 more years of university to go.

If you drop 30lbs, your pushups will def improve significantly.  You're also only 19 so you have plenty of time to get stronger.  I was a scrawny 160lbs when I joined the Army but as I got older, I got stronger naturally over time.  I sent you a PM btw.

I will also second what MJP says by saying that the military will not test you for pushups anymore, we have a new test so you need not worry about pushup form.  Nevertheless, I would never tell you to not get good at pushups because even if you won't be tested on them, you will still do lots!

 

[Snb]

If you drop 30lbs, your pushups will def improve significantly.  You're also only 19 so you have plenty of time to get stronger.  I was a scrawny 160lbs when I joined the Army but as I got older, I got stronger naturally over time.  I sent you a PM btw.

I will also second what MJP says by saying that the military will not test you for pushups anymore, we have a new test so you need not worry about pushup form.  Nevertheless, I would never tell you to not get good at pushups because even if you won't be tested on them, you will still do lots!

There is no test on them, so while form matters it isn't an issue!  Worse case is someone will tell you to get your butt down.  You are really worrying about the wrong thing.

I completely misread your first reply, MJP. I did not know that they had changed their testing up until now.
Opinions on the FORCE test?

 

[mariomike]

Opinions on the FORCE test?

Fitness for Operational Requirements of CF Employment (FORCE): New PT test stds 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/106313.75

33 pages.

 

[MJP]

I completely misread your first reply, MJP. I did not know that they had changed their testing up until now.
Opinions on the FORCE test?

If you can breathe and walk without falling over you will pass the test.  It is a joke among most in the CAF. 

 

[runormal]

The timings are far too generous. I think it is a good base, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[cryco]

Tall people with a high BMI will always have a hard time lifting relative to their weight.
Worry more about losing weight if you can. You will do a lot of running, and the extra weight will make your runs more difficult on your cardio and your knees. My goal is to lose 20 ish lbs, to make everything easier (240 lbs at 6'3"). And when I reach that goal, I'll see if I can lose some more without compromising my strength too much.

Ok, I found some of the science that explains the difficulty larger/taller people have:

taken from http://physics.stackexchange.com/

Strength

Strength goes like area. Intuitively, the cross sectional area of a muscle counts the number of muscle fibers (actually, myofibrils). Thus, S∝A∝L2. But mass goes like volume, M∝V∝L3. Therefore strength is proportional to the 2/3 power of mass,
S∝M2/3.
This equation expresses the fact that an increase in mass does not give a proportionate increase in strength. For example, adding 25% to your mass will increase your strength by about 16%, assuming your body composition and neuromuscular skills don't change appreciably.

Relative strength

In addition, we find that relative strength, strength per unit mass, goes like M−1/3,
SM∝M−1/3.
Thus, after adding 25% to your mass and getting 16% stronger, you are actually 7% weaker in terms of relative strength.

These facts are known, at least intuitively, to all athletes. In strength sports, formulas such as these are used to compare athletes across weight classes. For example the Wilks coefficient is used to ``normalize'' weight lifted. (In fact the Wilks coefficient is roughly (50/M)2/3, where M is the lifter's mass in kilograms.)


Some more interesting reading;
http://hep.ucsb.edu/courses/ph6b_99/0111299sci-scaling.html

 

[GreenWood]

Again you shouldn't worry about it, you will get used to it. Just don't give up and results will follow, again expect to lose ALOT of weight, they will be controlling when you eat and will force you to drink ALOT!

I went in almost weighing 190 and came out a little below 150. We did more pushups than you could ever imagine, just as many pull-ups and had some awesome lengthy conversations while planking.

 

[The_Falcon]

You SHOULD worry about proper technique (or form as some call) with push ups (anything really) to ensure you don't grind your shoulders into dust. I won't say there is a right/wrong way, but there is definitely an optimal way and a suboptimal way to do push up. Dr. Kelly Starrett has made some very good videos of how to perform pushups optimally.

Also (tangent) but optimal push up technique also heavy relies on having a very strong "core".  When people with a weak core musculature do push ups, they do one of two things, butt in air or sagging back. 

 

[InBound]

If some one told you that in two months to the day, you had to perform 50 pushups in one set, unbroken, chest and chin to floor and full lockout at the elbows for 50 reps, or else they would kill somebody in your family.. Would you do pushups everyday? This is a very harsh example, but the point is, if you take this recruitment process seriously and want to do the best you can to further your chances of being hired by the CF, why not work just as hard? My advice is do pushups, pullups and situps and go for a run with a weighted backpack every morning as if poochie had a stick of radium in his kibbles and bits! 

 

[Blackadder1916]

If some one told you that in two months to the day, you had to perform 50 pushups in one set, unbroken, chest and chin to floor and full lockout at the elbows for 50 reps, or else they would kill somebody in your family.. Would you do pushups everyday?  . . . . .

No, I'd call the police.  Obviously, a person making such a threat is possibly a dangerous lunatic.

 

[InBound]

Oh right! Yeah I forgot the police do things around here! Imagine that!  :bowing:

 

[fatboy777]

Ive applyed online already and just waiting back for a responce, over the last 3 months ive lost 30lbs from eating healthy only drinking water and 30 min walks that are now jogs daily but now i'm 280lbs and 5'9 should i have waited to sign up? ive simulated the fitness test and passed it, also i can do about 1 and a half pushups mostly because of my beer belly, are those still required or do they just yell at you more when you fail kinda thing? i seen they removed them from the basic fitness test you have to pass, ive read if you fail the fitness test you go too warrior platoon but i know i can pass the fitness test. So do you think i can survive basic if i pass the fitness test i cant do 1 pushup?

 

[LightFighter]

Good job on the weight loss so far, keep at it.


IMO, you should have waited till you were at a decent level of fitness before applying. This is the Military you are entering. You will do push ups, you will do runs, etc in basic training. Prepare for that.


Seeing as you just applied, you probably have a fair bit of
time before BMQ. Spend it wisely

 

[fatboy777]

i applyed in july still havent heard anything back at all, what would happen at basic if someone told you to do pushups and you can only do 1 do they write you up or something?

 

[Fluff]

Make sure to do pushups multiple times a day (I do morning and lunch) as well and you will find you make large gains in no time. A large part of it (at least for me) was getting my body use to the idea of how to do a pushups and do them efficiently. This means the first month you will be able to add likely 3-5 pushups a week (which the weight loss will help with throughout that), then after that the gains will become slower but it will become easier.

Also since you just applied online you will still have months to prep and practice.

 

[fatboy777]

i tryed to get advice from my brother hes in the army as a medic, he told me its a walk in the park and i'll be fine, but im not so sure, he also told me to lie about past marajauna use and that they dont drug test you in or before basic.

 

[mariomike]

For reference, perhaps,

cant do 1 pushup basic?

will be merged with.

Pushups- Try Reading Here First- Merged Thread 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/13145.425
18 pages.

See also,

Extra weight 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/121440.0

Medical Standards are discussed below. As always, best to contact Recruiting.

Canadian Armed Forces Medical Standards (CFP 154)
http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/about-policies-standards-medical-occupations/index.page

I'm over-weight how much does it affect my recruitment 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/110389.0
2 pages.

can my weight affect my medical?
https://army.ca/forums/threads/120516.0

"overweight" women and applying 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/114465.0

Whats the height and weight requirement for females in the CF?
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/89279/post-876434.html#msg876434

Medical Standards - Weight 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/93013.0
2 pages.

Strange body shape or am I overweight? Need some help 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/27332.0/nowap.html
2 pages.

Forces "fat camp"
http://army.ca/forums/threads/113364.0

Body Fat 
https://army.ca/forums/threads/21881.0

Fat troops 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/1406.0
13 pages.

BMI
https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarmy.ca+weight&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=R5xvVtyWCoyN8QfehI6oAg&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+BMI

Fitness
https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarmy.ca+weight&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=vhhwVtTzGoqN8Qecp47gBg&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+fitness

Fat
https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarmy.ca+leadership&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=TC1wVujdAouN8Qf2uo7QAw&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+Fat

Physical Fitness (Jogging, Diet, Cardiovascular, and Strength )
http://army.ca/forums/threads/23364.0
20 pages.

Report suggests 3/4 of Canadian Forces personnel are overweight, obese 
http://milnet.ca/forums/threads/124420/post-1460730.html#msg1460730
3 pages.

etc...

he also told me to lie about past marajauna use and that they dont drug test you in or before basic.

Merged drugs thread (previous use, testing, etc.) 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/12779.0
46 pages.