Are push-ups useless???

Alan - how much is too much? I average a little over 700 a day. Some days are 1050, some are 300. I also vary types - regular, decline, typewriter, close grip, wide grip, slow& squeeze. It took me several moths to build up to it.

I have since lost 3 pounds and went from unable to break 8min mile to running 10 under 7 today.

Pushups can be useful for a runner. That's if you want to look fit and athletic, as opposed to emaciated and weak appearing. While training for a marathon, currently running 60 mpw, I do push-ups, pull-ups, standing dumbbell upright rows and supine pull-ups three days per week. I do two sets of 18-25 of each. It takes about 20 minutes, three days per week. It gives just enough muscle tone to the chest, arms, shoulders, abs and back, without gaining enough muscle mass to slow me down. Whether or not it helps my running, I don't know, but it helps me feel better. I'm not ready to look like Ed Whitlock, just yet.

There are more useful comments here than I expected. I have always done pushups and they have always been easy for me. I am very light (BMI ~19) and because they are easy for me I have been doing them continually over the years. I just started pushing up my total again and can hit 100 sometimes (and one 125 last week), but I have a shoulder issue that means that I probably am not going as deep as others here. But it keeps my core very solid and staying straight while doing them, which seems to be hard for many people, is a non-issue. I am 70, so I am probably older than most here. This inspired me so I just tried for a new max - got to 124 1/2 - couldn't finish the last one without bending my knees and collapsing.

To the one who said that they do ~700 a day -- wow. I think Jackie Joyner-Kersee would do a 1000 a day, if I remember correctly --- best all-around female athlete (?!)

What are you people babbling about? Push-ups are fantastic. I especially like the orange ones!!

They work great if you're at a party and want to impress the chicks! Seriously, if you're game is off point that night, rip off some clean diamonds for an instant panty soaker. Just be careful and remember to hydrate in between all the sex.

runrincerepeat wrote:

coach wrote:

Buy the "perfect push up" device for $20, it works.

Or hold on to dumbbells or do push ups on your fists.

Those are for weakbodies .. do them on your knuckles ...

Knuckles are for weak bodies since you can't go as deep as doing them on dumbbells.

6 wrote:

See title.

I’ve been doing at least 6 x 20 every day during COVID and try to max out continuous once a month or so.

You need to mix it up (hand/arm locations, speed etc) after 6 weeks or it gets tedious and the gains flatten. I did 100 in a row at one point just to see if I could do it and it wasn’t that bad. If I had a pull up bar I’d alternate days

The tricep (hands touching) ones are my favorite

It was like that until I started to do sports. Until now, my most unfavorable type of exercise, I am literally getting sick every time doing it. Even in spite of the fact that bow I feel better.

What you are boking when you are doing press-ups?

That doesn't sound right.

Depends on your body. Push-ups or any chest exercises bulk up my chest and arms easily. Maybe because I can from hockey to running and used to lift a lot.

Not worth the extra weight in my opinion. Does it look like any pros do push ups? I would say no.

No. One of the best exercises you can do. With all the variations of push ups you can practically hit dang near every muscle above the waste.

areusure? wrote:

runrincerepeat wrote:

Those are for weakbodies .. do them on your knuckles ...

Knuckles are for weak bodies since you can't go as deep as doing them on dumbbells.

They wouldn't let us have dumbbells in our cells, only in the yard, which is where I started running. Doing pushups on your knuckles is good as it builds up your knuckles so they are tougher when you get in a fight and won't bleed so easily.

Do elite distance runners, the very best (East Africans) do push-ups? Not being sarcastic, just curious. It seems like they do not put much emphasis on any upper body strength work.

I do 100 every other day, in two sets of 50. I've been doing that for a long time. Any more than 50 in a set is doing cardio the hard way. Any more than 100 in a day, and you run the risk of burning out or making excuses not to do them. I can, and do that amount month in , month out, year in, year out.

I do two sets of pull ups on the other day, right now I can do three. Not in any hurry to increase that number, but I'll happily hover at two sets of five.

There is no good reason to not do them. It's great discipline.

fwiw I feel push-ups more in the core and hip flexors that I do in the upper body.

huh?? wrote:

eurodonkey wrote:

A full body program is Push, Pull, Hinge, Squat, Carry. So they are a useful 20% of what you need.

What is Hinge? DL? And carry? Farmers carry?

Yes, Hinge is the snappy new word fo "posterior chain". So if you sprint that's a one-leg hinge, or a jump is a two-legged one. But the classic ones in the weight room are Deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, Power Cleans, and maybe Good Mornings. You can also do a one-legged deadlift with a light pair of weights to counterbalance you.

That list of 5 movement groups comes from Dan John; if you include one of each in a workout, you will have covered most things. At times in the past he said "Core" instead of "Carry", in the sense of "any muscles between mid-torso and mid-thigh".

Loaded Carries include waiter walk, rack walk, suitcase walk, and farmer's walk.

"Core"-wise, ab wheel rollouts are awesome, and a circuit of planks (front/left/right) would tick the box too. Anything involving bracing hard against movement.

Another way of explaining hinge is that it is a hip dominant exercise as opposed to squat a knee dominant exercise. A deadlift has minimal knee flexion and a squat has knee flexion.