Pushups

SheWolf

Cathlete
Help Cathe,

It seems no matter how hard I train, doing straight leg push ups still allude me. I can do about 8 then its a complete struggle from there. Is it my shoulder strenght that is the problem? Please help!
What can I do to improve this?

Linda
 
I have this same problem and picked up this suggestion on this forum (I'm pretty sure) many months ago and it has worked for me. Do as many as you can on the floor/straight leg, then do more on a step bench with straight legs. You can lower the bench and increase the reps as your strength increases and you will more than likely also be able to increase the number you can do on the floor. I am still not able to do as many as I would like but have definitley made major progress by using this technique. Initiallly I could barely do one or two on the floor and now I can do up to 15 if I'm not too tired when I start. Good luck.
 
I have the same problem.

Your solution sounds interesting. One question: do you put your hands on the step (i think an "incline" pushup) or do you put your feet on the step (i think a "decline" pushup)?

Thanks!
 
Put your hands on the step. If you were to put your feet on the step & hands on the floor, it would actually be HARDER than doing them on the floor. OH THAT WE COULD ALL DO THOSE WITH CATHE!!!! LOL
 
In addition to the suggestions already noted, I would suggest going ahead and trying a few (couple, one!) push-ups with your toes on the step and your hands on the floor. These do indeed feel harder than standard push-ups with hands/feet on the floor, or hands on the step bench, because they're targeting the pecs higher up. And, when you feel really enterprising, try one or two with your feet on an even higher elevation, to hit the upper portion of the pecs as well, as well as recruiting the anterior deltoids more. If you start to insert more challenging variations in bits and pieces, you'll be able to develop the endurance you need for standard push-ups much faster.

Another thing you may want to try is varying the width of your hand placement. The wider your hand placement, the more the pecs are recruited; the narrower your hand placement, the more your triceps are recruited. A good mix of these will increase your endurance even more.

Push-ups are worth the effort, both for the pec / anterior delt / triceps work you get as well as the core stability work you get (not to mention static training for the thighs and calves!). Good luck!

A-jock
Love dem decline push-ups
}(
 
Thanks for the suggestions. How often should I pratice these? It is also nice to know that I am not alone with this problem.

Linda
 

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