how many pushups?

30? Not bad, but I do 40. I do them in 4 sets of 10. That allows for maximum recovery so the next set will be high quality. I do one when I wake, one at lunch, one at dinner, then one before bed. Remember, quality is more important than quantity. Good luck.

I do a set of 25 pushups before and after running on days I do not go to the gym.

shoot for 50. its not just how many you do but also your form. Slow on the way down makes them more difficult, but better for your core. work on handstands too, using a wall. Builds up the back and shoulders to balance you out, just by holding a handstand for 30 seconds at a time.

I don't think the benefits would plateau. Here's my reasoning. Distance running is slow twitch. The more pushups in a row you do, the more slow twitch fibers are needed. Pushups make a good warm up before an easy run, if nothing else.

hitmonlee wrote:

Distance running is slow twitch. The more pushups in a row you do, the more slow twitch fibers are needed. Pushups make a good warm up before an easy run, if nothing else.

do you run on your hands?

I do morning 25 and then afternoon 25, and then early evening 25

Every friggin day.

I am huge. I am a bad a$$, and I am damn good looking.

jive talker wrote:

What's a good number of pushups to do on a daily basis for a normal distance runner with a slight build?

you should be dancing.

jive talker wrote:

I do 30 now but could do double that...does the benefit plateau at some point?

We can try to understand

The New York times' effect on man

And if there's somebody

You love til you die

All that jive talking

Just gets in your eye

jive talker wrote:

I do 30 now but could do double that...does the benefit plateau at some point?

Oh child

You're so good

...at treat in' me so cruel

There you go with your fancy lies

Leaving me looking like a dumb drunk fool

You're gonna take away my Hen Ehr gee

With all that jive talkin

I go for 100 a day. It's a nice round number. Usually, reps stay in the 1-5 range for strength, and 6-20 or so for hypertrophy. Beyond that, it's endurance. The weight needs to be such the final rep of a set is a struggle. Given pushups are a low-weight exercise, I accepted it was an endurance exercise for me, and given that, reps up to about 50 in a set are beneficial. Beyond that, and it's just doing cardio the hard way.

30 in a set is easy to achieve, 50 in a set takes about a month. Once you can do that, drop two sets a day. I do them every day and have done for about 18 months.

You shouldn't do pushups everyday. Why are you doing pushups when there are 1000 other exercises which are better for improving your running?

If you still want to do pushups think in terms of total volume and single set volume. Also do extended sets where you rest in the up position with a flexed back.

Make pushups a part of a progressive total body routine..if you're not doing squats and pullups you are missing out on the two best exercises for strength and performance improvement.

Back to pushups. ...if you are stuck on just doing pushups. ..

3 days a week: one of the following:

10 sets of 20-30

4-6 sets of 50

1:00 timed sets x 4-6

25 down. 25, then 24, then 23...30s rest

Biggest problem with pushups is stagnation. You can only progress so far with pushups. More and more volume is needed. This volume comes at the price of healthy shoulder function. Especially if you are not doing pullups to strengthen the antagonist. This is why shoulder impingements and rotator cuff tears are common in the military and common in any weight lifting program.....too much focus on the push vs the pull.

Alan

Alan, Thanks for the good tips. I am something of a push-up aficionado. There is something Zen-like about doing hundreds of push-ups during a work-out. They also provide a great cardio and ab work-out. And they are pure and righteous in their own way, i.e, you can do them anywhere, any time, with no need of equipment of any kind.

I also like pushups and variations. ..plyo pushups, burpee pushups, burpee pushups to pullups, etc. But they are boring and tim consuming. I could do three sets of bench supersetted with sets of pushups and get a better overload stimulus than just straight sets of pushups.

Ultimately you need to decide what are you doing? Are you working out just to sweat? Are you working out to improve at something? Be it a sport or getting stronger.

If you are lifting to become a better runner then pushups are a time-consuming waste of resources.

I wouldn't do nearly as many straight sets of pushups if I didnt have to do an APFT every 6 mo.

Alan

The same number as Asbel Kiprop.