problems with upper body

[betsie2k]

Mess around for yourself with the amount of weights you want in your backpack.

Make sure the straps are tight when wearing the backpack.

Start with say, 5kg. If you don't notice much difference, add more weights, if they are extremely difficult, take some out.

Use weights that will force you to go to near failiure on the last rep of the last set.

 

[Wrangell]

why do slow concentric when he wants to get big and strong? It will only limit the fast twitch fibers he uses. fast concentric = more IIB fibers, which have more potential for growth.

As I said before, the basic principles to stimulate growth in muscles don't change - whether you're talking about body weight exercises like push-ups or exercises that require dumbbells or barbells. If you want to get ' big and strong ' you have to focus on the principle of ' progressively overloading ' your muscles to work harder, to get stronger and as a consequence, get bigger. And the optimum rep range for that sort of overload ( to promote strength & growth ) is somewhere around 80 - 85% of 1 RM.....or 6-10+ reps. Doing 20+ push-up reps is only somewhere around 50%+/- 1 RM, so those high reps are far from an optimal approach for building muscle.

Creating more overload with weights is pretty easy - simply add more weight. The problem with push-ups is trying to create enough overload to satisfy a 6-10+ rep range for optimum growth.. That's a problem because almost all of us can do over 20 push-ups very easily - so, it takes a lot of reps to get overload. One of the small ways to enhance the overload on a push-up is to intensify the sustained level of tension by slowing down the rep cadence. Another way to bump ovrerload is to add different push-up exercises back to back ( with no rest ) as I outlined in my earlier post. In any event, when you can reach failure due to overload at rep 6-10+ or after multiple exercises, it's because those type llb fibers you mentioned have already been recruited and fatigued enough to cause failure.

So, for a newbie wanting to get some results from push-ups alone, the main concern should be one of progressive overload IMO and sustaining good form while achieving it. And I'd be more focused on lifting at a slower overall 2/3 or 3/3 cadence ( vs 1/3 ) to ensure the lines of force and planes of motion aren't compromised during the concentric phase of the push-up. In any event, the 3/3 cadence was simply a way of getting a handle on how fast he was doing those 20+ push-ups.