RubeRad

For 2016, for my own fitness, and in solidarity with my skinny son who needs to bulk up for basketball, I've started a daily pushup regimen.

January 1-10 I did 10 pushups/day. Since then I've kept up with the date (i.e. today on the 22nd I did 22). I'm not sure if I can keep adding 1 every day, but I only want to get to 30/day, which I expect to reach by mid-Feb or so. Maybe after holding that for a few months, try to ramp up to 50/day. (And I'm talking all at once, I don't think it would be helpful to do 5 pushups at a time, spread out 10 sets through the day)

I'm trying to keep good form for these pushups. I think I plank pretty well (until the last few), I go down until my belly touches (not quite as far as having my chest hit, you know how it goes), I try to keep my hands under my shoulders rather than way out under my elbows.

How much benefit do y'all think this will actually provide me? I can feel my chest and arms getting a little bit bigger, but so far it's not a difference I can see.

FYI I live in the 245-250lb window, bike-commute 11mi rt nearly full-time, I enjoy food too much to really commit to weight loss. I'd like to believe that increased muscle mass will lead to increased metabolism and some amount of weight loss, but it seems like that's really more wishful thinking than anything else.

NYMXer

I have found that a morning and early evening brisk paced walk for 20-30 minutes has been the single most beneficial health regime for me. Doing this speed walking thing has increased my endurance, provided stamina and friendly waves from my neighbors

Yendor72

Push ups can be very beneficial; however they need to be combined with other things as well. There is no reason to not do a mini routine and slowly ramp up as you are doing. Push ups, sit ups. I wrestled from age 13-17 and push ups and sit ups were the core of our workouts. Yes, we ran stairs some times, but various types of push ups and sit ups really were all the work outs we did. I could probably knock out 1,000 push ups throughout the course of a practice. As could our coach, a then 62 year old Cash Stone (Look for him in the Matthew Modine Movie "Vision Quest"). Yes, he was 62 and could do everything us kids could do. Watching him knock out 30 hand stand push ups (against the wall) was incredible.

Take a look at the various types of push ups and add a couple of those in and add some sit ups as well. Get that core engaged. And there are more that one type of sit up as well. Sounds like you are doing some decent cardio with your commute, and keep working on the other areas. That's my next goal, hit those other areas as well.

gsa103

For cycling, almost none. Have you seen pro cyclists, most look like they couldn't do 25 reps...

For general fitness, they're good at building muscle, but not particularly good for weigh loss.

RubeRad

Quote:

Take a look at the various types of push ups and add a couple of those in and add some sit ups as well. Get that core engaged. And there are more that one type of sit up as well. Sounds like you are doing some decent cardio with your commute

Well, to be honest, I commute pretty lazily, it's about the level of effort of taking a brisk walk. I have a hard time wanting to work hard on my daily commute (but still it's more excercise than driving!)

I was looking at maybe getting some Perfect Pushup stands (or knockoffs). I'll look into situps, but I find it slightly annoying that situps require 'equipment' to anchor your feet. Probably there are good versions that don't, but the pushup just seems so pure and elemental that you can just do them. (I admire that about running as well, the only problem with running is that I HATE RUNNING)

RubeRad

I bike to work instead, and I also got a sit/stand desk at work. I typically stand until a little after lunch, then I can't stands no more. Despite gel insoles and a standing mat, my feet are sore a lot. I don't really like standing all the time, but I am convinced it is good for me. Particularly keeping my posture in line keeps my pinched nerve at bay.

Yendor72

I hear ya, I hate running too. As a youngster I ran a lot, a lot, way too much. I got burned out on it and generally burned out on working out. That's why I'm in the predicament I'm in now. Being over 100 lbs more than when you were 18 will motivate a guy.

RubeRad

I was never a runner. Since college I have become a casual Ultimate player, so I'm willing to run for a reason, but running for its own sake? Blech.

Oddly, thinking back to my childhood, I have no memory of ever running. I remember running a mile and a half for P.E. in middle school, but looking at how my kids growing up just spontaneously run out of excitement when they're playing, I don't remember if I ever did that.

Yendor72

I used to run so much that I remember being asked to join the cross country team as I was just as fast as their top runner. It was not something I wanted to do, it wasn't fun for me. I ran to stay in shape for wrestling. Five and half minute miles just to stay in shape. I'd be lucky if I could run for five and a half minutes now. Although 40+ miles of cycling is no biggie (no, I'm not fast at that).

IBOHUNT

Perhaps good for the triceps if you are on a TT bike or spend a lot of time in the drops

RubeRad

Nope, no TT bike here, and barely ever in the drops. However, when I do get into the drops I think it takes pressure off my hands and arms, one of the reasons I might go into the drops for a bit is to give my hands a break from supporting my weight.

DMC707

If you are a Clyde - the simple act of being able to perform a pushup is a benefit in and of itself (unless of course your a 212 lb bodybuilder )

RubeRad

At 250 I'm a definite, but not extreme, clyde. So far this year I've worked myself up to 20/day. I was hoping to make it to 30 in January, adding 1/day, but at about 20 I just hit the wall. I'm gonna stay here at 20 until Feb 20 and then see if I can start incrementing up to 30.

TheBlackPumpkin

Push ups are beneficial, but only to a point, after awhile you'll hit a plateau and not be able to gain any significant amount of muscle from it, especially as you lose weight, it becomes much easier. Generally if you're trying to build muscle in your upper body you need to look at a wider range of exercises. This is where gyms usually come into play, in my opinion though, gyms aren't a good place for people to try and lose weight. I and many others have been discouraged from working out from the atmosphere in most gyms.

If you're talking about gaining significant amounts of muscle though, you'll eventually want to add other workouts. The key is to do a specific workout for each muscle group of your upper body. Something you might try at home that would likely help -

ALL standing - 8 reps OR 8 seconds (continuous) - Curl, shrug, lateral raises, front raises, standing flys, standing press (over your head)

Basically the key is to do 3 sets of this, 8 reps per exercise, or 8 seconds, whichever you can manage, without stopping and resting between them. You can rest between sets, but every exercise has to be finished for the set to be finished. It doesn't matter what weight you use, but if you don't have a lot of upper body strength you might want to start at 5lbs or lower. This will work your chest, Tris, Bis, Traps (shoulders) Back and Forearms. Just a suggestion, obviously you don't have to try it, but you'll see results, especially if you add that to your daily push ups.

(Learned this from a friend of mine awhile back when he was trying to help me get in shape.)

RubeRad

Interesting. I'd have to get some dumbbells, or find a pair of suitably heavy objects that are handleable. I like how you put the standing press last, so if I were to do this after pushups my triceps would get the longest-possible break before having to work again!

I got my son a doorway pull-up bar, it holds my weight no problem, but I'm a million miles from being able to do one forward-hold pull-up (I can almost do one reverse-hold), so that thing is not much use to me, except if I wanted to work on grip strength and stretch by just hanging.

FrenchFit 

It sorta shocked me that push-ups get real difficult when you get into your sixties, pull-ups on a bar even moreso. If I had known, I would have kept both part of a regular routine. Now I do push-ups at the end of every run.

If you want push the weight loss angle, add a burpee to the push-up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc7VDvFD-wM

TheBlackPumpkin

^ This, Burpees are an amazing way to lose weight and build endurance. Especially if you are overweight as it is, because you are having to get your body weight off the ground over and over.

Erwin8r

Push ups also help your core muscles--they really are a great exercise. You can increase the "core" benefit by "planking" in between push up sets.

I make myself do at least 50 push ups a day (30 in the morning, then 10 here and there as the day goes on).

late

Pushups work the front. If you work the front and not the back, you can get a muscle imbalance. That makes your shoulders sore and can lead to bigger problems.
Get a tubing set (latex tubing with handles and a little doohickey to put them on a door).

This is what I do on arm day. Face pulls/bent over reverse flye/one arm row/and a variety of shoulder exercises that come from the PT world, but work.

I absolutely love this one, and do it more than I should. You can keep putting your feet further away from the wall to increase resistance. Takes a couple tries to get it right. But if you do, you'll like it.



Cycling also works the front, and it helps to balance that out by working the backside, the fancy term for that is posterior chain.
Couple really good exercises for that are deadlifts (you can stand on the tubes and use them for resistance) and one leg RDL.

RubeRad

This looks really interesting, I"ll check them all out.

Burpees though, sounds like hell, I don't know if I'm man enough

Wolfhaven

Pushups are an awesome exercise that's very adaptable. I have shoulder issues and doing pushups help stabilize the shoulder. They're also great for the pec minor and major muslces as well as the core. One way to increase the number is to go into negative training. Say your goal is to do 50 but you max out at 40. Drop to your knees, take a deep breath or two, pop up and do as many as you can. Drop and repeat until you hit 50. As time goes on (with rest days) you will reach 50 without stopping. Vary the width of your hands and work different muscles in different ways. If you don't want to go into the negative then you can just do multiple sets of fewer in a set. If getting down on the floor is an issue you can always do pushup against a desk. You have to do more but you can still get some benefit of using your body weight. A corner desk is a great option for this. You get a great stretch which keeps the knots out of your upper back.
Skip the situps; bad for the low back. Try crunches or planks. Planking can be done on your elbows or a tall plank in the pushup starting position.
I do pushups and situps daily as part of my morning bathroom routine. Pushups, turn on shower to warm up, couple minutes of planking (elbows, side planks, tall plank) and hop in the shower. Doesn't take much time at all.
Burpees, mountain climbers, squats, lunges etc.. all good exercises that use your body weight as the only equipment needed. The only limitation is your imagination and willpower.

RubeRad

LOL I had to do that this morning for 20! (although for the past week or so I've been able to do 20 without knee-breaks -- just tired today)

oddjob2

I am 59 and a wide body well over 200. Since August, I have been to the community fitness center and average of 3 days a week. I ride most days, about 4 miles round trip. It is about $35/month, but will drop to $26/month when I turn 60.

I work two sets on about 16-17 machines in 45 minutes. Much faster than dealing with changing plates on dumbbells and barbells. Also, as my knees are slightly arthritic, it saves having to get down on the floor. Each set is about 10-12 reps, sometimes more, but never less.

A big transformation after about 4 months. Definitely more muscle mass and strength, up about 20-24 lbs on the upper body machines since starting out, so that now I can do chest and lifts north of 180 lbs. Haven't seen weight reduction yet and I don't expect to without a big diet change and cardio, but it sure feels good to be tone.

Erwin8r

Good bathroom routine--similar to mine...

Good stuff, @oddjob2.

corwin1968

Any strength training is better than no strength training so keep doing your push-ups! I think you are under-estimating what you can work up to and with consistent effort and practice, I bet you can reach a point where you can knock out 30 push-ups, several times a day!

I would highly recommend you look up "goblet squats" and give those a try. The squat is the king of all exercises and the goblet squat is a simple, cheap way to do them. If you buy some dumbells, you can use one of them. If you don't buy dumbells, you can find any heavy enough item to hold against your chest.