How to Break Your Push Ups Personal Record

Push-ups are a great exercise and require little or no equipment. Add some zest to your training and blast through your push-ups personal record. This article tells you how to do it with an emphasis on using specific warm-ups with a high tempo. Steps: 1. Observe how others do high amounts of push-ups and bench presses. Note their form and tempo. 2. Use a form that is comfortable and natural. The angles of the arms to the body and the arms not being fully extended are the main form considerations. Do not keep your upper arms to the sides like a cross. Do an imaginary push-up on a bench like you were bench pressing but without the barbell. Without your body weight bearing down on you, note the position of your upper arms, in relation to your upper body, that is comfortable. Do not get into a position that is not natural. 3. Keep written records. Record the set and repetition scheme that was used for each session. Include comments in your log. Besides gradually increasing your repetitions over time, give your mind and body enough rest between sessions. Rest at least five days and as much as 20 days between sessions. 4. Use a quick tempo and a midrange movement. From your observations, you will have noticed that others do push-ups (and bench presses) at a high rate of speed in a pumping fashion. Do a mid range movement where your elbows are not fully extended at the top position. Do not take great pains to lower your body as close to the floor as possible because this will affect your tempo. 5. Read the articles on bench pressing by John Christy and Brooks Kubik in the old Hargainer magazines from Nicosa, Cyprus. The bench press and push-up are similar, but the intensity of doing push-ups is low. Doing bench pressing with maximum weights requires perfect form, learn from bench pressers to avoid injuries to your elbows, shoulders and wrists. Learn to do push-ups with a quick tempo and with form. 6. Before doing push-ups, be warmed up for optimal results. A short aerobic session of at least 10 minutes will do. Aerobics inflates your lungs and your rib cage is what your chest muscles are attached to. 7. Do specific warm-ups at a fast tempo. Do leaning pushups for your warm sets and do at least a couple of sets but with low repetitions. If your push up goal for the day is 40 for the last set try this: o Do 10 repetitions leaning and somewhat upright on the high step of a stairs. Do this first, easy set fast and be aware of your form. o On your second set of 8 repetitions, lean on a step closer to the ground. Do this set fast and tweak your form - especially at the elbows and shoulders. o The third set of 40 repetitions will be done, as normal, on the floor. Simply blast thru this top set, it will be easy provided that you have gradually increased your repetitions over a long period of time. You should feel invigorated after doing this routine. 8. Read about how weightlifters and power lifters cycle their lifts for competitions. Read "Brawn" by Stuart McRoberts on simple progression cycling for strength training and apply this to your exercise routines which may have speed, agility, flexibility and strength aspects. If you are new to cycling expect fantastic results using cycling's methodical and gradual approach to strength and stamina progression. Tips: • If your personal record is 50 reps, be patient and take about three to four months before passing that mark. Increase your reps for each workout by as little as one rep. For example if your top set was 35 reps, the next time just do 36, even if you can do more. Be patient. • Once you have reached a new high for your personal record, do not try to maintain this number for every workout. Instead, focus on breaking a personal record in another exercise and do just a maintenance amount of pushups. • When you begin a new cycle, start off easy and gradually build up the intensity over weeks and months. • Your goal is to make a new, personal record and not to accumulate a high number of workout sessions. Rest between sessions, even after your muscles have recovered, rest a couple more days to let your tendons and cartilage recover. Muscles are red and tendons are white, so tendons do not have the blood supply of muscles to rebuild them quickly. • Twenty days of rest, between pushups sessions, is the most that you should allow yourself. Some people may use this ample time between sessions for reasons other than recovery and this is fine. Four weeks between sessions is possible, if you add another medium intensity session. For example, if your top set amount, for the next session, is 60 reps and you are increasing your top set amount every four weeks, then on the second or third week do an easy top set amount of about 40 reps. • Do not follow most of the advice in print, or from other people, concerning recovery. In strength training, as in many other areas, books and advice are geared for beginners. Rest enough between sessions. In the beginning of a cycle you could add two or three reps to your top set and/or rest just four or five days between sessions. However, as the number of your top set climbs, add more rest days and add just one rep to your top set. Even if you followed this methodical approach to training, eventually, you would not be able to progress. Muscles and tendons strengthen at a slow rate and they also do not weaken quickly. Rest is the main component of recovery. originated by: Harry Honda, Teenreporter Source:www.wikihow.com