Fifty Plus (50+) - Drop and give me 10

"Drop and give me 10" was something we heard from the coaches as basketball players and sometimes baseball when something was done wrong. Back then the 10 or 20 push-ups were absolutely no problem and only took seconds to complete. It has been many years since I could drop and give 10 push-ups.

At 59 years old and 235 pounds I doubted I would ever again be able to give 10. This winter I have been working out more, a lot more. A couple days ago I did actually complete 10 push-ups with the body totally straight with my body lowered down close the floor and then back up until the arms were straight. Let me assure there was a considerable amount of grunting, but it was done. Actually, two days in a row.

After many years of sedentary life, I felt like this was a big deal. I would like to know if it is to most 50 plus, or have I been way behind the curve?

Way to go!:thumb:

I believe I'd still be good at the "drop" part, but the "gimme ten" part . . . not so much.

Try it on skates we had a hockey coach who like to make us do them at hockey practice and bare hands on ice . Congrats I CAN DO THE DROP PART NOW

I did my first "real" push-ups EVER over age 40. It was just sort of accepted when I was a kid that girls didn't have that kind of upper body strength. We did knees-bent "girls' push-ups". I now do 3 sets of 20 routinely. I am thrilled and can relate -- I think it's a big deal!!
Hint: don't do your push-ups daily-- you need to rest muscle to grow muscle.

I sure did a lot of push-ups in high school. But I don't think I've even tried to do one in the last 30 years. Probably pull a muscle or two if I tried.

Mate, you're probably the fittest bloke on the forum (we all know the wimmens is way fitter).

Me? I can't do pushups because my siamese cat keeps getting in the way - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Richard

Way to go!

Yes, I do 10 regular dips followed by 10 weighted body dips (extra 30 lbs) followed by 12-15 proper pushups followed by another 10 weighted body dips (extra 50 lbs) followed by 12-15 more pushups followed by 30 regular body dips - about 3-4 times per week.

I do twelve as part of my regular morning routine. I would do more, but once I increase the number, I can't go back! 69 years young next April.

I do 20 in my morning stability ball routine; but it's a bit of a cheat because I'm suspended at my knee/shin area rather than all the way back at my toes.

After many years of sedentary life, I felt like this was a big deal. I would like to know if it is to most 50 plus, or have I been way behind the curve?

Mate, I've learned to ignore all the people who can do more than me, do it faster and do it for longer. It doesn't matter who you are, even on a gentle forum like this one, there's always someone who'll out do the fittest and strongest dog in the pack ... and that's without anyone doing a wee bit of exagerating.

My take on the matter is this - if it feels like an achievement to you, it IS! Feel free to brag all you want.

At times like this, I like to go back to the very first entry in my cycling log:
Distance: 3.2km.
Comment: Utterly stuffed

Richard
I wasn't joking about that stupid cat either :rolleyes:

I just tried and got 9 good ones in before giving in to gravity. I was surprised that I could do that.

Some very interesting stories. Bluesdawg gave it a try and got nine good ones, Yea, Yea, Yea. Waldowales, Dminor and cyclehen complete sets of push-ups on a regular basis, extremely good. I did like the ice push-ups that Pipes did in Hockey.

Has anyone else decided to give it try like Bluesdawg. Let us know your number.

Use it or lose it! How true is that. Weight bearing exercise is crucial at our age. Start easy and workout 3 times a week. Have at least 48 hours rest before repetition of the same set of exercises. follow this regimen and you will be surprised at the gains. Never too old to learn new tricks.
Hockey

Has anyone else decided to give it try like Bluesdawg. Let us know your number.
I had to stop at 7.:cry: Haven't done a push up since high school (obviously). Maybe I should work on it. Yeah right:rolleyes:.

I got to thinking about it, and I just had to try to chin myself. I did it once!
What is the best treatment for pulled arm muscles?:(

40 years ago and the physical test on pressups when you first went in to the marines- I managed 35 and was told I had to improve. 5 months later and I had to do 100 to prove I had improved. No problem.

Just tried it again and I collapsed at 11. If I keep practising- I might get to 12 but then it would get boring.

But then I don't care either. There are advantages to getting older and not having to do pressups is one of them.

Ouch!!! 33 push-ups and now my tie is dirty.

Did them behind my desk at work just now. I haven't done pushups for years. I have been doing plank holds for two minutes and different core work using a stibility ball. One of the stability ball excersizes has me in a push-up position with knees on the ball then I pull my knees toward the front creating a ball with my body, I do 30 reps x two sets. Another stability ball excersize has me in the push-up position with upper shins on the ball, then I lift my hips and butt up forming an inverted V or ^, those are hard so I only do two sets of 15 reps. I think holding the pushup position in those excersizes helped me get to 33 pushups. My arm and chest muscles are still singing.:cry: Why did I think I could just do push-ups without warming up?

My father was a drill instructor in the Army. So the phrase "Drop and give me ten" was one I heard more often than most. By the time I reached 18 I was done dropping and giving anyone ten. Today, push ups are still no sweat. You just have to keep doing them. Like anything else, use it or lose it. :) Of course every now and again, the bursitis in the shoulders makes doing more than a handful too painful an experience.

Three more have done some push-ups. The numbers are 7 and 11 and 33. Thirty three is way out there. Trememdous job. The seven and eleven are more in my world.

I am riding in the morning, so after I return I will try to match my ten push-ups again.

Any more 50 plus bikers doing push-ups?

Now drop and give me 20!

I just did 20 and that was about the max. Rather poor, as I'm a flyweight and should be able to do better. Used to be able to do 15 chin ups and was only able to do six the other week at my cousin's place.

The average 50+ Hoosier probably can't do a proper pushup.

I try to do pushups and crunches every other night at bedtime (go figure). I've done more pushups than miles the last month or two. I can do 10 with reasonably good form and then repeat once or twice on a good night. I ask my wife to climb onto my back to make it a challenge but, of course, if she took me up on it, it would kill me.

Well, I just did 10, the first 10 I have done in years. I remember when the coaches would make us run when we screwed up. I would eagerly finish the laps which would both irritate and please the coaches. Ah, the memories at age 59.

aww come on guys and gals...10 pushups...slacker...get your act together....etc.

How can you expect to live long enough to see what you want to see
and do what you want to do in life if you cant drop and bang out like 25+
push ups at will

aww come on guys and gals...10 pushups...slacker...get your act together....etc.

How can you expect to live long enough to see what you want to see
and do what you want to do in life if you cant drop and bang out like 25+
push ups at will

Dude, you are so correct. Well, since tomorrow's ride is a washout due to rain, I'll take up the challenge of 25 push ups. I'll get back to you on the results. Don't worry, I won't lie. I mean after all I'm not in politics. :D

As part of the training routine, I do 35 every nite, as well as 50 crunches, 50 "bicycles", and 60 squats (unweighted). I do the squats while brushing my teeth :p. Found that this helped me with my climbing endurance, as well as general endurance for long (50mi+) rides. Took a while to build up to those reps, and have recently backed off a bit on the crunches after a mountain bike mishap (hit my coccyx).

We are moving right along. JanMM is another 50 plus guy that does push-ups regularly. Good to see. Also, we have a set of 10 and a big set of 20. Great going.

There are also a few people that seem to be irritated by this thread. I am sorry for making anyone uncomfortable and do not wish that to happen.

Rubic discussed running the laps. I did that quite a number of times, but unlike him I was never enthuastic about the laps. I would "dog it", which would also upset the coaches. Thankfully, I was normally the leading rebounder, so I never actually got thrown off the team.

I have never had much upper body strength. Years ago I maxed out at 20 push-ups, and I have never been able to break through that barrier. At this point, I just try to maintain what little upper body muscle and bone I do have.

Ouch!!! 33 push-ups and now my tie is dirty.

Did them behind my desk at work just now. I haven't done pushups for years. I have been doing plank holds for two minutes and different core work using a stibility ball. One of the stability ball excersizes has me in a push-up position with knees on the ball then I pull my knees toward the front creating a ball with my body, I do 30 reps x two sets. Another stability ball excersize has me in the push-up position with upper shins on the ball, then I lift my hips and butt up forming an inverted V or ^, those are hard so I only do two sets of 15 reps. I think holding the pushup position in those excersizes helped me get to 33 pushups. My arm and chest muscles are still singing.:cry: Why did I think I could just do push-ups without warming up?

I do similar exercises. I do pushups with my toes on a ball as you would put your toes on the floor - pretty challenging. I also do a pushup into a one arm cross going back into a pushup and then cross with the other arm. I also do dips. However, I am not trying to add upper body mass. I thought everyone could do just pushups.:p:D

I wasn't joking about that stupid cat either :rolleyes:

Cats, Siamese in particular, are like that. :innocent:

I'm glad to see I'm somewhere in the middle.

Age 55, weight 167, and I can do 32 pushups. I've tried to increase it, but it is stuck there, despite a full year of 2x/week weightlifting.

My daughter made some butterscotch brownies last night that got a little stuck to the pan. It required a great deal of effort for me to cut out a brownie for myself last night as a midnight snack.

Will try the pushup challenge when I've recovered.

I've avoided this thread because it reminds me how I've let my upper body conditioning lag in favor of leg speed.

Two years ago I push-up my age (52), do 100 crunches of mixed kinds, a 3- minute plank on toes & elbows/forearms, and a 2- min. V-sit. I can still do the crunches, but the other 3? I'm nowhere near those totals now.

So of course I'm integrating them back into my daily routine. Hmmm...thanks, I think....:notamused:

OTOH...thanks! :D

I'll report back in a couple weeks, if this thread hasn't rolled over onto page 2. :innocent:

Pushups aren't going to help your cycling much. How many sit ups, or better, Pilates roll ups, can you all do? Oh, btw, you're not allowed to have someone, or something, secure your feet. :)

Here's an interesting challenge I started last month:
http://hundredpushups.com/

There is also a site to log your results:
http://www.pushupslogger.com/

Here are my results so far:
http://www.pushupslogger.com/plog/show_user/11847

Push ups are like riding no a trainer. Good results but really, really boring!!!

I'm only 60 but I was doing 3 sets of 100 pushups and 100 situps in Dececember. Then I gained weight and lost endurance with the Christmas food and time off. Now I only do 3 sets of 30 pushups with those perfect pushup and perfect pushup counter things and 100 situps with a 10 pound weight on my chest.

I had a good ride today 70 miles as is my usual saturday ride but at 35 miles some guy passed me so I took his wheel and then passed him, the next thing I know we did the next 16 miles at 26.6 mph average. He finally pulled off (boy was I glad) and I found out he was a college student on a track scholarship from Holland.

Pushups, dips on parallel bars, and chin-ups require muscle endurance more than muscle strength. I doubt anyone on this forum has skinnier arms than I do - embarassingly skinny, bone-thin skinny. I manage 45 pushups every weekday morning, first thing. That's more than I could do in my 20s and I turn 60 this year. The key is to do them regularly, gradually increasing the number. I did 35 each morning for many years. Last year I forced myself to do 40 one morning, and stayed with it. After a few months, I increased it to 45 and have been there 6 months. I'm not so regular with dips and chinups. I was doing 20 dips each weekday at the Y. Now that I've taken up cycling, I'm more infrequent, and have a hard time with 14 or 15 now. Chinups work the same way for me: if I'm not regular, 8 can be hard. If I focus more for a month or more, 13 is attainable.

If you really want that endurance, it's just like cycling. Start with something, anything. Keep at it, and gradually add a few more after a while. Repeat. If it's not important, you won't and you'll be back at square one, where 10 pushups, 3 chinups, and 3 or 4 dips seem impossible. In fact it will be impossible. Start; stay with it; don't stop.

Can still 'gimme 10' . . . but then I'm only 76 years old.

I stopped doing push-ups years ago. Old elbow injury, which gets too inflamed if I do them. I'm pretty sure I could still do 20 or 25, but it's not worth having a sore arm for the next 3 days.

Many more great reports. For those people more like me, just give it a try and report what you can do. It makes no difference what the results are, just try it.

I rode today. When I returned home I did my 10 push-ups easier than before. I may try to increase to 12 on Monday.

Not hearing much from the ladies. Where are you?

Not hearing much from the ladies. Where are you?
They're probably out riding while we sit around worrying about how many push-ups we can do.:o

Not hearing much from the ladies. Where are you?

Did you miss my post below?

Since I quit rock climbing (years ago) I've lost my upper body strength. I used to be able to do multiple reps of 50X pull-ups.

I don't know how many push ups I can do. I'm thinking 10, but I'm not going to test that theory. Typing is a bit of a chore right now, after today's gym workout. Rowing machines! Ow!

Tomorrow I do my usual "Sensible Sunday" ride ... which somehow always gets senseless.

Yes, Red Rider, I did see your post and it was a good one, along with cyclehen. Since my wife has started some serious work outs so that she will be able to ride more this spring I thought there would be more women participating.
I have gotten to ride with a lady from Idaho that has a work out similar to Red Rider. She can get up a hill in a hurry.

Thanks for everyone's particicpation. It is good to see so many riders striving to get overall good body conditioning. This is something I am just now starting to enter.

The "Sensible Sunday" ride discussed by Randochap reminds me so much of our Sunday afternoon trail rides, that turn into speed sprints. Just the nature of things.

Just adding to the momentum of the thread, not wanting to show off or anything

But yes, I do pushups. Don't try to to continue 'till failure' as some of the workouts term it, but can still regard 3 repetitions of 20 as part of a floor workout.

The ones I find hard are pull ups (chins?). and those exercises on a frame where you support yourself upright on your forearms and lift your legs till your thighs touch your chest - gracious, they hurt!

But in my case, it's all genetics - I've always been a flyweight, so there's not much to push up

But in my case, it's all genetics - I've always been a flyweight, so there's not much to push up

I totally agree... This is where I can laugh at those big guys that wear me out on the flats. At only 130 LBS I can do 120 correct push-ups without a pause. I do 4 sets of 110 push-ups twice a week. You can do push-ups and pull-ups without adding any extra bulk to the upper body. Just helps keep arms a little tone.

OK, I am NOT a flyweight (at 216 lbs) and did manage 31 in a row this am. Maxing pushups is not on my usual training regimen, but I think I will add it.

Pushups aren't going to help your cycling much. How many sit ups, or better, Pilates roll ups, can you all do? Oh, btw, you're not allowed to have someone, or something, secure your feet. :)That depends on the cycling. Racing downhill demands a bit of upper-body strength to execute jumps and other moves well. I would do better overall if I worked harder at developing my upper-body strength in the off-season.


The key is to do them regularly, gradually increasing the number.That's it exactly. I have a set of stability-ball exercises (crunches, pushups, etc - - borrowed from an excellent Runner's World article) that when I first started I was only doing 10 reps. I worked most up to 20 my first year and have bumped two up to 30. Those are ones that I should increase to 50 eventually.

Confessions from the lady's side... I started an upper body program completely out of vanity, not to help my cycling. Really wanted to wear a sleeveless dress to my class reunion! I started lifting some free weights, and suddenly I could actually do a push up with reasonable form. One led to more. Now its just so good to be able to haul groceries and move furniture without causing discomfort. I used to have occasional back pain, and haven't had that problem in a long time. That alone keeps me going.