Pushups are hard!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Van Patton]

I've been trying to get into better shape than what I am now. I'm 5'9", 190 lbs with a large frame and 16.5 years old. I can barely squeak out 10 pushups!!! I can max out at 135 lbs. which is not a lot at all but for never having worked out I'd say its decent. Do any of you all have tips on how to increase strength???

 

[Joseph S]

Push-ups are a piece of cake. It's those sit-ups that are a pain for me. Even when I was in good shape I still couldn't do the full ones very well.

Do any of you all have tips on how to increase strength???

Get a nice 3rd degree ankle sprain and use crutches for months on end. Worked for me
Gradually increase the weight every week and try to keep the reps/sets the same.

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

situps hurt my back so bad.

as far as pushups just keep at it you'll get better if you keep trying, just push yourself a bit farther each time

 

[Michael Warner]

Everyone's built differently. I've always had to work much harder at push-ups and pull-ups but I can drop and do 200+ sit-ups anytime (not that it's a whole lot of fun or anything). Keep working at it but don't push too far too fast as a shoulder injury takes forever to heal.

 

[MickeS]

I never work out or anything else, but I started doing pushups twice a day a while ago. When I started, I could barely do 10, but now I do 50, with continual increases when I feel it's starting to get easier. It's so damn incredibly boring though...

It has made quite a difference for my chest and upper arms too, I was really surprised.

Sit-ups are the worst though, I can't do more than 5 without my back hurting. I stick to crunches.

/Micke

 

[Yoshi Sugawara]

Yeah push-ups are really hard in the beginning, but if you keep doing them continually, it gets easier.

I remember I could barely do 10, but after a few months, I was able to do 100 - just takes a little persistence.

I haven't actually worked out in a long time, maybe I should start again...

 

[LawrenceZ]

You can try the link I posted at the bottom there. Slow weight training is incredibly difficult starting out and you'll probably want a partner to help, but you'll see huge increases in strength and muscular endurance in a fairly short time frame.
http://www.mensjournal.com/mindBody/...wtraining.html

 

[NickSo]

heh.. im 15, turning 16 in 2 days, and im a skinny noodle-armed kid. I took a fitness and health class at school, it made kind of a diff, but yeah, im still skinny and noodle-armed.

I can do quite a few pushups (about 30) though. But im incredibly light for my size (coz im so skinny), so i guess my pecs and arms could handle it.

For situps, its a breeze. I've always had pretty good abs. You can see them when i flex. Though my chest is much less impressive. Though i cant do 200+, i could do like 50 fast situps on an incline, and more on a flat surface, assuming the ground is padded. Doing situps on hard floor hurts my tailbone so much.

Im really trying to work my arms and chest, but damn, working out alone is so boring... Im too lazy to work out on my own set of hand-me-down dumbells i got from my cousin, and when im working out in gym class, i dont push myself as hard, i dunno why. I guess its coz i dont want all the hot girls there (which by the way, could kick my puny little ass, all of them) to see me straining when working on the pec machine with 10kg of weights. :p)

 

[Chuck C]

If it's more push-ups you wanna do, screw it!, it's all about the big chest, and I suggest getting good at the 15+ chest exercises provided the machinery that weight rooms and gyms offer.

***warning....Don't get crazy just yet, you're only 16½ and you'll probably grow another few inches. Building muscle around growth plates can destroy this natural process. Unless you wanna stay at 5'9" all your life, hold off on my philosophy above.***

That said, maybe do three sets of push-ups two or three times a week, space the days apart equally. If you do them everyday, you're on the slow boat to increasing total reps; you're gonna need time to heal. Push-ups are not only good for the pecs, they have a positive effect on the triceps, shoulders, and upper back. Get back to me in a 2-3 years if you wanna take it several steps further and get on a split-routine program to build up the rest of your body, and I'll give you info that'll save you $2,000.

 

[Denward]

I've read in many places that the full, conventional sit-up is not a good exercise. The initial motion of lifting your shoulders 3-4 inches off the ground works your abs, but going from there to touching your elbows to your knees is mostly quads. Doing the initial motion does just as much for your abs. The rest of it causes trouble for people prone to back pain.