Girl Push-Ups

[Radok]

Actually, the bodybuilder was kind of a joke, but still, women aren't nearly as heavy as men, on average. And you would seriously claim that punching power doesn't rely on upper body strength? That's laughable. to do a pushup, you basically bench press half your body weight. I don't think anyone who cannot bench half their body weight could punch very hard, regardless of perfect technique. Unless maybe they wiegh upwards of 400 pounds.

[shotochem]

I have been in my current dojo for years and I have not ever seen anyone do the "girl" push ups. When the new students come in they do the full push ups like everyone else. We get lots of practice. When upper ranks mess up we do 20-30. Lower ranks mess up do 10 and upper ranks also do 20-30. The punishment concept is just a fun way to do it. We will still do a good number each class regardless. It is very important for strenght and conditioning. For those who have trouble they do as many as they can until they build up their strenght. As they get stronger the quality and quantity of push ups gets better.

[AngelaG]

Actually, the bodybuilder was kind of a joke, but still, women aren't nearly as heavy as men, on average. And you would seriously claim that punching power doesn't rely on upper body strength? That's laughable. to do a pushup, you basically bench press half your body weight. I don't think anyone who cannot bench half their body weight could punch very hard, regardless of perfect technique. Unless maybe they wiegh upwards of 400 pounds.

 

I can bench press my entire body weight once and that's all I need for my one killer strike. Stamina is entirely different from strength in an instant. I can hit hard a few times, maybe after 10 I am getting out of breath, but if after 10 punches your opponent is still standing you are doing something wrong anyway!

 

Punching also comes more from the hips/legs than from upper body, and your legs are always going to be more powerful. Your hand/arm is just the weapon. Let the hips and legs do the work for you! (like a whip, all the work is done down at the handle, but the tip of the whip is the bit that hits and hurts!)

[White Warlock]

I can hit hard a few times, maybe after 10 I am getting out of breath, but if after 10 punches your opponent is still standing you are doing something wrong anyway!

Unless you're holding them up. http://www.alandfaraway.org/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_twisted.gif

[TheDevilAside]

Push-ups are a great way to develope explosive power (and there are varying types of push-ups that develop this even further).

 

OF COURSE punching power has to do with upper body strength. A jab doesn't come from your hips. Yes, just about every single part of your body takes part in the "punching process", but I wouldn't go as far to say that it all comes from the hips/legs, and your pecs, triceps, and biceps have nothing to do with it. Infact, I'd rely more on the power of my arm muscles in order to be able to sustain the punch.

Let the hips and legs do the work for you! (like a whip, all the work is done down at the handle, but the tip of the whip is the bit that hits and hurts!)

 

See, I wouldn't consider that to be a punch. I would consider to more of..... whip, no?

 

Let's not turn this into a guy vs. girl thing. The fact of the matter is, if you can't do one, standard pushup, you're in poor physical condition (or, like Radok said.. unless you weigh 480 and upwards. And even then, if you weigh 480, you're probably in poor physical condition.... or a giant). There's no excuse for it. Yes, you can compensate for lousy strength by having better technique. Yes, you can compensate for lousy technique by having better strength. Know what, though? If you work on both, you won't have to worry about compensation and you'll be a well-balanced martial artist.

 

...Start working on those pushups instead of posting up arguments up here for why it's harder for girls than it is for guys, or vice versa.

[AngelaG]

A jab doesn't come from your hips. .

 

Actually MY jab does come from the legs and hips. If yours doesn't then that's up to you. but I know which one I'd put on being more powerful because I bet you that my legs and hips are more powerful than your arms no matter how many push ups you can do!

 

Again as I mentioned before, it's also down to the individual. I can do loads of push ups from the knees and I can do loads of sit ups, I can do squat thrusts, burpees, stomach crunches, star jumps, row for hours but I have trouble with full on press ups.. Say what you want but I know I am not unfit and whether you like it or not an average female chest places a lot more weight on the push-up... It's pretty basic, even the armed forces and services don't make the females do the same amount of press-ups as guys.

 

Also as I said I know for a fact I hit pretty much the same strength as the rest of the guys as my instructor has a punch shield that measures the strength of strikes.

 

Push-ups are not the same as striking!!

[aes]

In our dojo males and females are expected to do full proper pushups. When we first start doing them, they don't expect you to be able to do 40 or 50, but want you to do as many proper ones as you can and always challenge yourself to do more.

 

"girl pushups" just don't give you enough resistance to gain the expected strength IMO.

 

When I started I could only do about 5 or so pushups. Now even when pretty tired I can do lots of them in a row.

[kbgirl]

Check out this link for strength training for women... I find it very informative.

 

http://www.stumptuous.com/

[TheDevilAside]

Say what you want but I know I am not unfit and whether you like it or not an average female chest places a lot more weight on the push-up

Comparitively to what I would expect from a martial artist is what I meant when I said "in poor physical condition". I should have clarified that. It's just my opinion that you should at least be able to push up yourrself at least once. It's not impossible, I'm sure you can achieve it.

 

Again, I realize that women have a heavier chest than we do, and again, I'm not comparing you to what other guys, I'm comparing you to other females. But hey, if you want to play like that, I can do a good amount of push ups with my buddy who weighs around 130 sitting on me

Also as I said I know for a fact I hit pretty much the same strength as the rest of the guys as my instructor has a punch shield that measures the strength of strikes.

And again, why the male vs. female comparison?

 

I think I'm going to start a new thread regarding this arm strength vs. leg strength when it comes to punching, if I can't find an already pre-existing one.

[AngelaG]

Say what you want but I know I am not unfit and whether you like it or not an average female chest places a lot more weight on the push-up

Comparitively to what I would expect from a martial artist is what I meant when I said "in poor physical condition". I should have clarified that. It's just my opinion that you should at least be able to push up yourrself at least once. It's not impossible, I'm sure you can achieve it.

I can do more than 1 full push-up. At no point have I said I can't. In fact I can do about 10 before I have to stop, but that's more to do with poorly wrists than anything else. BUT I do know men that can lift heavy weights, but cannot do push ups.

 

 

And again, why the male vs. female comparison?

Because the thread was about male/female push ups