How to increase the number of push-up?

[tmd]

There's great benefit to be had from doing a set of all round exercises everyday (pref morning) especially if you can only get to the dojo twice a week. My favourite is 100 push ups, 200 crunches and 100 squats or squat kicks. Gets me going for the day, and I think this covers most of the body?

When I was looking to get ready for a tourney I raised this to 200,400,200. This was harder mentally more than physically as when I got to my 'normal' number my brain would be shouting 'stop you fool you've finished!' It is this you need to overcome, and as I’m sure you already know it is one extra rep at a time - try setting your target 3-5 above the norm and see that you don't do an extra one; another way is to max out and then drop to your knees and do the extra five ‘lighter’ similar to a pyramid weight training system.


With regards to original question of how many a guide is your next grading number? i.e. if you are supposed to be doing 50 press ups seiken and 10 on your fingers for your next grading – if you do this everyday it’s one less thing to concern yourself with at the grading!

The everyday question, these are isometric exercises not muscle building exercises, they make the muscle tissue stronger rather than shedding it and forcing a repair as with muscle building exercises which need a rest period.

[cooper_543]

I'm sorry if this is the innaproptriate thread, but when you talk about squats is the form just like a squat with a barbell? I don't do weighted squats anymore because of my knees, but I guess added body weight squats to my workout sounds good.

[EddieP]

you need the rest it's good...do it 3 times a weekinstead, and Satori is pretty much on the money.

[nangoushuujin]

Once when I was younger I did pushups everyday and over a period of three months worked up to around 50-60 pushups.

At that time I wasnt training in kyokushin didnt even know it existed. However I was doing a chinese boxing style supposedly based around the teaching of Bruce Lee. We had a series of push ups exercises that really helped my upper body strength and consequently my push up total. it went something like this:

shotei pushups around 30
knuckle push ups 10
finger push ups 10
downward facing dog hands in a triangle postion 10
clapping pushups 10 (plyometric)
one hand push ups working toward ten but you started at 3, then aimed for 5
total 90 pushups (dont forget 10 on each hand is 20)
We had a a time limit of 3 minutes

Another variation is knuckle-fingers-knuckle etc (this is a variation of a clap push and is also plyometric)

Over time you just started in the knuckle postion and went through to 40-50 (it was quicker) and then started the other styles of pushups.

Once you could do all of them then you elevated your feet and started again.

I cant do it anymore but when I could I was strong!

I think doing that sort of training where you varied the type of pushups by increasing the difficult makes normal pushups easier. Around this time I could do 100 pushups in a row or more. However doing the same thing can get a little boring and using the other pushup styles can make your body stronger in different ways.

After all that is the purpose of strength training.

Osu

[dimi_108]

nice guide there paedde might have print it out and try it next week
but i think you should try bench pressing to compliment your training
i found myself able to do more push ups after 2 months of using the bench press and using free weights for dumbell fly's every second week

might want to give that a go

[Kenpo4life]

If more pushups is what you want, try practicing them with a weighted vest on. If you can rock pushups with it on, you will b a champ without.

[Brad]

funny this is about push ups because last night i was used as an example of how to do good push ups on the nuckles. I felt very privilege and i was happy to be made an example because of my kyokushinkai back ground.

[kyokugirl]

push up strength comes from punching aswell as practise! one of our shihans here recently said to us that as soon as you feel like your about to give in- thats when you start! easier said than done but might be helpful to think about! my push ups are terrible its def my biggest weakness but ive def found that the harder and stronger ive practised my punches the easier they have become! also if your practising them for a grading you should practise them when tired because your arms are likely to be tired by the time grading day comes if its anything like here lol good luck!
osu

[EddieP]

there is no real science or anything to this...it's really simple...I've had people who couldn't do 10 pushups....then after they did what I told them...they were able to do 80 at one time.

this is what I do....and it's extremely simple:

150 pushups EVERYDAY...not at once, but anywhere you are find a quiet spot, and just do 10 or 20 here and there...after a while...you'll be a pushup GOD!!!!!!

sometimes if I feel good I'll bang out 50 in one shot during lunch time...

start with a total number that you can work with...mine is 150....so start with like 50 a day....even 150 is not alot, but it's good enough for me. lol

OSU!!!

Eddie P.

[Mike95765]

I'm working hard now to get fit or in some semblance of a shape that does not require Pi to compute my size. So I set some goals and in the process of doing so found this cool site at hundredpushups.com It's all free and worth the visit.

Years ago without grey hair and when I trained diligently I would make a calendar and on the first day I started my pushup quest I set the number of perfect pushups I could do. Then I would add 1 on each weekday and record my progress. I found it easier to do this first thing in the morning. Somehow it's easier to procrastinate after the day wears on or training takes a back seat to the activities necessary to keep a job and the boss happy. On the weekends I would do three sets or five sets of what I left off at on Friday. On Monday--I added another, then 1 on each subsequent work day. In 12 weeks time I was well over a 100 and my suit coats were a bit tighter. I still have that problem with suits... but lately it's at the waist instead of the chest.

Pushups during commercials are a great way to watch a football game. Every commercial (not each commercial break--each product or thing being advertised) gets 10 pushups and you can't do the same type of pushup in a row. One commercial do standard pushups, then knuckle, then diamond (close hands) the japanese (dive bombers or something like a downward dog to cobra and back), mae-geri then push-up and up agin for the other side to kick and down, etc., and then static holds somewhere between a straight arm plank and the floor. I also like adding a t-stand to alternating sides after each rep. Those will make you sweat a bit during the game. The variations are only limited by our creativity.

Of course there are so many variations using equipment and if you have a swiss ball or a medicine ball you can use them as well. With a swiss ball either on one end or the other, and you can get some core work in by putting the swiss ball under your feet and doing a pike as you finish the rep back up. One of my favorites was putting a medicine ball under just one hand and doing a lop-sided two handed pushup, then before the next rep at the top of the plank, roll the ball to the other hand and down again. Your making great progress if you can do ten then do a static low plank on the ground for a minute (body two inches from the ground in perfect low plank) at the end of your set. You can do the same thing with a bongo board which in pinch you can make with a dough roller and a 24-32" 2x4. As you go down with your hands at each end you slowly balance on the board as it rolls from one side to the other during each part of the rep.

Right now I'm slowing building to 100; one day and one rep at a time.

I'd like to hear how everyone else works at staying fit or getting fit with everything that competes for our attention.

Osu!

Mike

It's now or it's never now again.



EDIT: I edited the link in. If this was the wrong link, please let me know! ~ Nix

[tmd]

Really nice way to builtd them Mike - great post and advice but what if you hate Football?

[EddieP]

a lot of people have different ways of building their pushups, but i have a way to increase the number of pushups, and your strength within a month. in one month I went from doing 65 pushups to doing 90 with a fresh body (meaning no other exercises before). the way I did this was increase my back strength, and use different part of my body during normal pushups.
in order to do this I have to do about 10 different kinds of pushups...offset, diamond wide angle, finger, pharos, incline, decline, decline offset, one armed, and more. After doing these different kinds of pushups, and putting tension on one particular area each time...the muscles developed very very fast. so when I do normal pushups...I use my shoulders initially to do about 40...once that gets tired I switch my muscle group to my chest, after about 20 of those I then go to my arm muscles for another 20, and after I have exhausted all three, I use all three together for the final. This is all done internally meaning you can't see me switch the muscle group I’m using, and the transition is fluid and flawless. doing different kinds of pushups developed my upper-body tremendously...most people just do normal pushups to try to develope...well it's good, but not going to help you increase that number much.

[Mike95765]

TMD, not a Manchester United fan? There's always cricket although I wouldn't know how. I guess you could do 10 per run...but that would be quite a workout some days.

[Mike95765]

Eddie, I agree that you can use a variety of methods to increase strength and endurance. I like the incline/decline offset you mention and I like using a swiss ball to add instability to it. Also adding plyometric principals to the mix provides additional benefits as well. The ole standing push-up with a clap of the hands at the top of the rep used to a favorite of one of my instructors and can be punishing to add at the end of a class for us middle-age guys.

Mike
It's now or it's never now again.

What's a pharo?

[meguro]

Originally Posted by EddieP

a lot of people have different ways of building their pushups, but i have a way to increase the number of pushups, and your strength within a month. in one month I went from doing 65 pushups to doing 90 with a fresh body (meaning no other exercises before).

Osu! Eddie, that's the tricky part: doing 100 push-ups when you're not fresh. There are lots of ways to get 100 push-ups when you are rested; GTG, comes to mind. I've never gotten to the point where I can crank out 100 with a tired body. That's something to work on for me.

[Dent]

Osu!

Originally Posted by meguro

I've never gotten to the point where I can crank out 100 with a tired body. That's something to work on for me.

I'm not sure we're supposed to be able to, Meguro. I think the idea is that the fitter we get, the more we push ourselves in class, so that we're still about a wet towel away from finished by the end, no matter how fit we were to start.

Osu!

[meguro]

Originally Posted by Dent

Osu!



I'm not sure we're supposed to be able to, Meguro. I think the idea is that the fitter we get, the more we push ourselves in class, so that we're still about a wet towel away from finished by the end, no matter how fit we were to start.

Osu!

Osu!Dent, I agree with this sentiment in general. However, I have witnessed others crank out 100 push-ups after kihon and kata (promotions), machine-like. One time, during a nidan-testing, the candidate who had his broken arm in a cast, was asked to stop after 100 reps lest he injure himself further.

The funny thing is, 100 push-ups is a muscle endurance attribute that runs counter to what a striker would need-explosive strength. Going through the ordeal of training to do 100, whilst training to be a better striker becomes as much spirit training as physical. My problem, as I mentioned before, is that the spirit is willing, the flesh otoh. . .

[Dent]

Osu!

Originally Posted by meguro

My problem, as I mentioned before, is that the spirit is willing, the flesh otoh. . .

Anyone who is doing all those lifts, presses and km of rowing is quite able to do the push ups. It may just be that your arms are too long!

Osu!

[BigAl]

Originally Posted by homer_simpson

Osu!

I can't seem to get beyond 50-55 reps push-up in a single stretch. I have been doing daily push-up (except on Sunday), minimum 2 sets x 50 reps .. sometimes more. I have tried doing mini-reps as well (many sets of 25 reps ... up to 200-300 reps a day) and it does not seem to help.

Any idea?

Thanks.

If you have a pretty flexible schedule, you can try the "Hit the Deck!" push-up routine. It's a quick two week program that should show you some big improvement.

MON. 100% (max test); 30% for your sets. Set frequency: 60 min.
TUE. 50%. Set frequency: 60 min.
WED. 60%. Set frequency: 45 min.
THU. 25%. Set frequency: 60 min.
FRI. 45%. Set frequency: 30 min.
SAT. 40%. Set frequency: 60 min.
SUN. 20%. Set frequency: 90 min.

MON. 100% (max test); 35% for your sets. Set frequency: 45 min.
TUE. 55%. Set frequency: 20 min.
WED. 30%. Set frequency: 15 min.
THU. 65%. Set frequency: 60 min.
FRI. 35%. Set frequency: 45 min.
SAT. 45%. Set frequency: 60 min.
SUN. 25%. Set frequency: 120 min.

MON. 100% (max test), then take the rest of the week off.

This needs a bit of explanation. On Monday, you would do as many push-ups as you can perform with good form in one set. For example, say you do 50. Now you use 30% of 50, or 15, and try to do a set of 15 push-ups once every 60 minutes several times during the day for the rest of the day. So if you got in say, 10 sets over the span of your normal 16 hour day (minus 8 for sleeping), you'll actually have done 150 push-ups easily that day.

For the next days and remaining days that week, you continue to use 50 as the number you break down by percentages. So Tue would be 25, Wed would be 30, and so on.

The next Monday, you try your push-up max and get say 70. Now you use 70 as your new max to break down for that week. So Mon is 24 (rounded down), Tue is 38, Wed is 21, and so on.

The third and final Monday, you test your new max and take the week off.

It's a lot of time but if you think about it, doing them throughout the day will bring a lot of progress. Take Fri. Sure you're only doing 45% of 50 (22), but if you can do them 15-20 times that day since it's every 30 min, by the end of the day you'll have performed 330-440 push-ups.

You do want to take that week off though, there is too much of a good thing sometimes.