Trace

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,706
Canada
Well I'm a fatass and so doing anything more than like 8 kills me. I did just start dieting though, might as well throw in push ups as well.
 

RM8

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,922
JP
I'm rather skinny and have pencil arms, I'd be shocked if I can do 15 :(

What's a good way to fix this?
 

Deleted member 33887

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 20, 2017
2,109
I tried 40, and I did it. Didn't time myself, but it was fast enough I'm fairly sure it was under a minute. I'm a bit behind where I want to be on fitness, and I haven't been weight lifting for the last 4 months. It was a challenge near the end, but that was expected given my current conditioning. I've dropped like 20 lbs in the last 3 years, and doing pushups wasn't that much of a problem even with the extra weight. Although there's no way I would be able to do 40 without working on getting in shape.
 

Clear

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,576
Connecticut
Did the study reveal how many subjects did half push ups to inflate their numbers.

The 100 pushup app is pretty solid for people asking how to up their number. Weekly program that slowly builds up reps.
 

nded

Member
Nov 14, 2017
10,743
I just did it, but it's been a while and it was way harder than it used to be. Guess I've been taking it too easy.
 

nextJin

Member
Mar 17, 2018
455
Georgia
I'm sure form plays no role in some of ya'lls comments lol.

Study was obvious I'm not sure what the point was.

If you want to get better at pushups and can't do any do them on your knees or off the wall standing up for a few weeks daily.

Once you can do 30 with proper form (arms under shoulders or out to the side , elbows at a 90 degree angle, back, legs, hips perfectly straight then start doing them on your mattress in the morning before leaving for work/school.

Once you can do 30 with good form move on to inclined push-ups with your feet on a chair.

Once you can do that 30 times with proper form aim for 60.
 
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Cascadero

Member
Nov 8, 2017
1,545
Study outcome is incredibly obvious yep. Men in good shape are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease...

Having said that I do other chest exercise than push ups in the gym.
 

supernormal

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
3,215
Ya'll gonna have to post some stats or some pics because either some of you are really skinny or straight up elite athletes. There's is no world in which 40 push-ups is an "easy" feat for even the average gym goer let alone the average person. Yes, if you've been training for a while and are in really good shape it shouldn't be super hard, but I'd say the average NOT overweight male would probably max out at 25-30.

The last time I got physical evaluation I was just short of the athletic category (landed in fitness), with under 8% bodyfat at 170lb (6 feet). I look like this...

2-year-aniversary by Samuel Vasquez, on Flickr

And my max was 42...maybe 45. I'm no athlete but I'd definitely consider myself in shape. I mean I don't really train push-ups, but can lift maybe 80lb dumbbells for an incline press, and like 3 plates on a regular press machine. The guys I know that can do 70-100 push-ups are in elite shape.
 

nextJin

Member
Mar 17, 2018
455
Georgia
Ya'll gonna have to post some stats or some pics because either some of you are really skinny or straight up elite athletes. There's is no world in which 40 push-ups is an "easy" feat for even the average gym goer let alone the average person. Yes, if you've been training for a while and are in really good shape it shouldn't be super hard, but I'd say the average NOT overweight male would probably max out at 25-30.

The last time I got physical evaluation I was just short of the athletic category (landed in fitness), with under 8% bodyfat at 170lb (6 feet). I look like this...

2-year-aniversary by Samuel Vasquez, on Flickr

And my max was 42...maybe 45. I'm no athlete but I'd definitely consider myself in shape. I mean I don't really train push-ups, but can lift maybe 80lb dumbbells for an incline press, and like 3 plates on a regular press machine. The guys I know that can do 70-100 push-ups are in elite shape.

Looking like you're in shape doesn't mean you're in shape. Conditioning plays a huge role, your physical appearance is awesome but from the sound of it you need to work on conditioning.

I run a 2 mile in 14:30, deadlift 435 and can max pushups during PT tests (75) in the Army. I look nothing like you, obviously the "type" of push-up matters to.

The new ACFT test for the Army has your hands under your shoulders and you have to raise your hands off the ground each rep. I only did 60 of those in 2 minutes but it was my first time ever doing them.

They have another event which is the knee raise and I barely passed that so I have a lot of work to do there. For whatever reason I can do 13 quality raises but we have to actually touch our elbows with our thighs which is a pain in the ass.

That's a hell of a transformation, you look awesome!

https://youtu.be/C7ArULgEjtI
 

Arebours

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,656
There's a world of difference between sloppy PE pushups and proper form gymnastic pushups. I've seen people do 50 crap pushups that can't even do ten proper ones.
Once you can do 30 with proper form (arms under shoulders or out to the side , elbows at a 90 degree angle, back, legs, hips perfectly straight then start doing them on your mattress in the morning before leaving for work/school.
90 degree angle?
Flared out elbows is horrible form. They should be as close to the body as possible. In a proper pushup the elbow stays fairly static, barely moving at all.

Other form points:
Stiff core, either straight like a plank or hollow body.
Full scapular engagement.
Slow negatives, you are only doing half the work if you drop your way down.
ImpassionedAggressiveCatfish.gif


Incline pushups is a good first step but IMO even better is to do negative pushups if you can handle them.
 
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riotous

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,451
Seattle
Study outcome is incredibly obvious yep. Men in good shape are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease...

Having said that I do other chest exercise than push ups in the gym.

The interesting part is this:

  • Researchers found that push-up abilities were a better marker of future cardiovascular problems than aerobic capability as measured on a treadmill.

Feel like some of you missed that; this is big news for the "no cardio" types lol
 

nextJin

Member
Mar 17, 2018
455
Georgia
There's a world of difference between sloppy PE pushups proper form gymnastic pushups. I've seen people who do 50 crap pushups who can't even do ten proper ones.

90 degree angle?
Flared out elbows is horrible form. They should be as close to the body as possible. In a proper pushup the elbow stays fairly static, barely moving at all.

Other form points:
Stiff core, either straight like a plank or hollow body.
Full scapular engagement.
Slow negatives, you are only doing half the work if you drop your way down.

Incline pushups is a good first step but even better is to do negative pushups if you can handle them.

http://www.armyprt.com/preparation_and_recovery/push-up.shtml

90 degree elbow, not hands out past elbows (wide arm pushups). Some body forms allow bellies to touch without the elbows being 90 degrees so those individuals have to continue going lower for the full 90. Skinny peoples chest might never touch the ground.
 

supernormal

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
3,215
Looking like you're in shape doesn't mean you're in shape. Conditioning plays a huge role, your physical appearance is awesome but from the sound of it you need to work on conditioning.

I run a 2 mile in 14:30, deadlift 435 and can max pushups during PT tests (75) in the Army. I look nothing like you, obviously the "type" of push-up matters to.

The new ACFT test for the Army has your hands under your shoulders and you have to raise your hands off the ground each rep. I only did 60 of those in 2 minutes but it was my first time ever doing them.

They have another event which is the knee raise and I barely passed that so I have a lot of work to do there. For whatever reason I can do 13 quality raises but we have to actually touch our elbows with our thighs which is a pain in the ass.

That's a hell of a transformation, you look awesome!

https://youtu.be/C7ArULgEjtI

I agree with everything you're saying but my point was that people like me, you and the people passing that army test are not the average person. Even within the group of people that actually train which is small enough already, it's only one or two guys in the gym deadlifting big weight, benching 300+, or doing pull-ups with plates. Not a lot of people do have the conditioning and that's my point.

By the way, my cardio is absolutely horrible, so maybe that factors into it. Either way thanks for the compliment.
 

SapientWolf

Member
Nov 6, 2017
6,565
Ya'll gonna have to post some stats or some pics because either some of you are really skinny or straight up elite athletes. There's is no world in which 40 push-ups is an "easy" feat for even the average gym goer let alone the average person. Yes, if you've been training for a while and are in really good shape it shouldn't be super hard, but I'd say the average NOT overweight male would probably max out at 25-30.

The last time I got physical evaluation I was just short of the athletic category (landed in fitness), with under 8% bodyfat at 170lb (6 feet). I look like this...

2-year-aniversary by Samuel Vasquez, on Flickr

And my max was 42...maybe 45. I'm no athlete but I'd definitely consider myself in shape. I mean I don't really train push-ups, but can lift maybe 80lb dumbbells for an incline press, and like 3 plates on a regular press machine. The guys I know that can do 70-100 push-ups are in elite shape.
That's probably because you train for hypertrophy, not endurance. Training for endurance is more like doing 20lb incline presses for 15 reps 20 times a day.

That said, by some strange coincidence I also look just like that dude and I just knocked out 53 without pausing, no warmup.
 

Charismagik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,245
Seems like an odd metric. I've seen plenty of people who are strong, but easily winded from doing anything cardio
 

nextJin

Member
Mar 17, 2018
455
Georgia
I agree with everything you're saying but my point was that people like me, you and the people passing that army test are not the average person. Even within the group of people that actually train which is small enough already, it's only one or two guys in the gym deadlifting big weight, benching 300+, or doing pull-ups with plates. Not a lot of people do have the conditioning and that's my point.

By the way, my cardio is absolutely horrible, so maybe that factors into it. Either way thanks for the compliment.

Do some HIT training and get that cardio up brother! The Army still has a fair bit of people that can't pass tape or a PT test. It's still up to the individuals.

I agree but the entire thread is a bit absurd, I'm just here for the comments and make suggestions or provide help if anyone is interested.
 

GameChanger

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,935
40 consecutive push-ups isn't anything special. We are really unfit as a society if we think 40 consecutive push-ups are hard.
 

Arebours

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,656

Inyourprime

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,260
Ever since I broke my wrist two summers ago, I haven't been able to do much in terms of push ups. I can maybe do 25 max before my wrist starts bothering me.
 

Keuja

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,192
40 is EZ peazy. Do you guys even lift? Smh

No but seriously, it's not that hard if you exercise a bit.

I find it odd that it would be a better indicator that cardio since it is more related to a shorter and intense effort rather than a sustained effort... Not really buying it...
 

Pedrito

Member
Nov 4, 2017
2,374
40 is EZ peazy. Do you guys even lift? Smh

No but seriously, it's not that hard if you exercise a bit.

I find it odd that it would be a better indicator that cardio since it is more related to a shorter and intense effort rather than a sustained effort... Not really buying it...

Yeah, I don't lift, have long gangly arms with no definition whatsoever, and too much belly fat, and I can do 40 quite easily. And I have no doubt that I will die of cardiovascular disease...

But I do push-ups every weekday morning. So I guess most people of average shape could be able to do 40 after a few weeks. But their risk of having cardiovascular disease would certainly not decrease much in that meantime.
It's definitely a correlation, not causation thing. The few people who bother doing push-ups regularly are probably way more into fitness/nutrition than the vast majority.
 

Deleted member 33887

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 20, 2017
2,109
Ya'll gonna have to post some stats or some pics because either some of you are really skinny or straight up elite athletes. There's is no world in which 40 push-ups is an "easy" feat for even the average gym goer let alone the average person. Yes, if you've been training for a while and are in really good shape it shouldn't be super hard, but I'd say the average NOT overweight male would probably max out at 25-30.

The last time I got physical evaluation I was just short of the athletic category (landed in fitness), with under 8% bodyfat at 170lb (6 feet).

And my max was 42...maybe 45. I'm no athlete but I'd definitely consider myself in shape. I mean I don't really train push-ups, but can lift maybe 80lb dumbbells for an incline press, and like 3 plates on a regular press machine. The guys I know that can do 70-100 push-ups are in elite shape.

There's a world of difference between 40 pushups and 70-100. Most people here claiming they can hit 40 probably would struggle to do another 10.

This probably has to do with self selection more than anything. People who can't do 40 are less likely to respond. And most people who talk about getting in shape on here talk about weight lifting. I have rarely seen anyone talking about cardio. It doesn't require that much strength to do a pushup, endurance is a lot more important. And strength and endurance are usually related, but it isn't a 1:1 thing.
 

supernormal

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
3,215
There's a world of difference between 40 pushups and 70-100. Most people here claiming they can hit 40 probably would struggle to do another 10.

This probably has to do with self selection more than anything. People who can't do 40 are less likely to respond. And most people who talk about getting in shape on here talk about weight lifting. I have rarely seen anyone talking about cardio. It doesn't require that much strength to do a pushup, endurance is a lot more important. And strength and endurance are usually related, but it isn't a 1:1 thing.

The only reason I mentioned that range is because you would probably be doing 70-100 max if 40 is "easy" for you, as some of the posts here are saying. Nobody would be saying 40 is easy for them if their max was 45-50.
 

Wackamole

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,021
I recently did over 60 in 60 seconds.
Without practice. I amazed myself.

The last 15 weren't so deep anymore though.
 

ExInferus

Member
Nov 14, 2017
965
with what form? I've seen world record push up challenges and they looked laughable, it was nothing more than quarter reps. Chest-to-floor should be the standard
 

Hypron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,059
NZ
with what form? I've seen world record push up challenges and they looked laughable, it was nothing more than quarter reps. Chest-to-floor should be the standard

When you go that fast there's no negative part anymore either, you essentially have to let yourself fall down otherwise you won't keep up.
 

Deleted member 50498

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Dec 6, 2018
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There's a world of difference between 40 pushups and 70-100. Most people here claiming they can hit 40 probably would struggle to do another 10.

This probably has to do with self selection more than anything. People who can't do 40 are less likely to respond. And most people who talk about getting in shape on here talk about weight lifting. I have rarely seen anyone talking about cardio. It doesn't require that much strength to do a pushup, endurance is a lot more important. And strength and endurance are usually related, but it isn't a 1:1 thing.
I agree. Cardio is king. Run non-stop at a decent pace for 20 minutes or heck non-stop at a slow pace for two minutes.

The average person probably can't do the latter.
 

iapetus

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,085
I suck at push ups. Always have. Do squat thrusts, burpees, crunches, v-sits, bastardos and the like count for anything? Because those I can do (and frequently do).
 

ckareset

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt account
Banned
Feb 2, 2018
4,977
This thread is ridiculous. I seriously need video evidence of 40 pushups being easy to yall lol

Only reason I can get there is by going to the gym regularly. But it's not easy or normal
 

metalgear89

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,018
I use to to be able to to 30+ easily and then realised i was doing it wrong by flaring my elbows out. Proper form is an actual bitch to do and honestly i found it an absolute waste as it only hits the triceps, you can do so much better tricep workouts with dumbells.
 

Pellaidh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,214
Man this thread is nonsense. 40 push-up in a minute being something the average person can do super easily is just impossible to imagine to me. A random google search puts the average weight of an us man at about 200 pounds (so 90kg), and I'm assuming those average men don't work out either. I don't see anyone like that hitting 40. I'm having a hard time imagining someone who's 200 pounds and never went to the gym hitting even 1 (with proper form). For reference, I'm like 150 pounds, have been working out for about one month now (although not focusing on push ups), and can get to about 4 before having to take a break. When I started, I couldn't do a single one, and struggled just with heavily inclined pushups. Just maintaining a straight-arm plank for a full minute isn't exactly super easy for me. Yeah, I know, I'm in terrible shape (hence the starting working out thing), but then so is a large number of the population.

For anyone reading this thread that got scared off by the comments saying how easy it is: don't be. It's perfectly normal for someone not working out to not be able to do it. Start with easier exercises like incline pushups or something like this first. And most importantly, don't let this scare you from going to the gym. Seriously, like 25% of the people see in my gym are in worse shape than I am, and the ones that aren't going to randomly start insulting you or calling you weak or stuff like that.

And the same thing applies to squats, too. It took me a month to finally get to the point where I can say I have decent form with them, but I bet some people will tell you that you+re a weakling if you can't do a hundred in a row.
 
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DBT85

Resident Thread Mechanic
Member
Oct 26, 2017
16,725
I can't, but yesterday I shovelled and barrowed and raked 3.5 tons of gravel on my own.

Yesterday I lifted and barrowed about 5 tons of concrete. A little less the day before.

Someone do a study involving gravel. Am I dead?
 
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
Dam strength tanks when you don't workout, I used to be able to do 40-50 push ups, but this morning I tried and I was failing at 33 its like the first 25 are easy then my muscle just start to slow down.
Really need to get my strength back up.
So I worked out today.


If its a 60sec limit you can rest and pace yourself, none stop is harder.
 
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riotous

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,451
Seattle
I don't know why but I hate doing push-ups, something about them almost gives me a nails on chalkboard kind of feel.

Wonder what percentage of your weight you'd have to do 50 straight reps of to emulate 50 pushups?
 

Burrman

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,633
Just tried this morning because it's been a while since I challenged myself with pushups. Did 40 this morning, but it was really hard. Could probably reach 50-55 on my best day.
 
Oct 25, 2017
895
Man this thread is nonsense. 40 push-up in a minute being something the average person can do super easily is just impossible to imagine to me. A random google search puts the average weight of an us man at about 200 pounds (so 90kg), and I'm assuming those average men don't work out either. I don't see anyone like that hitting 40. I'm having a hard time imagining someone who's 200 pounds and never went to the gym hitting even 1 (with proper form). For reference, I'm like 150 pounds, have been working out for about one month now (although not focusing on push ups), and can get to about 4 before having to take a break. When I started, I couldn't do a single one, and struggled just with heavily inclined pushups. Just maintaining a straight-arm plank for a full minute isn't exactly super easy for me. Yeah, I know, I'm in terrible shape (hence the starting working out thing), but then so is a large number of the population.

For anyone reading this thread that got scared off by the comments saying how easy it is: don't be. It's perfectly normal for someone not working out to not be able to do it. Start with easier exercises like incline pushups or something like this first. And most importantly, don't let this scare you from going to the gym. Seriously, like 25% of the people see in my gym are in worse shape than I am, and the ones that aren't going to randomly start insulting you or calling you weak or stuff like that.

And the same thing applies to squats, too. It took me a month to finally get to the point where I can say I have decent form with them, but I bet some people will tell you that you+re a weakling if you can't do a hundred in a row.
I agree that if someone doesn't do bodyweight workout or strength training regularly it is unlikely they can do 40 in a minute. But I think anyone who is otherwise healthy should be able to obtain this benchmark in a relatively short time frame with some dedicated practice.

As an analogy, a couple years ago, I tried doing chinups/pullups for the first time in many years. On the first day, I could do 7 or 8 chinups and barely one pullup. Within a month, I could do 10 of both. If you're fairly healthy, it's just a matter of practicing to train your central nervous system and technique - I had the muscle strenght, but my technique and CNS were lousy at the very beginning, which is why newbies make the biggest gains, and fast.
 

Deleted member 50498

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Dec 6, 2018
2,487
Dam strength tanks when you don't workout, I used to be able to do 40-50 push ups, but this morning I tried and I was failing at 33 its like the first 25 are easy then my muscle just start to slow down.
Really need to get my strength back up.
So I worked out today.


If its a 60sec limit you can rest and pace yourself, none stop is harder.
Strength tanking when you don't workout is nothing compared to cardio tanking when you stop running. It would take me about 1.5 years of running on a consistent basis to even sniff my personal record for three miles.

I need to start running again.
 
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
40 is EZ peazy. Do you guys even lift? Smh

No but seriously, it's not that hard if you exercise a bit.

I find it odd that it would be a better indicator that cardio since it is more related to a shorter and intense effort rather than a sustained effort... Not really buying it...

It's does not show 40 push ups prevent heart disease its just a correlation.
Probably because people who can do 40 push ups are more likely to do cardio and watch there diet.
You could probably find the same correlation with other things which are common with healthy lifestyle, like people who are not sedentary for more then 2hrs a day or ppl who eat 5 fruit and veg a day or people who don't eat sugar or ppl who drink 2 litres of water a day etc.