One hundred push ups

[Blueberry]

Wall push ups. Seriously.

Any good resources on technique?? I tried what I thought was correct, and didn't really feel any resistance. I'm also doing light arm weights - but I don't think that will be enough to seriously help the lack of push up ability.

CA

[SadieKate]

Did you read this? I like Kim's idea of a fitness ball also. I have to protect my shoulder but I know some kind of pushups will help.

http://www.hundredpushups.com/what.html

[Blueberry]

Did you read this? I like Kim's idea of a fitness ball also. I have to protect my shoulder but I know some kind of pushups will help.

http://www.hundredpushups.com/what.html

Yep. I need to do some searching on the fitness ball style - that could be the way to go for me (until I build up strength).

CA

[snapdragen]

Any good resources on technique?? I tried what I thought was correct, and didn't really feel any resistance. I'm also doing light arm weights - but I don't think that will be enough to seriously help the lack of push up ability.

CA

From SparkPeople.com:

Starting Position
Start facing wall, arms length away, feet slightly apart, legs straight (but knees not locked). Place hands onto wall, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

Action
EXHALE: Keeping head in neutral position, bend elbows to lower head/chest toward wall, coming as close as you can to it but not touching it.

INHALE: Straighten arms and return to starting position for one rep.

Special Instructions
The further your feet are away from the wall, the more difficult this exercise will be. Also be sure not to lock knees or elbows.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...p?exercise=107

[SouthernBelle]

Reporting in.

I started this morning! I'm so pathetic.

Question: I'm right-handed so my right arm is stronger than my left. I find my weight migrating over my right arm. I can't seem to prevent this. Do you think time will cure it? Should I think about something extra on an off-day, maybe a one-armed wall push up for the left??

[kelownagirl]

I met the guy who created this website on Twitter and started doing the pushups at the end of July. Got t the 3rd week around my tri date and then quit for awhile. I'm going to start again at week 2 now I think.

Interesting tidbit - Steve was recently approached to do a book on the idea. He's negotiating with them right now.

[OakLeaf]

Question: I'm right-handed so my right arm is stronger than my left. I find my weight migrating over my right arm.

Do them on a wobble board. It's easy enough to make one at home from a piece of 3/4" plywood, about 3' x 1', with a 2x2 fastened along the center (going the short direction). When you do them, be sure your hands are centered around the fulcrum. That's almost surely going to reduce the number you can do, but you can be sure you're not getting a side-to-side imbalance. For extra credit, do them with your feet on another wobble board

For those of you using SportTracks, just thought I'd share.... By using "My Friends'" the numbers don't interfere with the cycling or running stats, and you can still run activity reports.

What happens if you make a category under your own activities? How does it mess up the cycling/running stats?

Everything I've read says no lower than a 90 degree bend to the elbow to prevent improper stress to the shoulders....
Anyone heard anything else?

I think as long as you don't bring your elbows behind your spine, you're okay (provided you aren't sinking into your shoulders, which should be avoided anyhow). That isn't always going to be 90°, depending on your hand position and radius/humerus ratio. When we do fitness testing in our gym, we have the participant touch their chin to our fist, held vertically so the little finger's on the floor and their chin touches our thumb - that's about 4" off the floor. But maybe one of the PTs will weigh in on this?

I got home real late last night so I will start tonight. Gives me a warm up before my planned run tonight.

That's funny, I used my run to warm up for the push-ups


Okay... I wasn't sure whether to start at Week 1 regardless of how many push-ups I could do to begin with? Since Yellow did, so am I I didn't bother with an initial test, even though I hadn't maxed out in years, simply because I have a general idea of how many I could do.

10-10-8-6-26

Do I get extra credit for the set of 10 I did right after my run, when I was planning to do the whole five sets, but then DH showed up to pick me up and I didn't want to keep him waiting?

[SadieKate]

What happens if you make a [SportTracks] category under your own activities? How does it mess up the cycling/running stats?

The best place to enter PUs is in the mileage column so that you can run activitiy reports showing frequency and totals.

If you do this under your own activities, the PUs add to your mileage at zero speed and falsly increase ride/run/swim frequency. SportTracks is really focused on events that have distance or speed attached, but apparently the enhancement to use for stationary workout activities has been requested.

None of this may be important to you . . .

[SadieKate]

I think as long as you don't bring your elbows behind your spine, you're okay (provided you aren't sinking into your shoulders, which should be avoided anyhow). That isn't always going to be 90°, depending on your hand position and radius/humerus ratio. When we do fitness testing in our gym, we have the participant touch their chin to our fist, held vertically so the little finger's on the floor and their chin touches our thumb - that's about 4" off the floor. But maybe one of the PTs will weigh in on this?

Okey-dokey, a good reason for large boobs and doing PUs bra-less!

[OakLeaf]

Any good resources on technique?? I tried what I thought was correct, and didn't really feel any resistance. I'm also doing light arm weights - but I don't think that will be enough to seriously help the lack of push up ability.

As Snap said, try standing farther away from the wall. Because your body will actually be moving in an arc, be sure you place your hands where they will be under your shoulders when you're closest to the wall, not when you're standing up to begin the movement. Don't bring your shoulders closer to the wall than your elbows.

Most of the form tips for wall push-ups are the same as for doing them horizontally. Practice plank position - with a mirror or an observer - to strengthen your core and get the idea of how your body should feel while doing push-ups.

You can also do push-ups with your legs on a stability ball. This gives you the ability to micro-adjust your fulcrum and gradually roll out to a longer lever as you get stronger. Again, as with any type of decline push-up, don't bring your shoulders below your elbow level (unless you've been cleared to do that by a PT or a qualified trainer, and you can do it without pain or instability in your shoulders).

Of course the weight work will help, as long as you keep increasing the weights. The main difference between bench presses and push-ups is the secondary muscles that get used (more central core in push-ups, more shoulder stabilizers and obliques in bench presses, particularly dumbbell presses) - the load on the triceps and pecs is very similar. There's a slight difference because of the way your body becomes the radius of an arc during a push-up, so a mix of regular and decline bench presses would be the best simulation.

I use small dumbbells so I can keep my wrists fairly straight during push ups. I figure that riding plus computers has given me a fairly significant case of carpal tunnel. Bending the wrist back (as in normal push ups) is tough on the nerves.

That works, or with a lesser case of weak wrists, try splaying your fingers out and using your whole hands to distribute the weight, rather than putting it all in the heel of your hand.


Geez, I'm hanging around this thread so much I apparently have a secret desire to do the program Okay, okay, provided I don't go through with the surgery (which I'm making a final decision later this week after talking to a couple more people), I'm in. Start tomorrow

[jobob]

Geez, I'm hanging around this thread so much I apparently have a secret desire to do the program

You're doing very nicely as our coach.

(And best wishes on the surgery decision.)

[Grog]

Did week 1, day 1 today.

Initial test result = 8

So I did
7-7-5-4-7 = 30

It is not easy (euphemism).

My wrists hurt a little but they will toughen up as they have in the past (although I might repeat week 1 to make sure I don't hurt myself.

This makes running an interval session attractive.

[sundial]

Ok, I did the test and did 20. My elbow pops each time I dip down and it always has--even in gym class in grade school. Should I do the wall push-ups? The elbow thing is kinda uncomfortable.

[SadieKate]

Week 1, day 1, Level 1 (using @15" high bench)
Initial test result = 5
2-2-2-2-6 = 14

[SadieKate]

For those of you using SportTracks, just thought I'd share. I set up categories under "My Friends' Activities" for "core work: pushups" and "core work: yoga" to track these. The pushup count goes in mileage and the yoga practice time is recorded manually.

By using "My Friends'" the numbers don't interfere with the cycling or running stats, and you can still run activity reports.