push ups

[Everyones Favourite Ninj]

hi all,

 

our gym never puts too much into doing push-ups yet i have to do 75 push ups (3 sets of 25 with 20secs rest) within a few weeks to get into the next grade and I can only do 30 straight ones.

 

So whats the best/fastest way of increasing the amount of push ups one can do? Any suggestions will be nicely appreciated thankyou

[Pacificshore]

Do them everyday and increase them as you go them each time.

[Jack]

Do you think you can do 3 sets of 25, with one minute break between them? If so, do so. Then lower the break time 5-10 seconds every time until you've gotten to, say, a 10 second break. Then the twenty second break will be easy.

 

Do them four times a week, for example Monday and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Doing them every single day intensely may lead to overtraining.

 

 

[Bon]

I'd recomend doing 2-3 sets a day and getting some protein.

 

 

[Eye of the Tiger]

3 days of the week. Monday, wednesday, friday, leaving one day intervals for your body to relax and biuld up more muscle tissue. Do 25 and rest fir 1 minute and then slowly decrease the waiting time as you train. Also dont eat fatty foods as this will muck up your muscles. Eat foods with plenty of protein carbohydates. Probobly the best strengh diets is to eat lean meats with lettuce, this will keep you very strong but wont increase any flab or put on much weight, and also very healthy.

 

hope this helps

 

 

[Knuth]

Do resistance training (bench press, etc). If you can't than when ever you have a spare minute drop and max-out with reps.

 

Along with protien take in carbs. You cannot signifigantly gain streangth without both. Meat is a poor source of carbs. A perfect meal would be a decent size portion of meat(beef, chicken, etc), a large potatoe, and some sort a veggie if you like. A good breakfast would be as many eggs as you want(at least 5) and a bagel. Before your test take in a lot of carbs(a pasta dinner would be ideal).

 

P.S. With exercises like pushups there is no need to take days off. If you incorperate weight to them then do rest.

 

Good luck

 

_________________

 

Semper Fi

 

[ This Message was edited by: Knuth on 2002-06-15 12:34 ]

[Bitseach]

Some people suggest doing as many as you physically can, then rest for a short period, then do as many as you can (this will be fewer of course!) then rest again and do a third time. Do this every other day as the muscles will need a day at least to recover and rebuild.

 

Compensate by doing other back exercises - eg seated row, back extensions, "Supermans", sit-ups etc otherwise your posture will be ruined by too much pectoral/deltoid development.

 

How fussy are they about exact positioning during the test? I was just thinking that you could perhaps do one of the sets with wide hands - more on the pecs, another set with the arms a bit closer - less pectoral, more triceps, etc. (or is that kind-of cheating?!?)

 

 

[KickChick]

More tips here!

 

http://www.karateforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=738&forum=19

 

 

[Ti-Kwon-Leap]

I would recommend doing pushups only twice a week, evenly spaced for maximum recovery. one day should be a "heavy" day where you would do three sets (to failure)

 

with hands spaced close, medium, and wide.

 

The other day would be a "light" day where your sets would not go anywhere near failure.

 

This type of "cycling" has been proven in all sorts of strength training.

 

Since we are martial artists and not bodybuilders I would suggest training for explosive power (pushing up as quickly as you can) on the raising motion and a slower "shock-absorber" controlled lowering motion. For an extra blast, have a training partner try to push you down while you resist.

 

The variations KickChick suggested in the above thread are an excellent way to keep the muscles "confused" thus spurring continued gains in strength and adaptability.

 

_________________

 

"It is not enough to aim, you must hit."

 

-Italian Proverb

 

[ This Message was edited by: Ti-Kwon-Leap on 2002-06-18 14:11 ]