(21M)Why can't I do more push up?

Numero34 · 2019-08-12T14:27:26+00:00

Learn to enjoy being uncomfortable. Chances are when it comes time to grind you don't possess the will to continue.

Right now take whatever your max reps are and do 1 more.

red_philosopher · 2019-08-12T14:30:10+00:00

When you first start exercising, your mind and body give you a physical and mental shit test that separates the pussies from the men. If you quit, you're a pussy, if not, you're worthy of the rewards exercise brings.

Physically, you get sore, (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), you get really tired, and generally you feel like shit. But, if you work past that initial barrier consistently, after a week or two you stop getting sore unless you really over do it. Eventually, after a long long while, you'll start to feel like shit because you didn't exercise.

Mentally, when we feel like shit we don't want to so whatever it was that made us feel that way. It's easier to quit and say, I don't want to do this, because historically, whenever you exercised, you either let yourself down (unrealistic expectations), or felt like shit afterwards. Understanding that and ignoring it is crucial to your long term success.

If you want to do more push-ups, you have to work on them consistently, and set reasonable expectations. Even if you can't do one full pushup, you can start on your knees instead of on your toes. You can also do planks in order to strengthen your core to make a full pushup easier in the long run. Start with a set of 10. Space it out if you have to. Add more every day you successfully reach the new goal. Then, eventually you graduate to full push-ups, which you may only be able to do a few of. But you add more and more and more over time, and eventually you're doing 20 in a set at a time.

The key is to always be doing MORE. Don't settle for the same, push your limits. Track your progress over time. Write it in a journal. And at the end of each month, look at the progress you've made. You'll see a change in you as time progresses as long as you stick to the program.

Just be careful to not injure yourself. An injury can really devastate your mental confidence. It took me about 9 months to fully recover from a knee sprain, to the point I could exercise safely, and I lost a lot of progress. But I need to look forward to where I can go as opposed to where I was. And every day, I get a little bigger, and a little stronger.

Stay the course.

TehJimmyy · 2019-08-12T14:15:57+00:00

go to the bodyweight fitness sub and see the FAQ on push up progressions. includes other exercises too

Kobinks · 2019-08-12T14:21:26+00:00

Because you're a weak little bitch physically and mentally.

Eat in a surplus with 1 gram protein per lb of body weight and get on a programme at bodyweightfitness or fitness sub.

You can also try grease the groove where you do 50-70% of your max reps throughout the day to pump up volume and neurological adaptation. (Do this every 30 mins to an hour all day every day)

HappyScribe · 2019-08-12T20:38:56+00:00

Grease the groove. Every time you walk through a doorway at home, bang out three perfect push ups. In a day you'll be doing 50+ push ups.

Then increase to four.

I used this method to help me do pull ups.

HurricaneHugues · 2019-08-12T21:34:44+00:00

How's your diet and sleep? Good luck making any progress in physical training if you're not eating enough/eating clean and not sleeping enough.

RossDDMarshalls · 2019-08-12T15:05:28+00:00

The more specific and detailed your questions, the more specific and detailed your answers will be. I don't even know exactly what you're trying to ask. Everyone responding is answering a vague interpretation of your questions, so don't feel surprised if you feel your questions aren't being completely answered.

felix04490 · 2019-08-12T15:16:52+00:00

Chances are you haven’t worked out much in ur life. Ur question is pretty self explanatory. Get into a routine this can be whatever u want - stick to it (5days a week). You should be pretty dead at the end of each workout. Eventually (maybe one month later), increase the weights/ reps , with abit of common sense and time you will see urself progress.

Fuktiga_mejmejs · 2019-08-12T15:34:34+00:00

Read "cant hurt me" by David goggins or listen to Joe rogans podcast with David goggins and Rhen try again.

Fuktiga_mejmejs · 2019-08-12T15:36:52+00:00

Also try doing push ups Every day for a week or two and i guarantee you will dubble your reps until failure.

ElWierdo · 2019-08-12T16:58:04+00:00

Eat more. I put a lot of work in without making much progress in terms of getting bigger and stronger until I learned to focus on nutrition. (That effort still made me healthy and I looked fit, so it was in no way a total loss.)

If you want to get stronger and bigger, make sure every set is to failure. Eat 18-20 calories per pound of current body weight. (That is a lot if you eat clean, which you should.) 50% carbs-30% fats-20% protein. Eat/drink protein and carbs before and after (within 45 minutes) of a lifting workout. Look up a routine online from a fitness magazine so you aren't doing the same exercises over and over. Get your veg in, take vitamins. Do some light cardio as well. You'll gain fat on this diet, so alternate back to mainly cardio and eating regularly every 4 weeks or so.

The Nancy Clark book on sports nutrition is a good resource if you want more specifics. I'm sure many people will disagree with what I wrote and I have a lot to learn, but it's worked well for me. (40M)

Project_Zero_Betas · 2019-08-13T02:13:04+00:00

How many can you currently do in a row and what do you weigh?

TBtgoat · 2019-08-13T12:37:11+00:00

You gotta find a way to fall in love with it. It took me many years to figure that out. The same applies outside of the gym too. When you genuinely enjoy something you will be best at it.

Some of my favorite college classes were objectively difficult with tons of work. I found the material fascinating and truly wanted to learn about it so I naturally did well in the class.

Title	(21M)Why can't I do more push up?
Author	sea_light_house
Upvotes	2
Comments	23
Date	August 12, 2019 2:11 PM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/cpcwaj/21mwhy_cant_i_do_more_push_up/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/21mwhy-cant-i-do-more-push-up.248244 https://theredarchive.com/post/248244

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