So, how many pushups can you do?

As per the FM21-20 (Army Physical Fitness Manual):

“THE PUSH-UP EVENT MEASURES THE ENDURANCE OF THE CHEST, SHOULDER, AND TRICEPS MUSCLES. ON THE COMMAND ‘GET SET,’ ASSUME THE FRONT-LEANING REST POSITION BY PLACING YOUR HANDS WHERE THEY ARE COMFORTABLE FOR YOU. YOUR FEET MAY BE TOGETHER OR UP TO 12 INCHES APART. WHEN VIEWED FROM THE SIDE, YOUR BODY SHOULD FORM A GENERALLY STRAIGHT LINE FROM YOUR SHOULDERS TO YOUR ANKLES. ON THE COMMAND ‘GO,’ BEGINTHE PUSH-UP BY BENDING YOUR ELBOWS AND LOWERING YOUR ENTIRE BODY AS A SINGLE UNITUNTIL YOUR UPPER ARMS ARE AT LEAST PARALLEL TO THE GROUND. THEN, RETURN TO THE STARTING POSITION BY RAISING YOUR ENTIRE BODY UNTIL YOUR ARMS ARE FULLY EXTENDED. YOUR BODY MUST REMAIN RIGID IN A GENERALLY STRAIGHT LINE AND MOVE AS A UNIT WHILE PERFORMING EACH REPETITION. AT THE END OF EACH REPETITION, THE SCORER WILL STATE THE NUMBER OF REPETITIONS YOU HAVE COMPLETED CORRECTLY. IF YOU FAIL TO KEEP YOUR BODY GENERALLY STRAIGHT, TO LOWER YOUR WHOLE BODY UNTIL YOUR UPPER ARMS ARE AT LEAST PARALLEL TO THE GROUND, OR TOEXTEND YOUR ARMS COMPLETELY, THAT REPETITION WILL NOT COUNT, AND THE SCORER WILL REPEAT THE NUMBER OF THE LAST CORRECTLY PERFORMED REPETITION. IF YOU FAIL TO PERFORM THE FIRST TEN PUSH-UPS CORRECTLY, THE SCORER WILL TELL YOU TO GO TO YOUR KNEES AND WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT YOUR MISTAKESARE. YOU WILL THEN BE SENT TO THE END OF THE LINE TO BE RETESTED. AFTER THE FIRST 10 PUSH-UPS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED AND COUNTED, HOWEVER, NO RESTARTS ARE ALLOWED. THE TEST WILL CONTINUE, AND ANY INCORRECTLY PERFORMED PUSH-UPS WILL NOT BE COUNTED. AN ALTERED, FRONTLEANING REST POSITION IS THE ONLY AUTHORIZED REST POSITION. THAT IS, YOU MAY SAG IN THE MIDDLE OR FLEX YOUR BACK. WHEN FLEXING YOUR BACK, YOU MAY BEND YOUR KNEES, BUT NOT TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT YOU ARE SUPPORTING MOST OF YOUR BODY WEIGHT WITH YOUR LEGS. IF THIS OCCURS, YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE TERMINATED. YOU MUST RETURN TO, AND PAUSE IN, THE CORRECT STARTING POSITION BEFORE CONTINUING. IF YOU REST ON THE GROUND OR RAISE EITHER HAND OR FOOT FROM THE GROUND, YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE TERMINATED. YOU MAY REPOSITION YOUR HANDS AND/OR FEET DURING THE EVENT AS LONG AS THEY REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND AT ALL TIMES. CORRECT PERFORMANCE IS IMPORTANT. YOU WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES IN WHICH TO DO AS MANY PUSH-UPS AS YOU CAN. WATCH THIS DEMONSTRATION.”

That being said, be honest in your movement....no "worms", "neck-ups", "headbobbing". Make sure you go from full extension to breaking the 90 degree plane on your elbows.

In the two minutes my best was 127, but thats back when I was younger. I hold an average of 90-some now.
 
Before my shoulder surgery I did 126 at one time (contest at work). Now I can only do 40 before the shoulder starts acting up. When I did 126 I was lifting weights 6 days a week and weighed a bit less.
 
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slow static pushups tend to work you harder than aerobic speed pushups, where you can get some spring effect going..

i know several people who can "bob" out 70 in a minute, but can't do half that without significant effort

that's why antelopes BOUNCE :) it's efficient, but not strong.
 
David_Parker03 said:
Man, I'm weak as shit compared to you guys. I tap out at 15. I'm 6'4 and like 155lbs. I'm trying to build up my strength though. I do my 15 everymorning, and when I work out, its pushups, pullups, planks, mcGill curl-ups, squats and rows. And some dumbbell exercises...
Click to expand...

Starting Strength dude. Its the most simple weight routine ever and it works.

You can find the workout online for free and there's also the book that goes into more detail.

Another alternative that's very similar is StrongLifts 5X5 and it is free also.
 
ADDICTEDD said:
Starting Strength dude. Its the most simple weight routine ever and it works.

You can find the workout online for free and there's also the book that goes into more detail.

Another alternative that's very similar is StrongLifts 5X5 and it is free also.
Click to expand...

David-parker.........I had your build out of highschool 5'8 125lb but heavy lifting at the slaughterhouse and karate fixed that to 5'11 and 172lbs.

My suggestion for an ectomorph like yourself(me too) is to do not overtrain.....reduce your reps, increase the weight and TRAIN YOUR LEGS. That is the number one way to develop overall power and get some weight on to you. Cut way back on cardio....twice a week max and no 2hr sessions as your metabolism and body type burns calories like mad.

Focus on power lifting exercises with multijoint full body focus like squats, cleans etc. Dumbell curls make pretty biceps but won't put weight on or develop real power where it counts. All your real strength comes from the core.....legs, butt, abbs and back, plus that is where you really want to put your weight on anyways.

I could not get past 150lbs when around 21 until I did this. That and EAT man, 3 meals a day with 3 or 4 snackmeals in between, minimum of 30 grams protein with carbs 6 times a day. If 3 hours have gone by without eating your body will cannabilize all available calories before it ever gets to building muscle. Cut back on sugar and increase your complex carbs will help as well. Get out of the notion of low fat.....lots of healthy non-saturated fats is beneficial for a lean guy like yourself.

Hope this helps David, at 6'4 155lb you are running a risk of shoulder, back and knee damage relying only on tendon strength whenever high output work or play comes around. When I went from 150 to 172 in 2 years I could not believe how much energy I had left after 8 hrs of cutting meat, it got me back into martial arts again after a 3 year layoff due to work fatigue. My knee's and back stopped hurting after work when I put some power on my frame.

.......stop riding a chicken into battle my friend!!!!!

And the "hindu pushups" were an integral part of our karate class so......... "samurai pushups" was what we called them.

Bladite....completely agree on going slow and not "cheating" , the 45 I strained through yesterday were 2 seconds or so per rep. Nose to floor and slow up - slow down.
IMOP 10 pushups like this are worth 25 fast ones in terms of real strength building.
 
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My daughters were asking me about how to do pushups, so were all doing pushups in the living room, even Lady got down and busted out a few to see if she could do it. Then my Gurlz asked me how many I could do, so I told them to count them off.

I was really, really suprised at my count, 75. The last few hurt, but for the most part, I hit stride and kept pushin' floor.

I may be a fatass, but I can still gets my pushup on.

Moose
 
^ nice!

now since after surgery (diverticulitis surgery, removed a foot of colon) ill bet i cant do but 20 tops. i have lost 40lbs or so and a lot of muscle went. i am the weakest strength wise in a very very long time. basically i have to start from scratch. keep in mind i used to lift a lot of weights and could press 300+ lbs. now? ill be lucky to push 150. sad huh? however i am determined to get back into shape. its just gonna take a long damn time
 
I'm in the 50 to 70 range for slow and steady, 70 leaves me aching. I haven't done speed pushups in years. My question to you all is how many pull ups can you do? I am at 18. At the moment ..lol
 
Brad "the butcher";10573561 said:
David-parker.........I had your build out of highschool 5'8 125lb but heavy lifting at the slaughterhouse and karate fixed that to 5'11 and 172lbs.

My suggestion for an ectomorph like yourself(me too) is to do not overtrain.....reduce your reps, increase the weight and TRAIN YOUR LEGS. That is the number one way to develop overall power and get some weight on to you. Cut way back on cardio....twice a week max and no 2hr sessions as your metabolism and body type burns calories like mad.

Focus on power lifting exercises with multijoint full body focus like squats, cleans etc. Dumbell curls make pretty biceps but won't put weight on or develop real power where it counts. All your real strength comes from the core.....legs, butt, abbs and back, plus that is where you really want to put your weight on anyways.

I could not get past 150lbs when around 21 until I did this. That and EAT man, 3 meals a day with 3 or 4 snackmeals in between, minimum of 30 grams protein with carbs 6 times a day. If 3 hours have gone by without eating your body will cannabilize all available calories before it ever gets to building muscle. Cut back on sugar and increase your complex carbs will help as well. Get out of the notion of low fat.....lots of healthy non-saturated fats is beneficial for a lean guy like yourself.

Hope this helps David, at 6'4 155lb you are running a risk of shoulder, back and knee damage relying only on tendon strength whenever high output work or play comes around. When I went from 150 to 172 in 2 years I could not believe how much energy I had left after 8 hrs of cutting meat, it got me back into martial arts again after a 3 year layoff due to work fatigue. My knee's and back stopped hurting after work when I put some power on my frame.

.......stop riding a chicken into battle my friend!!!!!

And the "hindu pushups" were an integral part of our karate class so......... "samurai pushups" was what we called them.

Bladite....completely agree on going slow and not "cheating" , the 45 I strained through yesterday were 2 seconds or so per rep. Nose to floor and slow up - slow down.
IMOP 10 pushups like this are worth 25 fast ones in terms of real strength building.
Click to expand...


LOL we have very similar opinions on Strength Training :) SS is a 3x5 beginning powerlifting program.

Workout A:
Squats 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Workout B:
Squats 3x5
Press 3x5
Power Cleans 5x3

You do this 3x a week on non consecutive days so it be MWF ABA then MWF BAB and so on.

Each workout you add 5 lbs to your lifts and 10 on your Deadlifts.

Oh and its real squatting below parellel :)

This is the shortest I could condense it but you can look it up for greater detail or buy the book for even more detail (its by Mark Rippetoe btw)
 
ADDICTEDD said:
Squats 3x5
Click to expand...

just to verify, you mean 3 sets of 5 reps? yeah, probably, but i like to have same think :D

also, check out a book called "Body by Science"...

they have an interesting approach. 5 exercises. certain approach to doing them. range of movement is considered, as well as speed, which is basically quite slow, to failure. once a week, give or take, depending on recovery.

has information on eating as well. basically paleo/primal. no crap "food"...

thus far, i've just been tweaking the diet, and doing random kettle bells or BWE stuff, like squats and pushups. nothing crazy.

something i read the other week: a major name in running, that used to talk about carbo-loading/etc has had a complete 180 degree reversal on his eating plans - esp since he started coming down with what amount to diabetes :>
 
Bladite said:
just to verify, you mean 3 sets of 5 reps? yeah, probably, but i like to have same think :D

also, check out a book called "Body by Science"...

they have an interesting approach. 5 exercises. certain approach to doing them. range of movement is considered, as well as speed, which is basically quite slow, to failure. once a week, give or take, depending on recovery.

has information on eating as well. basically paleo/primal. no crap "food"...

thus far, i've just been tweaking the diet, and doing random kettle bells or BWE stuff, like squats and pushups. nothing crazy.

something i read the other week: a major name in running, that used to talk about carbo-loading/etc has had a complete 180 degree reversal on his eating plans - esp since he started coming down with what amount to diabetes :>
Click to expand...

Yes this it means 3 sets of 5 reps. The website (wiki page) goes really into depth but personally I really liked the book (boring but has so much detail it makes it impossible to fail).

The program itself does make you gain a lot of mass (if you've never trained like a power lifter before) but its main goal is to increase strength as quickly as possible (which it does really well).

Another cool thing is that in the author's actual website is that he has a forum that you can join and/or browse and (if you join) you can ask the author questions for free. Also, on his website he and a bunch of other notable strength training coaches (like Bill Starr for example) post pdf's that go into detail about training that are free also. My personal favorite is the one on conditioning because it talks about other forms of conditioning besides running.

Also another website where you can ask free questions about Strength and Conditioning is elitefts.net and they have a lot of articles that are very interesting that you can read for free, and another website with free articles on it is t-nation.com (basically those two websites are like fitness magazines but free and with more knowledgeable writers).

I really like paleo diets (meat = YUM! :) ) but in my current situation its kinda hard to because the food for the paleo diet cost more than eating unhealthily :P
The one thing I change when I follow the Paleo diet that I personally suggest is adding dairy.
 
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