Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, I think it is possible to go from 25 push-ups to 50 in 2 months. But what benefit do you expect to see from it? I doubt you will look any different, have more endurance or see much of any other type of benefit.
You need to define to yourself what "more fit" means to you and strive for that particular goal. You will more likely beet that goal through weightlifting and/or running.
No. You will see minimal improvement in a week because your muscles have not had enough time to adapt to the exercise.
Did you mean to say, getting to 100 in 6 weeks is impossible for most......unless you start at like 70 already?
What I think you're alluding to is the fact that some people may be able to suddenly increase their pushups because they started with a set that was actually below their initial capability.
If a person's actual initial capability--if he had really pushed himself--would have been 50 but he arbitrarily stopped at 25, then yes, he could get up to 50 within a week.
There will often be quick initial gains when the initial starting point was conservative. Sometimes it's a matter of merely learning how to do the exercise properly--learning how to enlist the correct muscles effectively.
Then the real work of building strength starts, and that's not a quick process.
I've had better results focusing on doing pushups with perfect form and slowly going down and slowly coming up. Would rather be able to do 30 perfect form pushups than 100 sloppy ones.
My goal was just to have a more defined body and be in shape. I'm not a fitness expert by a long shot, but wouldn't increasing the amount of push ups you can do help build muscle?
No, doing a lot of push-ups will not build muscle beyond a starting point. To build muscle and/or strength, you need to increase the resistance not the number of repetitions. By increasing the number of push-ups that you can do from 25 to 50, or 75 will result in an increase in endurance but minimal increase in strength.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralph_Kirk
What I think you're alluding to is the fact that some people may be able to suddenly increase their pushups because they started with a set that was actually below their initial capability.
If a person's actual initial capability--if he had really pushed himself--would have been 50 but he arbitrarily stopped at 25, then yes, he could get up to 50 within a week.
There will often be quick initial gains when the initial starting point was conservative. Sometimes it's a matter of merely learning how to do the exercise properly--learning how to enlist the correct muscles effectively.
Then the real work of building strength starts, and that's not a quick process.
No, that was not what I was alluding to. I'm assuming that if someone says they can do 25 push-ups, then their muscles have failed at 25 and they absolutely can not do another push-up. I can't imagine arbitrarily stopping at 25 when he can actually do 50, and then asking if it is possible if it is a reasonable goal to be able to do maybe 50-75 within maybe 2 months if he kept at it.
I agree that quick initial gains are possible as your body learns how to do an exercise, but the learning is minimal if you can already do 25 push-ups. That would apply to someone who has never done push-ups or hasn't done them in many years.
Last edited by villageidiot1; 11-18-2015 at 03:09 PM..
I used to do 100 push ups maybe about 4 times a week. I figured that along with doing 30 to 40 pull ups several times a week was pretty good at toning up my upper body, along with occasional weight lifting (I'm not a bulky guy, I'm a distance runner). However, in the last year or so I've noticed my shoulders have been sore after doing push ups. And not the good kind of sore, more the "strained" kind of sore. Initially I thought maybe this is just part of getting older (I'm almost 40), but I have a feeling it may be my form (a google search seemed to confirm this). I'm not sure what I may be doing wrong, my elbows aren't flared out and I don't think my hips are sagging. Anyhow, I haven't been doing push ups as often, though I still do them, and have been trying to mix in bench pressing a bit more, though I don't get to the gym that often (I usually run outside or ride my bike trainer in the basement). The funny thing is I've heard bench pressing is harder on the shoulders than push ups, though maybe that's just for heavier weights.
I'm assuming that if someone says they can do 25 push-ups, then their muscles have failed at 25 and they absolutely can not do another push-up. I can't imagine arbitrarily stopping at 25 when he can actually do 50, and then asking if it is possible if it is a reasonable goal to be able to do maybe 50-75 within maybe 2 months if he kept at it.
Following a doctor's orders or someone else's advice to start slowly.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
