push-ups

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Hi everybody..

Damn it's hard to keep on with work out and training regularly.
But the one thing I am doing is about 150 push ups every nights. (Series of 30), which I'll try to increase up to 200 I would say (either by increasing the number of series or the number of push ups in each series or both).

I would like to know if this pseudo-training will help me to get lean.
I mean I am not fat: I am 5'10" and weigh 145lbs. I'd say I have a thin layer of fat around my stomach but I am starting to eat a lot better and less than before too. (less fat, more fruit and vegies, more fish rather than meat...)

The question is: will it help me to remain thin yet have scuplted body ? and lose my layer as well ?
I mean have muscles enough to be seen when you take your shirt off.

Should I go for crunches too every day to lose my layer of fat ?
This way, I am afraid to gain muscles without losing the fat around my stomach. I'd prefer having a real flat belly than having a muscular one showing packs but over a layer of fat (I don't think it looks that nice this way)

Thanks a lot for any info/feedbacks/comments/critics
 
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Push ups are great but alone they won't keep you lean. You need to work your whole body.

You should also vary the type of push ups you do- dive bomber, hindu, plyo.
Change your hand positions too- wide close staggered

Don't neglect your core and lower body though

I use primarily bodyweight routines and here are some good resources
 
gip1984 said:
here s a question...is it good to do push ups every day?? should not it be better to wait at least 48hrs?
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You're working the muscles, so you need to rest. If its pushups alone, I dont think you need 48 hours.
 
evolution said:
The problem with bodyweight exclusively is the body adapts fairly quickly without increased resistance.
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Good point.

The infinite variations you can use in BW exercises can remedy much of that. And you can use resistance bands as well.

A push up with a band is similar to benching with chains (try it if you haven't)
Get some heavy chains(at least 1 lb per link) and attach one to each end of the bar. Make sure the chains are long enough so at the top of the press at least 5 or 10 links are still on the floor. As you press up the weight the chains add increasing resistance throughout the move. Its a cool variation.

A push up (Or any exercise) with a band works the same way the further you stretch the band the more the resistance increases. The bands also give a negative workout as you have to keep tension on the up and down moves.

I'm not knocking weight training I did it for years. I just think that BW exercises are better for functional strength. Range of motion in 3 dimensions can be maximized with BW exercises and that's hard to do with isolation exercises. The body works best when used as a system. I find isolation exercises don't promote the same level of conditioning in all areas of strength. (Lat pull downs don't translate to pull ups as well as pull ups translate to lat pull downs.)

There are different types of strength.
Maximal: The one rep max
Explosive: How fast you can exert significant force
Speed: How fast you can execute an unloaded movement or one with minimal resistance
And
Strength endurance: how long you can effectively maintain muscle function

You need to train for all of these for the best results
 
Dude, you are just begging for overtraining/platuea..
How are your pecs going to repair and grow if you keep burning them up?
get some rest in there!!

If you are performing 150-200 reps that is really impressive for what it is, but if you are going at all for size increase you would be much better off with some weighted chest exercises (bench..) You need to lift a weight that really push your limits to promote the stimulation of the larger muscle fibers. If you are firing out that many reps you are probably not touching them at all.

Unless you are roiding or just gifted with wolverine(xmen)-like recovery time, you are probably not doing yourself much good by continuously trashing your pecs.
 
niceone said:
Dude, you are just begging for overtraining/platuea..
How are your pecs going to repair and grow if you keep burning them up?
get some rest in there!!

If you are performing 150-200 reps that is really impressive for what it is, but if you are going at all for size increase you would be much better off with some weighted chest exercises (bench..) You need to lift a weight that really push your limits to promote the stimulation of the larger muscle fibers. If you are firing out that many reps you are probably not touching them at all.

Unless you are roiding or just gifted with wolverine(xmen)-like recovery time, you are probably not doing yourself much good by continuously trashing your pecs.
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Hi there,
The thing is that I don't really want a size increase, I just want nice shape. I don't really mind being skinny as long as when I take my shirt off, you see the shape of a scuplted chest. To have an idea of what I want, I'd say I'll be fine with the shape of any actor in hollywood: I mean a thin body with nice little muscles.
Do I really need to rest a day between my reps ?
What if I go one day for some crunches and the other one for push ups ?
 
If crunches and situps yield the results you like, then that is good. I would really recommend that you limit the volume though. You grow while you rest and you wont be doing ANY good by overworking.
Alternating days will be good. BUT again, dont do hundreds of situps.
Visible abdominals will come with a low bodyfat, not hundreds of reps.
 
tonymcclellan said:
You wont if you dont eat enough. A sculpted chest is nothing without the back and shoulders to go with it.
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I agree, but doesn't push-ups also work the back a lil bit ?
Maybe I should buy one of those bars for pull-ups ?
Is there any way to work your back and shoulders when you don't have anything else than your own body as weight ? I mean no bench or dumbells or anything you find in gyms ?
 
As far as BW moves for shoulders all you need to do is elevate your feet during push ups, the higher your feet, the more shoulder work. You can also do pike push ups or dive bombers to work your shoulder more, handstand push ups are awesome but be careful and build up to them slowly.

You can do body rows by putting a bar or broomstick betw/ a couple chairs keep your body rigid with your feet on the floor like a reverse push up position and pull your chest not your chin up to the bar.

You can do pull ups, but usually beginners can't do enough reps to progress very much. You can do an assisted pull up by looping a resistance bands over the bar. Put your feet in the loops and you'll be doing the move with less of your weight.

sells a chin up set band set that's pretty good and you can use them for other exercises
 
Skull Pilot said:
I'm not knocking weight training I did it for years. I just think that BW exercises are better for functional strength. Range of motion in 3 dimensions can be maximized with BW exercises and that's hard to do with isolation exercises. The body works best when used as a system. I find isolation exercises don't promote the same level of conditioning in all areas of strength. (Lat pull downs don't translate to pull ups as well as pull ups translate to lat pull downs.)
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I will def. agree that lat pulldowns are not superior to pull ups/chins. However, I think incorporating resistance training is important for strength purposes. Even most of the "BW workout gurus" are starting to jump on the kettlebell wagon or incorporate some usage of db work like swings and whatnot. Also, the use of sandbags and shift weighted implements are gaining a lot of popularity.

I'm not knocking BW exercises at all...I think they're another piece of the puzzle. But I don't think movements such as push presses, Oly lifts, deadlifts, and etc should be counted as isolation movements or that they are counterproductive to this 'functional' strength.

However, I'm sure this is what you were suggesting when you mentioned the different strengths that need to be addressed.
 
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