Pushups- Try Reading Here First- Merged Thread

[skura]

If you do end up at a gym, or even with your own weights at home...there's exercises you can do to improve your triceps that will increase your push up numbers such as; tricep extentions, skull crushers, tricep pulldowns, and a few more.   Then there are all the other push up variations (legs on the bed / arms on the bed, push up poker etc.)...you just have to find an exercise that works best for you, do it, and watch your numbers go up.   Worked for me at least.

Good luck

 

[DrSize]

Pushups are extremely hard on the joints(elbows and shoulders).  I do not recommend doing them over a long period of time but really start to hammer them out the weeks leading up to your fitness test.  A good way to develop the muscles used for pushups is by doing benchpress.  Hold the bar with your hands the same distance apart as you would use for pushups....

 

[Armymedic]

Pushups are extremely hard on the joints(elbows and shoulders). I do not recommend doing them over a long period of time but really start to hammer them out the weeks leading up to your fitness test. A good way to develop the muscles used for pushups is by doing benchpress. Hold the bar with your hands the same distance apart as you would use for pushups....

Bang on.

any shoulder, tricep and/or chest exercise weight training will help improve them. Increasing your overall upper body strength will improve your push ups.
As a goal you should be able to bench your own weight about 5-8 times.

 

[skura]

It'd be an accomplishment to bench your own weight even once...at least it's that way for me and most of the other guys in my weight training class.  In a class of about 25 - 30 guys only (I'd say) about 5 or 7 (I wasn't one of them) could benchpress their own weight, 2 or 3 more then once.  But as soonas you get it once, the second, third, fourth etc. reps will start to come (as long as you continue in your training).

 

[DrSize]

Wow thats rough...I guess you are still young so it should rapidly increase once you start training seriously.  I am 6'3 285lbs and can benchpress 315lbs 12 times....the majority of my friends and people that train seriously at the gym do not have much problem benchpressing their bodyweight for reps...any active athletic male that trains should be able too....

Now benchpressing 2x your bodyweight is a feat...(a few of my buddies can ie 200lb bodyweight 405lb benchpress)

 

[NavyGrunt]

Im 6'3" 230 I bench well over my own weight.....I agree with DrSize if you cant bench your own weight their is a serious problem. You push yourself out of bed right? ;D

 

[Pte. Bloggins]

Im 6'3" 230 I bench well over my own weight.....I agree with DrSize if you cant bench your own weight their is a serious problem. You push yourself out of bed right? ;D

Now I have no clue how easy/hard it is for you gentlemen to bench your own weight, but I don't even come close. And I can pop off pushups no problem...but bench presses seem to be different somehow...

 

[Alex252]

When i do pushups in gym class my teacher tells us to get a partner and have them put a clenched fist ontop of the other. I can do 39 of these. Is this the proper way?

 

[D-n-A]

When i do pushups in gym class my teacher tells us to get a partner and have them put a clenched fist ontop of the other. I can do 39 of these. Is this the proper way?

No, the way I've done it in the military and testing is, you go all the way down(chest hits the ground), or have buddy put one fist under you chest and you have to go down an touch it with your chest.

 

[civvy3840]

I believe I have seen this on army.ca before but couldn't find it when I did a search. In my gym class we do push ups with our hands just outside the shoulders then go down until our arms are at 90 degrees. When I do this my chest is about 1 inch from the ground. I can do 35 of those before my arms give out. I have heard other places that to do a proper push up you have to have your hands right under your shoulders and go until your chest just touches the floor then go back up. I tried this at home and only managed 10 beforemy arms are really tired but at a push I can just make 19. This to me is unexceptable. I shoud be able to do more than this. So if you guys can tell me which is the proper way to do a push up and some excercises that work to improve my strength it would be appreciated. Also I am under wieght so that may have something to do with it.

thanks 

 

[Big Foot]

The way they make us do it here at RMC is that only part of your hand is under your shoulders, going down so that your elbows are in line with your shoulder blades.

 

[armygal]

You read correctly.  The hands have to be under the shoulders.  I know that this hard, because when I first found out I was doing them wrong and did them the right way I was only able to do 7 and that was unacceptable for my standards as well, but with hard work and persistence I was able to do 15 of them at my physical test which is not too bad I guess since I only needed to do 7.  Good luck with that and don't beat yourself up over it.  It will come to you.

 

[civvy3840]

Does anyone have any good excercises to improve your upper body strength or even entire body strength? Also does being under wieght effect how strong you are/ can be?

 

[The_Falcon]

This has all been discussed before, you didn't search hard enough (considering the first sticky thread in this area will more than likely have the answers you are looking for).   When it comes to giving advise to PT programs, it is an individual matter.   Go speak to your gym teacher and ask them, or join a reputable gym and speak to a knowledgable personal trainer.   People here will offer you all sorts of advice, but most of what they know only applies to themselves, and in most case have neither the training or knowledge to be dispensing advice on phyical fitness.

 

[logoboat]

Ok, this problem isn't recent but its becoming more chronic and i currently have no time to go see a doctor about it. While doing larger amounts of consecutive pushups palms to the floor, i get a stabbing pain in my wrist right at the base of the Ulna. this used to be only in my left wrist which I've broken 3 times in the past, but now its in both wrists and its also starting to happen when I'm in the gym as well, mainly while doing benchpress. I'm now to the point with pushups that i can do 50 or more pushups consecutively in good form, but I'm having to stop from this pain before i have to stop from exhaustion. i can fight through the pain and keep going, its really not that excruciating but I'm worried that i might be doing major damage to my wrist. my question is has anyone else experienced this problem? if so what can i do to stop it? i feel its hindering my potential for a personal fitness level.

 

[nULL]

Don't seek medical advice from this type of forum. Go see a doctor.

"Fight through the pain?" Are you trying to get carpal tunnel syndrome?

 

[logoboat]

I'm nott seeking medical advice as i said in the post, i havent had the time to go see a doctor in the last little while, didint say i wasn't going to eventual. I'm just wondering if its a common problem, since pushups are putting strain on joints it might be something common if it is, maybe i dint need to go see a doctor just get a wrist brace or something. and i tend to over exaggerate circumstances, so the "fight through the pain" is really more of a discomfort than real pain, but it makes me worry about damaging my wrist so i stop when it occurs.

 

[agent911]

Hey, im experiencing the exact same thing right now. Im kind of worried about it because I cant do push ups with them really hurting. The area I get the pain is if my hand was laying palms down   its on the top of my wrist on the inside, below my thumb tendonds in the wrist joint. I have a feeling it may be tendonitis. Im going to see my doctor on monday to see what the deal is. I researched it a little on the internet, what causes it is your carpel tunnell is to tight around your tendons causing chaffing or rubbing of the two and apparently you can get surgery for it, but seeing as I have BMQ in three weeks, I dont think thats an option. Secondly you can get a shot of cortozone in your wrists, apparently this relieves pain in the affected area for up to 3 months. However I have heard some things about negative long term effects, anyone know of these for sure?
Either way I would take it easy on your wrists as I have been doing, and if you would like to continue doing pushups, dont lay on your palms but instead make a fist. works if your on mat or something. and it even works your arms harder I find.

 

[Hedgehog18]

just figured i would asked a push up question here... when doing push ups at basic are they really picky about having your arms clsoe to your sides ... my arms are just not ment to do that lol

howie

 

[MikeM]

They will show you the proper way, and everyone will do them that way.

The PSP staff are picky about pushups.