100 pushups workout

[Jason Rees]

That would be helpful and also what exactly do folks mean by a pushup.
I always thought that you should touch the floor with your forehead, later I was told that it should be your chest...in the former I think your upper arm does not go past the horizontal, in the latter it most certainly would.

US military guidance for the push-up is standardized across all branches.

"For normal push-ups, the start position begins with the hands shoulder width apart, elbows fully extended, BODY straight and the feet together or up to 12 inches apart.

"To complete a repetition, the member lowers his/her BODY , maintaining a straight back, until the upper arm is parallel with the ground, then returns to the start position. Once the two-minute push-up period has started, members may not lift their arms or legs off the ground. They may rest in the "start" position. They may also bend at the waist and the knees to relax the back, always maintaining 4-point contact with the ground. Before resuming push-ups, they must return to the start position."

"Training only on push-ups and/or bench presses can lead to a strength imbalance. Pull-ups or some type of rowing work should be done with resistance or training partner."

[jorvik]

Wow. I've been doing them wrong then .but no worries, I'm looking forward to starting the workout , now that I know what rotator cuff exercises to do..and how to do a correct pushup

[IJ]

Can't see the video at work but advice I got was:

Equal emphasis on back--pullups, lat pulldowns, rows.
Specific RC exercises
--extension of arm behind you with straight arm
--with elbow at side, rotate humerus in
--same as before but rotate out

The last three were done with a blue elastic cord, usually thrown over a doorknob. It's a heavier grade elastic band; the strengths are color coded. They were to be done 10 minutes twice daily, with slow pull against resistance and even slower pull returning to start position.

Vigorous exercises above the shoulder are the worst--pitching, etc. In general your RC is safer if you keep your elbows in--for the exercises, pressed to the, but this also applies to Uechi and to my BJJ, in which leaving your elbows out sets you up for an armbar, or worse for your RC, a kimura or americana, both of which are figure-4 (2 arms on 1) attacks against a shoulder. The elbow is flexed at 90 allowing use of the lower arm for leverage to rotate the shoulder to failure. The little RC muscles can't stop 2 arm strength.

[TSDguy]

About to start week 2 on this, although I can't notice any progress because they start you out so slowly. I've combined back and RC exercises with this into one mini workout. MAN RC exercises bore the holy hell out of me! Maybe I'll google for some that are less PTish.

[Van Canna]

We work with a set of these in our dojo...try it...you will be amazed at the kind of power you will develop safely for your shoulders.


http://www.stewsmith.com/linkpages/perf ... system.htm

[Van Canna]

What makes Perfect Pushup most effective for martial arts training are the unique rotation handles and a ball bearing design. They move with your arms natural motion, like when you throw a punch, and help you develop these skills, essential for the effective single and multiple strikes.

[Van Canna]

http://www.policeone.com/policeonetv/cl ... -Training/

We have also begun incorporating this training at the dojo.

We are now using a 10 pounds non-reactive medicine ball.

And working our way to take the full power slam down of the ball in the mid section as you lie on the floor curled in a sit up position.

You will need much gradual build up and extreme accuracy or you will be in a world of trouble with this one.

So if you will be thinking of trying it...be extremely careful.

[Van Canna]

And at the end of the workout, we finish with a Dan Kumite..performed with the defender's back _flat against the wall _ receiving and throwing full power strikes....

Then we move to random shots instead of prearranged...again with the back against the wall.

Then we conclude with 'Short-stopping' the intent of the attacker as he approaches the defender glued to the wall.

It can get pretty violent and powerful...

Be careful if you try it.

[Bill Glasheen]

My thoughts...

Push-ups are a great way to assess fitness level. They are used as such by the military. And we have push-ups as part of the Firedragon Fitness assessment.

However...

First

Note Dr. Ian's important caution about balancing your strength training routine. For every push, there must be a pull. For every upper body exercise, there must be a lower body exercise. And ALL strength routines should start with one or a couple of whole-body strength exercises (like a squat, power clean, etc.)

Consequently for every push-like exercise (like a push-up), you should be doing a pulling exercise (like seated rows or my favorite - The One Armed Dumbbell Row).

If you don't heed our advice here, you're going to develop a very strange body that I sometimes refer to as "The Big Bird" look. You know... the folks who do bench and curls, and then flex at parties to impress chicks. Elite athletes can spot these athlete frauds a mile a way.

Look at what a world class athlete typically looks like. 'Nuff said.

Second

The push-up is a "closed chain" exercise. You do not need to use myriad shoulder stabilizer muscles to do it - even with the fancy push-up devices. Consequently if this is ALL you are doing for upper-body pushing power and you are a serious athlete, you are a rotator cuff injury waiting to happen. Trust me on this, folks. I've seen it happen. My strength coach (a former world heavyweight powerlifting champion) warned me about this.

As much as possible, you should be doing "open chain" exercises. In other words, it's better to be on your back and have to balance that weight as you push it out into open air. The muscles you use to balance the weight are the very muscles that people injure when they live a life of push-ups (only) and then expect to play sports.

Barbell bench press exercises are infinitely better than push-ups as a "core" exercise. And now and then, some dumbbell bench presses challenge the shoulder stabilizer muscles even more.

And... Those balancing motions translate well to your athletic activity. Want an "unblockable" punch? You won't get it from doing push-ups. You might however get it from an exercise where you have to keep the weight from falling in any number of directions as you push it out. Right?

Moral of the story

Push-ups are great to assess strength at test time, to warm the body up, and to supplement a well-designed strength program. But don't make it the center of your strength routine, unless you don't care about the occasional debilitating shoulder injury.

- Bill

[chef]

Should that vary in any way for women?

Regards,
Vicki

[Bill Glasheen]

Women should do the same exercises as men. The only thing that should vary is the expectations. Testosterone definitely affects the anabolic response to exercise - particularly for the upper body. That's why both men and women "cheat" with exogenous sources of the anabolic steroids.

On the positive side, a woman's hormone balance means she won't "look like Arnold" after training with weights. It's taken decades to eradicate this ignorance. Thank god there are smart people like you, Vicki, who take the Nike approach to all this.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

For martial artists...

I'm a big believer in supplementing traditional weight training with an occasional karate fist (seiken) push-up. And for those who have developed their hands enough, an occasional set of "Uechi push-ups" can be on the menu. *

- Bill

* Make a triad with thumb, index, and middle finger 2nd knuckles. Support your body with the same knuckles that contact parter when executing the boshiken, shoken, and hiraken respectively.

Also consider contacting the floor with your sokusens as opposed to the traditional ball-of-foot. You can even lift one leg and put more weight on the other sokusen. Great for developing roundhouse sokusen kicks.

[Van Canna]

That is great advice, Bill, about the ‘balance’ as in all things.

What is selling me about the ‘perfect pushup’ that we use in the dojo is ….

What makes Perfect Pushup most effective for martial arts training are the unique rotation handles and a ball bearing design. They move with your arms natural motion, like when you throw a punch, and help you develop these skills, essential for the effective single and multiple strikes

I find that to be helpful in the performance of my power form using torque and compression and in the striking of ‘Bob’




We have some extremely powerful students who are also weight lifters. Some of them can do 60 or more pushups in 2 minutes.

I balance the dojo workouts with several visits to Gold’s gym, something I have done forever and would never think of giving up.

I see and feel an obvious difference in students that train with weights and the ones who don't.

The ones that don't are either scrawny or grossly over weight and 'puffy'...and fold easily under real pressure.


Most have problems with pull-ups, especially as we age.


This is a good link on pull-ups…

http://www.military.com/military-fitnes ... er-pullups

As you indicate _ the number of ‘timed’ correct pushups is a measure of overall fitness, along with other tests, such as the pull up ‘hang’ …the sit-ups and the two mile run PTF which is a prerequisite of ‘Airborne Cadet’ qualifications as an example that Gary had to go through.


In my day, The Airborne Command would send recruiters to ‘court’ Infantry soldiers _ just as we had just completed our ‘advanced Infantry’ training…because they knew that most of us would be able to pass the BAC PFT…

[PT test: 42 perfect Push ups_[in 2 minutes] _ 52 perfect sit ups [2 mts]_ 2 mile run 15:54 _ and 10 second hang...bent arms from a pullup bar.

Not terribly difficult but enough so to be sure the cadet had the basic physical strength and endurance to push and pull on the risers, handle the ‘ruck’ and insure the safety of fellow jumpers close by.

Military training was good enough to whip soldiers in shape, enough so to qualify them for parachute infantry training.


And now comes the real test for a Uechi practitioner…smile…

Navy SEALs, in order to pass their Physical Fitness Tests, have to:
-Swim 500 yards in 12:30 (though 8:00-9:00 is better)
*Rest 10 mins
-Max Push-Ups in 2 mins (42 is minimum, 90+ is better)
*Rest 2 mins
-Max Situps in 2 mins (52 is minimum, 90+ is better)
*Rest 2 mins
-Max Pullups - no time limit (8 is minimum, 15+ is better)
*Rest 10 mins
-1.5 mile run (11:30 is maximum, 9 mins or less is better)

[Glenn]

What is selling me about the ‘perfect pushup’ that we use in the dojo is ….

What makes Perfect Pushup most effective for martial arts training are the unique rotation handles and a ball bearing design. They move with your arms natural motion, like when you throw a punch, and help you develop these skills, essential for the effective single and multiple strikes

Bill,

The last time this 'perfect pushup' device was mentioned
http://forums.uechi-ryu.com/viewtopic.php?p=164128
you raised a concern about rotating the joints while compressing them with a push-up, as this device does. I assume that is still a caution as well? From your description in the quote below it sounds like this could speed up arthritis.

I do want to bring one additional point up.

Trainers have mixed feelings about RESISTANCE exercises where you're doing joint rotation as you extend. There's always the chance that when you are doing that, you are putting excessive shear (surface rubbing on surface) forces on the articular surfaces in the joint. That's particularly true in this case where the joint is being compressed as you extend and rotate. It's not the case in the circular training methods where your joints are being pulled apart, thus limiting the shear forces within the joint.

Just don't get crazy about these kinds of exercises. Everything in moderation.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Glenn

I still have the same concern about shear stresses on the joints for the very reason I stated above. This phenomenon of rotation on a joint while compressing it is the reason so many people hurt their backs when shoveling snow. Rather than rotate at the waist when heaving the load, the experts tell you to step towards the direction you're going to heave the load. Proper technique like this can save a lifetime of low back pain misery.

A punch is a punch, a push-up is a push-up, and a bench press is a bench press. The strength training literature points to keeping things simple when doing weight training, and then learning your athletic technique on the playing field. To the extent that weight training exercises are open chain (not locked in a machine or pushing against a fixed floor), the added coordination involved will transfer in subtle ways. That benefit is on top of the extra work added to the secondary and tertiary muscle groups that guide the primary lines of motion. No-load movements done with joint rotation (e.g. punching through thin air) aren't supposed to be like high-load movements designed to transfer a mass from point A to point B.

My position is this. The device is fine as a supplement, just as my knuckle and "Uechi" push-ups are a supplement to a well-planned strength routine. But I strongly urge people not to make this the core exercise for your upper body pushing strength. All exercises will show some training benefit, but some have serious limitations and potential over-training side effects. It's best to plan carefully so that the considerable effort you put in the gym translates to the maximum return in the activity you are training for.

If there's one thing I've learned from working with weights for over 40 years, it's this. Simple often gives you the maximum return on time investment, and a minimum risk of injury on the playing field. Squats, bench, rows, clean & jerks, snatches, and all the other "old stuff' tax the body in ways that give whole-body development and maximum anabolic hormone response to your effort. All the other devices are there to refine your development. Anyone who stays with it long enough and goes through enough cycles of trial and error eventually will reach this conclusion. It is both discouraging and gratifying at the same time. On the positive side, you don't need a high tech gym to get the basics done, and you don't need 2 hours of work on a gazillion fancy machines. A modest budget and smart training gets you on the playing field with the big boys and the big girls.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't keep your eyes and ears open to other approaches. There's a lot to be said for Okinawan jar training in sanchin, kettlebells, the bowling pin thingies, and other such "simple" devices. But they work well for the very same reasons - they are mostly open chain exercises that make you use most of your body's muscles at the same time. That gives you a maximal, balanced, multidimensional exercise response in a short, simple training session.

- Bill