Editors Note: Push-ups are an intense muscle building exercise and should not be underestimated. Large volumes of push-ups can lead to profound muscle soreness and possibly overtraining. Diet is key to being able to withstand the rigors of such intense exercise at the level Herschel Walker’s program entails. In fact, building large, strong muscles is not easy on the body in general. Read Antioxidants, Fats, Vitamins and Exercise to develop a diet strategy that will assist you in recovery. I do not recommend starting out trying to do the volume of push-ups Walker does. As always, start slow and add to your volume gradually.
Interview for Academy of Achievement
I love iron. I love to train with it. I love the way it feels when I lift it. Hell, I even love how it feels when I can’t lift it. However, and I am going to be frank here, what difference does it make if you can bench press 600 lbs but you cannot even do 20 pushups? Herschel Walker of NFL fame was reputed to have never touched a weight until college. Doing some research, I found a 1991 interview that more or less alludes to this. Here is a snippet from the article.
Herschel Walker: I didn’t grow up with a lot of money. My high school didn’t have a lot of money to afford a lot of the expensive weights. You know all this stuff. They used that as an excuse. I started doing push-ups and sit-ups during commercials as I was watching TV. And started doing about, sometimes 2,000 push-ups, 3,000 sit-ups, 1500 pull-ups, 1000 dips, or different things like that. I started creating different hand positions for all that, and I learned that could work you out.
This is humbling to say the least. The full interview can be found by clicking the link to it, located above.
However, before you go there let me say a few words about pushups.
Only recently did I start doing pushups. As fate would have it, I injured my right shoulder about 8 months ago and this injury forced me to curtail my strength training substantially. As of this writing I am still rehabing it.
The inability to do traditional strength training for my chest forced me to start doing pushups. Surprisingly, this has helped my shoulder quite a bit. Pushups involve a ton of stabilizer muscles that a standard Bench Press won’t touch. The serratus muscle group, for starters, never seem to get properly trained doing standard bench presses (if you are uncertain which muscles I am referring to, launch
the new TPO Body Buddy Anatomy Chart.
Only military presses with a barbell seem to hit the serratus with any intensity, but then military presses don’t hit the chest, whereas pushups fire up both the chest and serratus. Not only that, but pushups hit the shoulders, the triceps, and….guess what else, the ABS. Pushups are a phenominal abdominal exericise!
As my shoulder improves I intend to do more pushups. At the moment, I am doing a wimpy 100 total pushups. I suppose at some point your body adapts as Walker’s seemed to do, allowing him to do 2000 in a day! What he does not say is how he did that. I would be interested in knowing whether these 2000 reps were done in one workout, or were they done cumulatively, in several sessions throughout the day where he did 500 a session? If anyone knows, please leave a comment. Moving on…
You may have heard it said that Barbell Squats are the king of free weight movements. I tend to agree with that statement. It is one of those rare exercises that can force the entire body to grow. But if what the say about Barbell Squats is true, then the same can be said for Pushups. It has to be the undisputed king of bodyweight movements, hands down. Especially when done correctly.
There are many versions and styles of pushups. The most common, and I believe the most effective, is the Standard Military Pushup. You know the kind I am talking about: Where you 1) Lie chest-down with your hands at shoulder level, palms flat on the floor and slightly more than shoulder-width apart, your feet together and parallel to each other. 2) Keep your legs straight and your toes tucked under your feet. 3) Straighten your arms as you push your body up off the floor. Keep your torso and legs rigid, your palms fixed at the same position and keep your body straight. Try not to bend or arch your upper or lower back as you push up. Etc., etc.
Granted, this seems easy on paper, and truth be told it is, if you do only one! But try doing 30, 40, 50 or more, and watch your chest, triceps, abs, thighs, upper back, forearms scream in agony as you go to failure. Trust me, there is a reason why our Military is so big on pushups. And there is a reason why Walker swore by them.
Of course, by doing things like varying the width of your hand spacing, changing the angle of your palms, adding bands to increase the resistance while preserving the biomechanical advantages of pushups over benchpresses etc., you can increase the overall physical development possible from this one exercise. By using a more narrow hand spacing, for example, you can increase the focus on certain heads of the triceps and reduce chest involvement.
Keeping good form assures that the abs will receive tons of stimulation. You can develop a tremendous set of abs from this one exercise alone, if done properly.
There are many variations of pushups out there, but this variety is tops in my book. So, set the barbells and dumbbells aside for a few weeks or maybe even a few months. Hammer away at your body with pushups and watch your body grow!
If you can’t set the barbells aside, mix the pushups into your program.
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I will be doing only chins, dips, pushups, and bodyweight squats for physique and muscle. How many sets/reps should I be doing of each and how many days per week? I do kenpo twice weekly for an hour each practice. Thanks!
Hi John. Thank you for visiting my site.
The first thing I want to say is this: make certain that your diet in squared away. You will need between 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. You will need plenty of complex carbs (whole grain pasta, rice, fruits and veggies) some good fats http://www.healthcastle.com/goodfats-badfats.shtml and a good amount of antioxidants.
Why do I say you need the above? Because your body will be under a lot of stress. Moreover, you will need fuel to help rebuild and grow muscle tissue. Without proper nutritional support, you will go into an over-trained state quickly.
As for sets and reps: Your present level of conditioning determines a lot. If you are in good shape, then you could consider doing one set of each exercise to absolute failure. Just one set. Do this for 2-4 weeks and then add a second. Gradually, over the course of each workout day try to add to the total number of reps you do for that one set.
If you are in really good condition, with several months of strength training under your belt, another approach would be to establish a total number of reps you want to perform and do as many sets to momentary failure as it takes to get there.
For example: let’s say you want to do a total of 100 pushups in one set, but you currently lack the strength and stamina to do that. Well, perform the first set until you reach momentary failure (not absolute exhaustion mind you…just to the point that you feel failure is one rep around the corner). Stop. Take a breather for a minute or two. Drop down and bang out some more. Maybe you got 20 pushups on your first mini-set. The second set will be harder and may fail at count number 15. That is OK. Keep going and keep count until you have banged out 100.
If 100 seems like too much, then try for a total of 50, using the same approach as above.
You can then use this same approach for all your exercises. But let me warn you: You will be sore as a mofo the next day. Your serratus will be screaming bloody murder for the next 3-4 days. Your abs will be sore. Shoulders…yep. Wowo. Pushups are awesome, but brutal. As for free standing squats….be careful. The soreness you will experience here is the sort that will keep you in a wheel chair for several days…especially is you shoot for 4-500 total.
My final thought would be to get some basic conditioning first, then after 2-4 weeks, tackle the realm of failure.
As always, consult with a physician before undertaking resistance training of any sort, and realise that my suggestions are just that. Use your own judgement. If what I suggested is too hard and/or you find yourself not making progress, back off on the volume and frequency of training. If it is too easy, give it a few weeks before you add to to the volume in terms of numbers of sets.
As a rule, it is usually best for most trainee’s to reduce their training, improve their diet and increase the amount of recovery time between workouts. Ironically, this is especially true as you get stronger.
TaC
John, I should mention something else.
recovery
Recovery
RECOVERY!
Mike Menzer was a HUGE advocate of not training to frequently. He believed that infrequent, intense workouts were best…..assuming that building muscle and strength was your goal.
Have a look at Mike-Wiki to gain some insights into what Mentzer thought.
I would like to welcome the folks from Bronze Bow Publishing. You guys have a tremendous community!
As you can see, this site is sort of a hodge-podge of sorts. There is a lot here. I hope you are able to enjoy some of what you find here.
God Bless!
tMan
I have recently started doing some excersises at the house. I will do a push up style between two chairs. I am doing about 30 in the morning, and around 30 in the evening. Then i am doing about 50 crunches in the morning and then another 50 in the evening. I am very slim, and just wanting to gain a little strength before I venture into the gym for maybe a trainer. My question is im on my second day doing this little workout and my chest, shoulders are pretty sore. Not to the point of not being able to do my workout but none the less sore. Should I let the soreness go away or just keep doing them? Doesn’t bother me to keep doing, but I don’t want it to get worse if I continue this, and don’t want to be stupid about it. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Jon, thanks for your question.
There is a great forum located at http://www.bronzebowpublishing.com/ where folks discuss body weight training extensively. The guy who runs the site does not believe in progressive resistance strength training per se. He is all about Isokinetics, Isometrics and calisthenics. Some of the threads in his forums speak directly to this issue of soreness and training frequency.
My personal rule of thumb is never train a body part when it is so sore you cannot touch it, or you lack pain-free full range of motion. Mild soreness is acceptable, but anything beyond that and you risk over training and in jury if you hit that muscle group again. If you are that sore, chances are good that you need more recovery. Again, that is my personal approach.
As an aside, my strength coach at UVa once told me that he never trained any muscle group if there was even the slightest bit of soreness. One way he would gauge his training readiness was to take a broom stick and, in the case of chest, would lay on a flat bench. He would do a super slow rep with the broom stick, and if he felt even the slightest twinge of discomfort he would not train chest. Interesting eh?
I just started doing bodyweight excercises again after a long few years of not doing anything strenuous and just getting over a leg and ankle break. Im 27 years old and ive just started to be able to run again on my leg and ive started jogging and sprinting uphill.
Also ive started doing 3 sets of 10 jump squats followed by 3 sets of 20 regular squats and 3 sets of 15 walking lunges. On alternate days I do 5 sets of as many military pushups I can do. During my injury I have gained nearly 20 pounds of which, Ive never gone over 175 in my life but now im between 190 and 195 because it fluctuates alot.
After I do these few excercises I feel really drained and I cant really push myself to do more and I can see the extra poundage in my stomach. So my question is what can I do with my diet and what is the best energy shake and protein shake and whatever else I need to reach a higher level of performance so I can add extra excercises to my routine?
Brandon, thank you or stopping by. I am going to consult with one of my best friends who is a superbly qualified lifestyle and fitness coach. In fact, if I can get him to spare some time, I will have him post a reply to your questions. I trust him implicitly.
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Hi Brandon, I’m Tim’s friend from Scotland and I’m also a freelance personal trainer and lifestyle coach, meaning I provide the holistic approach to optimum health and fitness using exercise, nutrition and massage. Just say that for some cred …. There’s so much I could say to you my friend! I’ll give you a few suggestions that will make a big difference. The very first is – go easy on yourself and listen to your body. It sounds as if you’re pounding yourself and you even use the word ‘military’! Be patient. It will take a while for your body to adapt to your re-instated workout routine. To begin with do 12-15 reps per set, up to 4 sets as your time allows. Forget working to exhaustion – it isn’t healthy especially if you ain’t got the right fuel in your body. I’ll touch on that in a minute. For periodisation switch to 8-10 reps after 6 weeks and adjust your weights up accordingly. Every 6 weeks change your routine. Work the big muscles to increase lean muscle mass and kick your metabolism into top gear. Big muscles being glutes, quads, hamstrings, pecs(chest) and lats(back). South of the waistline squats and lunges will hit all the big ones and are compound exercise so you can do every day if you want. Work the chest with chest press/flyes and back with lat pull down or bent over row. Keep it safe and effective. Form and quality are key. You should never feel pain and especially at your age you should not feel ‘drained’. I suspect you might have depleted your energy stores ….
Diet-wise, control your blood sugar – this is a big subject and I could talk for an hour on this alone – but just a few basics for now – This will take care of you being tired and will give you sustained energy all day every day. – This means have breakfast, lunch, and dinner and include a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. That’s right, 5 times a day or about every 3 hours of your waking day. Ensure you eat some quality carbs – LOW ‘GL’ – (Glycaemic Load), about an hour before your workout eg Oats (like porridge with berries or oatcakes with egg or peanut butter to combine carbs with protein for even more sustained energy. Drink minimum 4 pints of water a day and more if you’re working out. Always have water with you when you exercise. If you ever feel thirsty you’re already 1% dehydrated and your muscles will contract 15-20% less efficiently. I’m not a fan of protein shakes or powders. Another subject I won’t bore you with, suffice to say you don’t need extra protein, just a balanced diet. Top low GL fruits:
Any berries – strawberries, raspberries etc, cherries, plums, apricots. Minimize and avoid high sugar foods and fizzy drinks. Also minimize/avoid coffee and other stimulants. These all take you up (blood sugar-wise) and as you know, what goes up … in this case drops you big time and robs you of your energy. Final note – if you don’t take nutritional supplements think about it seriously. You can’t get what you need in your diet alone. I’d recommend a good quality multivitamin/mineral, omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids, vitaminC and my big favourite is coenzymeQ10 for your most important muscle of all – your heart. Hope this was helpful – and remember you are your most important person. Take care and good health. Gordon
Gordon, thanks for these great suggestions. I especially like the comment about blood sugars, as I think this is so very important. I also like the suggestions for a good quality Vit/Min supplement along with Vit C and Co-Q10. Co-Q10 is pretty pricey, but I think it is worth its weight in gold.
I would like to talk to you about protein supplements however. I think this could vary from person to person. For example, in my case I prefer to eat red meat (organic) when I can afford it, but I rarely can. Moreover, fish is getting harder and harder to consumer safely with the levels of mercury that are showing up in random samples, and don’t even get me started in Soy proteins. Personally, I recommend proteins, as long as they are not soy. But we can talk about this when I call you next, because I want you to expand on your issues with protein.
Thanks for the comments!!
I also want to add that whether you consume protein in the form of food or a supplement, that it appears to be vitally important to consume some protein within an hour of training. I intend to add a post that addresses this in the next 24 hours.
Thanks!!!! you guys are great and I will definatelly start working on the nutritional part of it right away. The only thing healthy ive really been eating is peanut butter. everything else is like pizza, Mcdonalds and other junk food. Anyways that was an excellant reply and thanks again. Ill let you guys know how things are working out.
I am doing 10×50 pushups, 10x 15 dips, 10×10 chins, and 350 bodyweight squats 3x weekly. I have put on muscle and without special diet, supplements and 5 hours of sleep nightly.
On two alternate days I do 45 minutes of kenpo trainig.
Oh, by the way I’m 55.
Joe, this is very very interesting. I am so grateful that you stopped by. Regarding your eating habits, could you shed a bit more light for the rest of us? Since you do not supplement, what are your meal habits like?
Hello again. My eating regiment could be much better, but this is pretty much it in a nutshell.
Breakfast: 2-3 eggs scrambled in vey litle, light olive oil, 8 oz. glass orange juice which I water down a bit, and 4 oz cup of coffee.
Lunch: A 6 inch tuna or turkey sub with some veggies, a 12 oz. water, Dinner: Cup of soup-varies, small salad, and steak or fish baked or broiled,1-2 slices of rye or wheat toast. Inbetween breakfast and lunch, lunnh and dinner I will drink an 8oz glass of skim milk. This is a “no frills” eating regiment.
To progress on my exercises I plan to ONLY add additional reps to pushups 5reps weekly trying to reach 10 sets of 75-100. At 55 it may require extra rest between sets, but I believe I can do it and not injure or overtrain. Now, for me the key is that I do my 350 bodyweight squats in the morning also because it has some cardio benefit then the pushups. In the evening I knock out the chin and dip work.
My Kenpo work on alternate days is an “active rest” session as I go through the techniques and moves at a slow to moderate pace to retain skill through “muscle memory”. This session also doubles as flexability work. I get TOTAL rest weekends.
That’s it. If it works for me and can work for someone younger and it does not take a lot of time. Just dedication and commitment.
Joe, this is great!!!!
Thank you. Your comments added so much to this thread.
Keep coming back!!
Wow… I cannot dospute what works for someone else… but if I ate like that and did that many reps, I would be absolutely starving to death all day, every day. I’m 30, 6’0 and 180 lbs, and right now in decent shape but not really very muscular. I have a very inactive day job, and I’ve been doing only bodyweight exercises for several months. I’ve found that I’ve gotten progressively weaker with the bodyweight exercises, though my overall cardio fitness has improved. I eat 6 times a day, and as I am vegetarian, I include some cheese, nuts, beans and meat substitutes for protein. My body fat level has decreased, but I am not really gaining any weight or strength, so I am probably undereating as it is… It amazes me the differences between different peoples’ metabolism!
Set a rep goal, and then divide it into even sets. For example, if you want to do 100 pushups, and you are having a difficult time, then do 10 sets of 10. Want to do 500? Do 50 sets of 10, or 20 sets of 25. It is much easier to build up this way. As you become more comfortable, increase the size of your sets. Remember: Make sure to drink lots of water during an extended pushup workout.
I am curious how sore you will be and for how long if one attempts 500 push-ups?
I have read about people doing 500, 1500, 2000 etc. and I have just wondered how beneficial doing so many reps is.
Opinions?
Hi, I read in an interview with Herschel Walker that he started by just doing them during commercials when he watched TV and would just do them all throughout the day. So, he might do 10 pushups, watch TV till the next commercial and then do another 10, watch TV till the next commercial, etc.
When I was a teenager, one summer I worked up to something like 200 to 400 pushups everyday. I do remember I did them in sets of 10′s, with a few minutes break between sets. The only bad thing was when I got up past about 150 I quickly got bored because there wasn’t anyway for me to increase the resistance. So I stopped doing them. Also when I stopped doing them my chest strength quickly disappeared.
I think pushups are great for beginners but at some point they need to combine bench presses with pushups.
Actually its ok if you combine bench press with push ups,if the person is too used with his own bodyweight.But if u do not have access to gym,you could juz carry a bag on your back with some weights (not necessary to be free weights plates…could be anything for example: books or any heavy stuff ) and continue doing push ups with the new added resistance.This was what a gym intructor told me few months back…but guys i got two qustion…is it ok to do push ups everyday and push ups trains the anterior deltoids only but not the middle and back deltolds..is’ent tis overdeveloping the anterior deloids..hope u guys can reply me .10x
I wold like to see some folks chime in here, but I tend to think that you risk training if you perform intense push-ups every day in combination WITH load bearing exercise. I think in that case the push-ups might very well slow your recovery from the traditional training.
If all you were doing were push-ups then you still might want to vary the intensity day to day in order to prevent over training. Granted, this is not very specific, but I think you can understand what I am saying here.
Doing max numbers of pushups 7 days a week my very well be far to much for your body to respond well too. If you break the set and rep schemes up, without necessarily going to failure every day, then you might avoid OT.
Listen to your body. Experiment. Keep a journal and back off when you are not making progress. A good rule on any day. A good rule in life.
Hope this gives you a place to start.
Thanks for stopping by.
A general comment on push-ups, I have been doing them on a regular basis now for 2 to 3 years. Currently I do 400 push-ups in 13 minutes. I do this 3 to 4 times a week on a every other day basis. I have a screen enclosed room with an 8 inch step that I use for my feet, somewhat of an incline that I think helps. I time myself with my wrist watch. I do 30 push-ups every minute for 11 minutes then top it off with 2 sets of 35 for the last 70. In my opinion it is a great work out. It is a combination of aerobic and strength training. Trust me, I am sweating when done. The nice thing about it is, it’s a quick workout yet very effective. Once done with the push-ups, I do three sets of 10 curls with each arm with a 50lb dumbell. I can have a very effective workout in 30 minutes. I am 48 years old.
Kevin, this is impressive.
I am curious as to what you were doing in terms of reps when you first began? Did your stamina improve over time? Have you noticed if this type of strength transfers to the gym on any level?
When I first started doing push-ups I was doing 4 sets of 50 for a total of 200. I can’t remember how long I rested in between sets, maybe 5 to 7 minutes or so. Then one day I just came up with the idea of timing myself to get em’done. I started off originally with 20 push-ups per minute. Now I’m at 30 per minute. So now instead of increasing the number done each set I have elected to increase the number of sets to where I am at now at 400. I’m going to try and work my way up eventually to 500 in 16 minutes…….truthfully, I have not been to the gym in years, so I wouldn’t know if it transfers to any level there. On my off days I play a lot of singles tennis for more aerobic training. Really enjoy it! Thank you for the nice comment.
Well, all I can say is wow! That really is amazing and inspiring. It’s been a while since I did just push-ups for chest, but you have me so excited I may very well decide to give this a try myself. Please stay in touch with this web site as the Spirit moves you. The site is enjoyed by many and comments like your spice things up a LOT!
Believe me, bodyweight exercises work!
I train 3-4 days on a few basic exercises like chin, dip, pushups, and bodyweight squat in high reps.
The key for me is to split the workouts.
I do 500 BW Squats in the morning to also enhance cardio(no seperate cardio session needed)this is followed by 250 crunches and a 5 minute cool down strecth.
In the late afternoon I do 50 chins(sets of 10), 75 dips(in sets of 15) and 500 pushups in sets of 20. I end with 150 leg raises and a 5 min cool down strecth.
That’s it.
And, acording to people including heavy lifters, I have a physique good enough to compete on a state level(I’m 5″8, 190lbs) and pretty good “functional” strength.
Never lifted, but the one time I “tested” my strength on the bench press was able to knock out 12 reps with 250lbs.
I love comments like this. Thank you. I am getting quite inspired here.
Keep the stories coming.
Joe,
Will we be seeing you on the cover of any cereal boxes soon?……….I mean really, training like that 3-4 times a week is no basic regime! I thought knocking out 400 push ups in 13 minutes accompanied with some barbell activity was impressive………….your work out makes mine look like a walk in the park……….12 reps of 250lbs on the bench press is quite impressive………….I need to go to the gym and see how weak I am………….keep up the good work!!!
by the way, how old are you?
If you want to get ripped and have plenty of endurance this is another good way to go.
1. Start out military style and put your hands close together to form a Diamond. Index Fingers and Thumbs touching.
Do as many pushups as you can for two minutes.
Then take two minutes off or have a partner go at it for two minutes.
2. Then come back with Standard Military Pushups for two minutes, as many as you can do.
3. Two minutes off, then come back with Wide Arm pushups for two minutes.
Repeat all three sets at 3 to 5 times, not suggested more then every other day except for in the first few weeks.
Turn your hands slightly on the regular military and wide arm pushups on the different sets.
If you have a partner they can spot you by standing over your back with a towel rolled up accross your chest and holding on to the ends.
They can give you a little lift up at the end when you need it for a few more reps.
It will take some getting used to, but the Diamond and Wide Arm Pushups will get alot easier, it may take a while to get to 75 to 100 per set.
If you did this twice a day or a strong 5 sets you could easily do a 1000+ in a day if you wanted.
Hi, Im kinda in a little struggle here. Im 17 years old, im 5’10″ and I weigh 150lbs. Im currently looking forward to join the USMC. My struggle is that I want arm muscles and pecs. I have really good abs but I just cant seem to get pecs. I do push-ups, chin-ups, and sit-ups daily. Any tips on someone my age and wieght class?
To those that asked.
I’m 53.
For some strange reason my body has adapted to this workout and I feel fine.
Just started 4-5 rounds of bag work also.
Thanks for the compliments!
I am 53, but look like a “young” 35.
Yesterday I went 45 minutes non stop on the heavy bag throwing 8-15 punch combos.
This all due to my bodyweight exercise regiment.
You can transfer that levle of conditioning to most sports.
My goal for 2009 is 1000 pushups 3 times weekly.
Joe you really are amazing!!!!! Dang dude!! You are a machine.
Joe, I want to suggest something, and it was inspired by your comment and the mention of “bag work”. Would you be willing to do an experiment for a few weeks? Ironmind Enterprises sell sand bags! I would love to get someone in this thread to do some “bag work” with some sand bags. I am living off disability at the moment so my budget does not permit me to add to my training arsenal. Seeing as how you enjoy working with “the bag”, how would you feel about incorporating some sand bag training? Here is a link: http://www6.mailordercentral.com/ironmind/prodinfo.asp?number=1390
I just got Herschel Walker’s Basic Training by Herschel Walker and Terry Todd, PhD and read the whole thing yesterday. I see why people don’t want to get rid of theirs and the aftermarket used price is so inflated. I saw the book on eBay mixed in with a grab-bag of fitness books for less than I’d ever seen it alone, so I snapped it up.
Walker’s autobiographical stuff is very interesting and adds a personal dimension to the book. Todd’s stuff adds a great deal with the science behind the exercises and is really what takes this book from a basic exercise manual to a classic book in the field. The plans in the back would be invaluable to young athletes looking to start out, and as the programs go to the Advanced level, they are helpful to more experienced athletes as well. I liked the included Karate, sprinting, stretching, and water workout tips.
It does cover basic weightlifting, as even Herschel Walker needed to add some iron to his regimen when he hit the pros. Overall, I think it’s a great book that deserves a reprinting. If you haven’t read it, track down a copy. It should be in every functional-fitness buff’s library.
Aaron, excellent review, thank you!!!
About sand bag training I treid it before but it does not fit into my workout needs.
That might be good for MMA guys or grapplers.
My “no frills” training is geared to fitness, self-defense, and to maintain.
Since my last post I went to a local boxing gym and went 5 rounds of sparring with the state golden gloves champ who is 21.
I more than held my own and at 53 felt that in a street situation being able to use my full Kenpo arsenal would easily take out this amateur stand out boxer.
What happens is that consistent training enables us “old men” to retain muscle memory.
Also, my thinking is that if forced to defend, I cannot worry that I had no sparring time(this applies to boxing, MMA, or Martial Arts in general)I must react and defend.
Just my personal 2 cents.
Happy holidays to everyone!
Yes, I see the wisdom of what you are saying. I mean, if I were accosted and had to defend myself I am afraid the best I could do is eat a power bar, but with intensity! You know, chew like I really mean it.
I just came across this site searching for exactly something like this. I am an Air Force Veteran of Desert Storm and have been out since 2001. I used to do 500+ pushups a day with the same amount of situps, 100 chair dips each(legs both front and under) 50 pullups where possible, 50 handstand pushups(in all positions I varied the hand placement throughout my career) and wall squats(7-10 minutes) along with body weight squats(between 3-500 a day). All done every week night during the evening watching TV commercials. It usually took me 3 half hour shows to complete, except for the wall squats which I did last. Usually done when I was at home or at a location where a chin bar was available, if not available, then that was not done. I don’t remember what I started out doing, but since at 17 I could do pushups, situps and handstand presses quite easily, and even one handed pushups I thought I would continue that and add as needed. I remember when I started I did just dips, pushups, handstands, and pullups, the rest came within the next 6 months or so.
I just wanted to share this with the readers, with the hope of motivating those on the fence about starting. I think that persistence and dedication to exercise is more important than any program out there, I am now dedicated for life. I noticed that P90X commercial, they do pretty much the same old routine, just clever variations added in along with yoga, shadow boxing etc. SO, if they can achieve those results with the same dedication you can too without paying for the program! I will employ their strategy of changing or varying the routine every 6 weeks though. That sounds critical to improvement of strength, and growth….
I was 5′ 6″ at about 165-75 for most of my career and when I did go to lift weights (about every other month) I would usually use 135 warm up 1 X 15, 225, 275, 315 in decending 3, 2, 1 sets X 10, 8, 6 reps for the bench. Squats were usually 3 X 10 on the seated machine 250 – 800# depending on how I felt. I have not done much of anything since 2002, and am out of condition and shape and in that mode again and was looking to see if there were any better methods available. It looks like it is all the same, just need to find what I feed good with and work it. Back to my story, I did get ALOT of looks from the gym regulars and some I befriended and they actually started similar routines. I cannot say how successful their routines became. Though I do remember several commenting on their strength gains later.
Based on that, I would like to comment about the pushups vs weights. When in HS I could barely lift 225 much less rep it. I was 5′ 6″ and about 150#. After about 2 years of doing just the body weight routine when I was about 20 years old. I went to the gym to see what I could lift. I was very suprised when I was able to rep the 225 up to 20 times and a one time lift(spottted of course) of 315! That is what set my bar for the routine I continued.
I did (while in Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia) manage to win a bench contest with a lift of 385 @ 165 #, I was 27 then, and now 44. I think that body weight exercises provide the training to boost most lifts with out risking injury with out the need for strength supplements, just a basic diet. Since I have not done ANYKIND of conditioning or exercise since a 2002 injury…I NEED to get back to my old routine. With that I now that I KNOW I NEED to continue my program for life to provide the strength, flexibility and agility I need to survive and extend my life on this earth.
Derek, this is as inspiring as it is impressive. WOW! Your philosophy seems spot on to me.
Combat Training styles are the best for preparing the body for the rigors of life, so I encourage you to get back to what worked for you.
I am so glad you posted, and also thankful you stopped by.
I am curious if you can read the text? Do you like the layout? Color scheme, etc? This is a new layout and I am hoping that new visitors find it appealing.
Please sign up for the email alerts on the front splash page, and thanks for your continued support! Keep training and keep inspiring!
Webmaster
Hi Im mike i am 18,I do 500 pushups on the perfect pushup with my feet elevated and 1000 situps, I also do a bench pyrmid going sets 15, 12, 10,8,6,4,2 and then go back up. with curl I start at 20 and go down 2 reps each set until i get to 2 and then I go from 2 to 20 with 65 on bicep curl. Right now my bodywieght is 180 and I last maxout in october with 355. should my bench max gone up alot since i do this workout everyday?
Mike, while this may disappoint you I am not sure I can answer this with any degree of certainty. Everyones body responds in slightly different ways to stress and adapts to different forms of stress in somewhat unique ways.
The only way for you to see if you are getting stronger in the bench is to try benching after a certain period of time on a program and use the data to come to a conclusion.
hi , i am 13 currently i am 5ft 7in 126.8lbs . i do 2+ (add 2 to each workout) divebomber pushups, 50+(+5 each workout week) decline pushups , 100 bicycle crunches (+50 each workout week) 563 body twists (every day) 5+ pullups(+5 each workout) same with chinups. also i workout 3 days a week.
KC that is awesome mate! Keep up that pace and you are going to give Herschel Walker a run for his money in a few years!!!!!
So, I’ve read through this great thread and received quite a few tips. However, I still have a few questions I could use answered for clarification:
1. Should a push up/body weight (pull ups, sit ups, squats, etc.) routine be done EVERY day? Let’s say with no other weight training, for now; solely body weight exercises and cardio.
2. Should these exercises be done to failure daily, or should they be broken up into sets to achieve a total rep number. Say, if I want to do 100/day and my max is 30, should I do 3 sets of the max or break it into something smaller like 10 sets of 10 reps?
3. What is the rest time between these sets? Is the workout “lost” if the sets are broken up over hours of time? Should they be done with just a few minutes of rest between sets, or can they be spaced out over the length of the day and still be effective?
I am just trying to avoid overtraining. I understand diet, sleep, and listening to my body are all important and, for the most part, I take care of myself pretty well with the exception of maybe a few more adult beverages consumed than should be.
My main concern is with overtraining with the exercises themselves. Any input you gentleman have is greatly appreciated; as is your time. Thank you for the great resource.
Hi Brian! Thank you for stopping by and offering your input.
1) I believe in training just enough to force an adaptive response, whether you are doing calisthenics or progressive resistance or both. The objective is to get stronger, faster, bigger and better. If you are able to achieve that training every day, try cutting back to training 4 days in a row and resting. Record your progress for that month and compare to the previous month. Do just enough to get superb results. Doing more than you need is counter productive.
2) As for training to failure, I say use the same approach. Try training to failure every day for a month. Record your progress. Then, the next month, train each day just shy of failure. Record your results. Then, compare the data.
Obviously, this methodology takes time, but fortunately you have a lifetime to discover yourself.
3) I tend to think 1-2 sets to failure is better at forcing an adaptive response than multiple sets that are performed at 80% intensity. Arthur Jones believed this as well. However, the data suggests that this may be true for the first 2-3 months, at which point your body adapts, and you find that you need to mix it up by doing things like pre-exhaustion and supersets. Again, record your progress each month, make adjustments, and re-adjust as necessary.
As you said, diet, sleep, water and a good supplement program with some powerful proteins and antioxidants as well as some healthy fat supplements are a must.
Anytime you find yourself stagnated, train less, not more. That is a great rule of thumb.
If this does not help and only confuses you, post another comment and I will do what I can to find the answers you need.
By the way, how do you like the site?
Thank you for stopping by!
Webmaster-Tim
Not sure if this is still a question for you, plus I did not read any of the other posts, but I started doing pushups after I decided not to pay for a gym membership, after a month I can do 500 pushups in a session no sweat, seriously, I don’t even sweat. When I first started a month ago I could barely pull of 50 in a row, but now I can easily crank out 100. You just gotta work it, its easy for your body to adapt.
I think that if I can get to 500 in a session within a month, 2000 in a session doesn’t seem to be such a stretch, within a year at most.
Blake, I have found this to be the case as well. I have often wondered if by adapting, does the body also stop responding? Is your chest growing? Are you still adding muscle? Or, did you plateau?
Well my chest is certainly still growing, but the way I intend to stop the plateau effect is by switching hand positions and feet positions every set. Besides I’m trying for more compact muscle rather than big muscle.
Here’s how I managed to get in 400 pushups (and 200-300 bodyweight squats) each weekday while working a deskjob: Every half hour, I’d hit the deck and crank out 25 pushups. In an 8-hour workday, that totalled 400. Every time I visited the restroom (4 or 5 times a day, depending on how much water I drank), I’d do 50 or 60 squats. On my lunch break, I’d walk about 3 miles, or, if the weather was nasty, I’d spend a half hour or so walking up and down the 3 flights of stairs in my office building. I also kept a pair of old, 30-pound dumbbells on the floor next to my desk, and would do some arm or shoulder work from time to time, throughout the day. Nothing fancy, but it kept me in pretty good shape during my 3 years of flying that desk.
Anthony, this is interesting.
Do you happen to recall how your body responded in addition to staying in shape? Did muscles grow, tone improve et? Did you need extra antiperspirant at work? Heheh
I admire your dedication.
I did put on a noticeable amount of muscle following this regimen, although I didn’t measure the gains in pounds, inches, etc. I was fairly muscular to begin with, but became visibly more broad-shouldered, deep-chested, and thick-armed by doing this. Muscle tone, in my experience, has much more to do with having a low body fat percentage than with having large muscles, and believe that definition is primarily won or lost in the kitchen.
And yes, a little extra deodorant was needed from time to time.
Thanks for the inspirational article and ensuing commentary. It’s actually lit a fire under my butt to RE-dedicate myself to self-improvement and earn the admiration you were kind enough to extend (yeah, I’ve let things slide a bit in the past year). The fact that the most impressive numbers mentioned in the comments above have been by guys in their 40s and 50s is amazing and extremely motivational. At 33, it’s nice to be reminded that with continued hard work, I can still be kicking butt and taking names for decades to come!
Agreed. This is a pretty useful series of comments – yours included. So thanks for adding your hope and experience.
webmaster
P90X is a good program, but I get the same results with my high rep bodyweight sessions.
One thing I can say is that if an athlete, boxer, or MMA fighter followed the P90X program and added just and ONLY sparring to his training it would be enough to compete.
My friend an ex pro boxer worked 12 hour days.
He would do pushups/chins while at work then go spar double the amount of fight rounds and he was very successful on the state level for 10 years with this limited workout.
Joe thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the comment. Yeah. the p90x program is solid!
I have been looking for a bodyweight routine that will put on mass and definition. I’m constantly changing my workouts due to either not feeling like they are enough work or I’m concentrating on the wrong things. I usually have 3-4 days to workout, then I go to work for 48 hrs where it’s hard to get a workout in. How can I use pushups,situps,hanstand p/u, pullups and dips to acheive my goal. It seemed like Hercshel Walker did 1500 pushups and 2500 situps a day, but in his book it just said he did pullups after his football training. Is it numbers I should strive for or should I be working to failure? I always wanted to acheive my goals with bodyweight workouts instead of using weights. I have been doing strictly calisthenics for about a year now, so I can handle a good workout. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Nick.
Well, my first reaction is to suggest adding bands/cables to your pushups. When I suggest bands/cables with pushups, I am suggesting something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZfr6fBHyRU
Have a look at that and get back to me with further questions.
The band the guy is using looks like what you could get here:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=138
Have a look and get back to me.
I checked out the bands. What is your advise on a workout? Thanks
I understand Herchel Walker was very dedicated. But In his book it said he does Pushups and situps , handstand pushups everyday and does pullups, nothing about dips. But then I read things on him doing 1000 pushups,1000 pullups, 1000 situps, 1000 dips a day. How do you manage to do all of that in a day. If I could do half of that everyother day I would be happy. Just unsure on how to approach it. Thanks for the help.
Hi Nick.
You know, if I may be honest, Herschel’s claims always seemed a bit far fetched to me. It just does not make much sense. However, if doing even half of what he suggests would make you happy, then try breaking the workouts into chunks.
Let’s say you wanted to do 500 pushups. Well, do 100 pushups five times throughout one day. Do 100 pushups every 1 – 2 hours until you have done 500. Break the 100 pushups into sets of 50, do two sets. Wait an hour or so, do another 100 and so on.
Us that approach with chins, sit-ups and free squats as well. So, for workout 1) do 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats. Wait an hour or two, and do it again and so on, until you have 500 of each.
My guess is that the next day you will be so sore you might decide to take yourself to the hospital, but at least you will have given it a try.
If you can adjust to the soreness so that you can do this every day, then awesome. But, if you are like most folks who work for a living, you may have to try to find a way to fit these workouts in around your job.
Anyone else care to chime in?
PS: Yesterday I did 3 super slow super sets of dumbbell flys and dumbbell bench presses. I am so sore on my chest today I may not train chest again for 3-4 days
I really do believe that doing push ups is the key. I was a 10-12% body fat guy previously, and looking to hit the next level but somehow all the cardio and dumbells didnt cut it.
I started doing lots of push ups daily for the last 6 weeks to try something different, and the results have been eye opening. My chest, traps & arms have become more defined and buff, and a faint 6 pack is threatening to appear… All this without cardio, and I have actually lost fat these last few weeks!
Secret is to keep doing many throughout the day..I usually do about 15-20 sets ( each time to semi/full fatigue) mainly while watching telly ( I time it during adverts) . Try to do about 3 sets before heading to work in the morning , then finish off the rest in the evenings.
Have also started serious squatting last 2 weeks to create the same impact for the legs.
Dont want to put the gyms outo business by shouting too loud but I have seriously found something here…Folks who are already doing this know what I mean.
Great post Kevin. I agree whole heartedly.
I was reading some of the replies and it looks like some people actually do pushups everyday, and alot of them. I was doing 300 pushups and situps a day but then was told I was not giving myself enough time to recover and I was actually making my muscles smaller. Is this true? I weigh about 200, but would like to get up to around 215 but be solid and like to be able to do this using bodyweight exercises. Is this possible? If so, how many calories should I eat and what type of program should I be doing? Thanks for your help.
Hi Nick. My ‘puter was down for repairs, hence the delay in getting back to you.
The general rule of thumb is that the average person needs to consume more than 3500 calories per day to “gain weight”. While this may have been the prevailing school of thought for the longest time, and while I think it holds some merit, each body is different. The bottom line is that if you want to gain LEAN body mass the main concern is getting enough protein for tissue repair. That too is not without some debate, but since proteins are the building blocks of life, and since protein builds muscle, it stands to reason that if you do not consume adequate amounts of protein for your muscles, your lean tissue mass could deteriorate.
I have heard that 1.5 grams per pound of DESIRED body weight is what the bodybuilder looks at. So, if your target bw is 215 pounds, think of consuming 215 x 1.5, or around 320 grams of protein per day. That sounds like lot, doesn’t it? Well according to some it is.
Do some research of your own. Get a few different perspectives. Try several approaches and see what works best for you.
Make sure your sources of protein are lean and organic if possible, and get a good whey protein powder as a convenient supplement. Designer Whey is awesome.
As for the training….
If you are able to continually add reps and sets with your body weight, then you are making progress. If you are doing so many reps that you are getting bored, try adding some bands to your training for pushups, or strap on a few weight plates for chins once you get so strong that you can do 50 chins in a row.
As an aside, I seem to recall reading that Hesrchel Walker use to eat a HUGE dinner and nothing else for the day. He would sit down to two whole baked chickens and taters and whatever else he could eat, and that would be his meal for the day. I am not sure if this is apocryphal or not, but it sure seems interesting.
I think its been proven that you can add muscle with just pushups. Remember, body weight exercise and eating is all Herschel did prior to going to college. He had never even touched a weight.
Keep us posted with your progress.
TC
Thanks for your help. I will keep you posted on how everything goes!
OH and one other very important thing: POP TARTS. Lots and lots of Pop Tarts.
Teasing.
Stay strong!
Would you say that more reps during the day would be better then doing sets to failure. For example, 5 x failure or reaching a desired number using multiple sets? I have read of people doing both. What would be better for strength and muscle gains? Thanks
You know that is an interesting question.
Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones felt that short, intense workouts to failure produced superior results.
The Bible says moderation in all things.
I say, try both.
See what works. Keep a journal. That is the only way you will know for sure.
Try it for 4 weeks for each style. Get back to us with your experience.
Timothy
Hey guys, good article and real inspiring stories. Personally, I’m 16 and as I have no access to barbells, etc. I mainly to bodyweight and some weighted variations of bodyweight exercises. I spend a lot of time getting information from the forum http://www.bodyweightculture.com, which is a great resource. One of the guys who posts his log over there worked up to doing 120 handstand pushups, or 600 pushups, or 400 dips, 200 pullups, nearly 100 one-leg squats or 500 hindu squats, 100 dragon flags or 1000 crunches in a session… the guy is a beast, period! He weighs over 200 pounds and he’s doing all this!
I’m working slowly to increase my own training volume, hopefully someday I can get to that level!
I would be interested in seeing what this guys frame looks like. If you can build a huge muscular frame, including legs, with BW exercises only, I would be all for it.
He has not posted his workouts on the forum (bodyweightculture) for several months now but as far as I know he’s still beasting.
Here’s the link to his log: http://bodyweightculture.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11515&
And here is his ‘profile’ on the site, with some pictures: http://bodyweightculture.com/forum/member.php?u=50412
Last I heard he was 6 feet and a little over 200 pounds. Strong, dense muscle without much fat.
However, if you really want to see what can be achieved with bodyweight exercise only… check out the calisthenicskingz, search for them on youtube. Their main guy, ‘hit man’ looks like a freaking bodybuilder, he does clapping handstand pushups and insane stuff like that.
Thanks!!!
I have been doing p90x for a few months now. Its a great workout but high reps. I have been trying to build muscle mass so I figured if I went with low reps using resistance bands which is all I have, I should build muscle. I’m going about 4-6 reps. I’m 6′ 200 lbs, and have been trying to eat alot of healthy food. I’m eating about 3000 cal a day. I heard about drinking a gallon of milk on top of your diet to gain muscle. Will this help?
Hi Nick. I will tell you this much – EVERY time that I have increased milk intake, two things have happened: One, I get stronger and bigger and two, I cough more. As a person with CF, the increased fluid in my lungs is an issue, however if you do not have any pre-existing lung issues I would go for it. If you are able to get raw, whole milk then that is best. If not, look for the least processed milk you can find. Also, I tend to prefer organic as it tastes better, but it is twice as expensive so I am not always able to afford it.
As for the bands, I use’em – a lot. And I think they are a tremendous way to add some strength and size if used in the way you are doing. Keep us posted.
Since we’re talking about body weight exercises, I would be remissed if I didn’t at least mention the sheer brutality of Burpees. Believe me, after 1 set of 40 reps, you’re not only dizzy, but you feel like you ran 3 miles! FYI… a burpee consists of dropping down into a pushup position, followed by plyometrically pushing yourself up into the standing position followed by a jumping squat. Have fun with this one and thank the Few and the Proud for popularizing this exercise! Semper Fi!
doing a 1000 push ups a day is a waste of time. doing 10 pushups 1 pull up will make you way stronger. or 5 push ups 1chin 1 pull up. do 20 sets. will make muscles like steel .
Great information thanks for getting this out there for people like me to read.
Hey everyone if you are interested in working out with bodyweight only exercises, don’t think that you have to reach a point where you have to move to free weights to challenge yourself.
There are so many variations to the pushup alone that you would never run out ways to progress in physique devlopement. Just for some suggestions try elevating your feet or one foot, try hanstand pushups, diamond pushups where you form a diamond with the index finger and thumb of both hands and lower your chest to your hands.
To get a feel for just how far you can take your physique with bodyweight only exercises go to youtube and look up hannibal for king and then check out the bartendaz. Amazing stuff and they use bodyweight only execises because a lot of them were in prisons that did not allow weights, or live in low income areas where gym memberships were out of the question.
These guys do not follow the recommended nutritional requirements touted in the magazines and they can’t afford steroids and look at the physiques they built. I’m not saying to ignore nutrition, I’m just saying that I believe good nutrition and supplementation has more to do with good health which should a be concern of everyone than it does with building muscle.
Excellent post Andre. Thank you!
To add onto your point, all you have to do is look at gymnists. Those guys are huge. All they do is bodyweight exercises. There is a book called “building the gymnastics body” that focuses on their routines. As a matter of fact, the writer of the book pointed out that he spent his whole life doing BW routine. Once he retired, he started weight lifting. That was when he started getting hurt.
In terms of protein, I think its overrated. Americans consume too much protein. I saw an interview the other day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IPpUC0YMiE) of Herschel Walker talking about how he eats only once a day. His meal is soup, veggies, and fruit. He also said his protein consumption is VERY low. The guy is huge. To be honest I think thats the reason Brock Lesnar was sick for several months. I saw an interview with him right before he got sick. He said that his diet is mostly protein. Your body uses energy to back down meat based protein. After the doctors saw he was getting better, they said he had to lower his protein intake and increase the amount of fruits and veggies. Now that I think about it I read a article that saw one of the reasons why americans have so much cancer is because he eat so much protein.
Several months ago my GF bought me a TRX. I have to say, its a pretty good piece of equipment for BW exercise.
Bar-barians, like the bartendaz, are also very impressive. They have tons of videos on youtube.
Great addition to the content. Thanks AC!
Webmaster,
I have couple of questions. What is your routine? What do you think about BW versus weight training?
I set a goal to do 500 pushups a day for new years. Just during my work week. I met my goal on the 5th week and now will try to continue this till summer.
Here is my log so you can see the improvements in strength and volume
Push-Up log.
6:30- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/7 20 -1/8 20
7:00- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/7 20 -1/8 20
7:30- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/8 20
8:00- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/8 20
8:30- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/8 20
9:00- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/8 20
9:30- 1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/8 20
10:00-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20 -1/8 20
10:30-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
11:00-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
11:30-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
12:00-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
12:30-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
1:00-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
1:30-1/4 20 -1/5 20 -1/6 20
2:00-1/4 15 -1/5 20
2:30- -1/5 15
3:00- -1/5 15
3:30-
315 365 300 40 160 = 1180
Week 2
6:30- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 20
7:00- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 25
7:30- 1/11 25 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 25
8:00- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 25
8:30- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 30
9:00- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 25
9:30- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 25
10:00-1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20 1/15 20
10:30-1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20
11:00-1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20
11:30-1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 20 1/14 20
12:00-1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 30 1/14 30
12:30-1/11 20 1/12 25 1/13 20 1/14 20
1:00- 1/11 20 1/12 25 1/13 30 1/14 30
1:30- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 25 1/14 25
2:00- 1/11 20 1/12 20 1/13 25 1/14 25
2:30- 1/11 25 1/12 20
3:00-
3:30-
350 350 350 195 = 1245
Week 3
6:30- 1/18 20 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25 1/22 25
7:00- 1/18 20 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25 1/22 25
7:30- 1/18 20 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25 1/22 25
8:00- 1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
8:30- 1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
9:00- 1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
9:30- 1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
10:00-1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
10:30-1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
11:00-1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
11:30-1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
12:00-1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
12:30-1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
1:00- 1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
1:30- 1/18 25 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
2:00- 1/18 20 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
2:30- 1/18 20 1/19 25 1/20 25 1/21 25
3:00- 1/18 20 1/19 25 1/20 25
3:30- 1/19 25 1/20 20
4:00- 1/19 25
420 500 470 425 75 = 1890
Week 4
6:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/28 25 1/29 25
7:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/28 25 1/29 25
7:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/28 25 1/29 25
8:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/28 25 1/29 25
8:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/28 25 1/29 25
9:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/29 25
9:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/29 25
10:00-1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/29 25
10:30-1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25 1/29 25
11:00-1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
11:30-1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
12:00-1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
12:30-1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
1:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
1:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
2:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
2:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
3:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
3:30- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
4:00- 1/25 25 1/26 25 1/27 25
500 500 500 125 225 = 1850
Week 5
6:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
7:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
7:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
8:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
8:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
9:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
9:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
10:00-2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
10:30-2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
11:00-2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
11:30-2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
12:00-2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
12:30-2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
1:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
1:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
2:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
2:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
3:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
3:30- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
4:00- 2/1 25 2/2 25 2/3 25 2/4 25
500 500 500 500 = 2000 Goal!
Week 6
6:30- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
7:00- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
7:30- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
8:00- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
8:30- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
9:00- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
9:30- 2/8 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
10:00-2/8 25 2/10 25 2/11 25 2/12 25
10:30-2/8 25 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
11:00- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
11:30- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
12:00- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
12:30- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
1:00- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
1:30- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
2:00- 2/9 25 2/10 25 2/11 25
2:30- 2/10 25 2/11 25
3:00- 2/10 25 2/11 25
3:30- 2/10 25 2/11 25
4:00- 2/10 25 2/11 25
225 200 325 500 200 = 1450
I missed a lot of work last week due to snow but will make up for it someday. I could either try for more a day by upping the reps per set or stay and see what it does. Also thinking of switching up to my heavy ass barbell for a little while so my body doesnt get to used to pushups.
Aside from tone, how much growth/body weight did you gain, if any? Has your one set max for reps improved and if so, by how much.
Great post!
Yeah those are dates starting with the 4th of Jan. So it shows me doing 20-30reps per half hour on that date.
I started to notice I was MUCH thicker during the 3rd week. My neck, arms, and chest and back felt broader and fuller. I am toning up some but have been eating a lot to maintain energy. My weight has remained the same over this whole time @ 170lbs and Im 5′ 10″ and 25yrs old. I weigh in at the begining and end of each day and its always within a pd or to of 170.
I havent attempted one set max pushups yet.
I think I will attept so when I need to switch this up. Seems like a good idea to occasionally do my 500 in max rep sets. ya know lesser sets. to keep my body guessing.
PS: I also want to thank you for taking the time to compose such a labor intensive and informative post!!!! Thanks a lot!
Adam, tell us about soreness? Also, if your body weight is remaining constant, then I am wondering if you are adding muscle or just shaping it.
Try doing just a one set max on your “day off”, if you have a day off that is. Can you remember what you were able to do for a one set max prior to this experiment?
This is very cool. I may try this myself.
Actually, I am wondering how we might respond to doing a set of 20 push-ups followed by a set of 20 rep body weight squats?
As for diet, man, you burn off so many calories its no wonder you do not gain weight, and I bet you have to eat a ton just to keep from losing weight.
My only concern is whether or not this actually adds muscle size. I hate to hold such a myopic view of strength training, but gaining lean solid muscle matters to me. I am not interested in just having toned muscles.
It can be very easy too. Depending on your determination and will. I like to test both every now and then to please my spirit.
I believe I may be adding some muscle and losing fat to create the weight balance Im seeing. I feel pretty damn solid now and of course doing it all day creates a feeling of being swoll throughout the day. I remember leaving the gym after a killer workout only to have the swoll feeling go away in a half hour.
As far as soreness, a lot of days I would anticapate soreness and stop shy of my goal only to find the next day was easier to do. I started very curious of how many days I could do it in a row. The first week you can see I only did a few at the end of the week and that was cause I was drained and sore. But I grew back stronger and stronger.
Some days (like today 250 done already) I have shoulder joint pain that sometimes I can work thru and sometimes gets worse and I stop, im not trying to hurt myself.
The biggest help is getting past half way and then I feel big, strong and ready to finish.
Well, I think it is worth cautioning people against the risk of overtraining. I mean, I know we are talking body weight movements here, but in looking at your case-study, it would seem as though maybe, just maybe, your shoulders are saying, “ouch!”. Just respect what your body is telling you. On the days you see tangible improvements in either strength and/or endurance, take a look back and see what you did that might have permitted that growth. Then, continue to duplicate the approach that lead to that success.
The biggest thing for me to prevent injury is to fully stretch and limber up. Ive jumped right into the push ups before and hurt my arm on the first set, effecting the entire day.
I drew a lot of inspiration from Herschel Walkers story here and the fact he did it all on 4hrs sleep a night (I get 5) and a diet with barely enough calories to keep a gnat alive.
Also I worked with a guy named Rob around 40yrs old who everyone thought did steriods. I asked him one day what he did to get the guns and he said it was easy, just do 300 pushups a day.
If 500 proves to much for me in the end Ill at least do the 300.
Also I still consider this beginning stages and early in my attempt. I have no other goal as far as weight loss or gaining mass. Just want to do 500 a day and see what happens. If something negative happens then I will adjust accordingly to keep my goal.
This has turned out to be a really popular post, and thanks to Adam it is getting that much more informative!
Seems like it was to much for me to carry on just yet. I did continue on for a week more doing 500 but that weekend I moved and it really worked my arms. I only did a 100 a day last week and this week started doing 20 in a set again instead of the 25. Doing less again makes me feel better than doing a lot. And as for the max reps in a set it didnt increase doing them this way.
No suprise though as I read that military training uses a method like this but they dont do it for more than 2 weeks and I went well beyond that.
Not all of us have time or energy to do 1000 pushups and sit ups.I am 195 lbs and do the body pump routine then add 100 push ups and sit ups to the workout of cardio weight training.Anybody got any advice on why after doing body pump I can barely do 3 to 4 sets of 25 push ups? I work out 3 days a week and don’t desire to be the biggest or strongest.Just trying to hit my personal best.Any advice Is well appreciated.By the way,I cannot afford enough food to do 4000 calories a day every day.And my appetite just cannot handle the coloric Intake powerlifters and bodybuilders handle every day.I do no supplements or protein shakes.Should I start these?
Hi Josh. I hear you on the time issue. Plus, eating 4K calories is hugely expensive. My suggestion is to definitely consider a good protein supplement. I recover much quicker when I have adequate levels of high quality protein in my diet, which at the moment I do not. As to your other question regarding exhaustion, I am not sure I can answer that unless it boils down to cellular energy and lack of proper levels of carb and/or protein intake. I wonder if anyone else has any ideas.
This article plus the discussion above has been really inspiring. I’ve read through Ironmunki’s workout log from bodyweightculture. That guy is a machine! So is Derek, Joe, and Adam from the discussion above. I’ve always done a lot of bw exercises but never put that much volume in. The last 8-10 weeks I’ve been gradually experimenting with adding a ton of reps.
A couple days ago I was able to finally knock out 1000 push ups in one session (my tri’s lats, chest and shoulders are still very sore!.) I didn’t time myself but I’m sure it took me 2 hours or more (way too long.) It’s taken a lot of work, and a small injury to get to this point. A few weeks back I injured my right elbow. I was trying to go too fast while doing the push ups. Ended up being too jarring I guess (and probably cheating.) After that I learned to slow down a bit and be more smooth throughout the movement.
Something I adopted from Ironmunki is his use of descending reps.
So to get to a 1000 I started with 45 push ups then the next set was 44. 43 then 42 and so on down to 1. It all adds up to 1035 if I did my math right. It get’s a bit monotonous once you get to 15 or so, so I usually start doubling up.
There’s no way I could pushups every day though. Anytime I do pushups I usually have to wait a couple days at least before I know I could comfortably do them again. Maybe your body adapts after a while, but that’s not happened to me yet.
Indian wrestlers follow body weight exercises; also add in ‘weights’ not like the conventinal western modelled stuff. Here’s a demo sample by the great Gotch himself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CreCOrf9ExM
This is a GREAT post. I LOVE it Sangos. Thanks brother. What a great video!!!
Just wanted to add another interesting resource I found on ancient Indian techniques – authentic.
https://www.createspace.com/207195…there's a nice trailer that can be clicked!
Even though we do most these routines here in India, unfortunately there is no ‘great product’ yet unlike perhaps Yoga in the West. Glad to do my bit!
Sorry here’s the correct link (ealrier messed up)
https://www.createspace.com/207195
Are you selling this DVD found in the link?
No…lol(thought I might look like a marketeer)..but i have a copy of it. I believe it can be bought online. Would recommend it as an introduction to these routines, without actually travelling to India.
Hello,
I have free weights, but would prefer to do just body weight exercises such as pushups and pullups and chinups. Could I still build a big chest with pushups as long as I did enough sets and reps? Also, when doing pullups, I cannot feel it in my lats, and was wondering if I’m pulling myself up correctly when doing pullups, and one other question, what variation of the pushup is best for building a big chest? I appreciate in advice. Thanks
Hi Chris.
Thanks for the question.
While everybody’s body is slightly different there are some general rules and answers that may be of help to you. First, I think you can build a really thick slab or muscle over the chest area using just pushups, provided you get adequate recovery. You will know you are recovering from your pushup workouts when you see increased rep output from your chest muscles. Of course, the mirror will be useful as well, because you will notice your pecs increasing in size, along with triceps and shoulders, but the real tell-tale sign is increased stamina and the ability to do more and more reps. At some point you may wish to add resistance to your pushups through the use of bands like the ones some here at elite-fts. As for chins, here is a great rule of thumb to use:
Narrow grip chins, palms facing you, tends to train biceps, rear delts and middle back. If you want to widen the scapula area (around the shoulder-blades) widen your grip to just outside shoulder width or more. Make sure you place a focus on slowing down the movement, and train to failure. One to two sets is fine. On the last rep, squeeze like crazy for about 5 seconds, pulling with all your might. If you have done these correctly, your scapula area will be plenty sore the next day.
Try this and get back to me with your experience.
Timothy
Hi all,
This is a great comment thread. I’ll share my experiences, if this helps anyone. I was able to get really strong biceps and back from all sorts of variations of chin ups/pullups, working my way up to the one arm chin. (Look it up on beastskills.com) Negatives were the main thing that helped me there. I also did one arm and handstand pushups, but I never got a really big chest. (42″ at my peak) I would just advise everyone to take it easy with weird or one arm variations of exercises, b/c you can get injured easily.
Anyway, I’m just curious if anyone has gotten a big chest from high volumes of pushups alone. I’d like to attempt it, but I don’t know how effective it is. This article has a plan, but I don’t know if this is actually effective for people who are already strong.
Thanks for your help!
I have never tried a push-up program exclusively. I just cannot seem to let go of dips. I love’em! So, I am not qualified to answer your question. Maybe someone else?
Thank you. With the chinups, I am starting to see an increase in size in my biceps, and even my wife and a co-worker had noticed and commented on it.
I started training up for high rep pushups late January. I posted above when I was finally able to make 1000. I wasn’t able to keep up with a thousand. I’d keep getting injured. I still do 500 pushups 3 times a week. Aesthetically wise I don’t look that big but I definitely put on muscle. I look like a slightly skinnier version of Fedor. There’s definitely faster and more efficient means to getting muscles than high rep bw stuff. I was doing about a 70 pullups and 70 chinups each workout and my arms stayed around 15 inches. I started lifting weights (curls, skull crushers, etc) last month and have already put an extra half inch on my arms.
I still mean to continue doing the pushups, pullups and bodyweight squats but I’m using it more and more as a supplement to my weightlifting.
This just fascinates me. You would think that resistance is resistance, but it is clear to me that progressive resistance exercise builds muscle faster. This is not to say that you do not have a muscular build, but the fact that you added size to your body only after switching to traditional strength training is so interesting. Why, in your opinion, do you think this is?
Genetics maybe. I’ve never been one to look muscular even when lifting a lot. There was definitely a point where I just didn’t gain anymore size. Maybe if I could eaten more I might have been able to gain more muscle.
I’ve just read Dean Karnazes’ book Ultramarathon Man. In the book he said besides running crazy crazy crazy long distances he does 200 push ups 50 pullups and 400 situps twice a day!
That guy is a dude. Recommend the book by the way.
Frankie Edgar is a fan of pushups! if it worked for him, eh?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEhj09pG3E0
Also, maybe something else you bw nuts might like. Jason Armstrong tells how he trained to get the pullup world record, 2,409 pullups/chinups in 12 hours:
http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/chinups-armstrong.html
could anyone comment about the relationship between high rep push ups and bench press.
how much could you bench press when first starting to do push ups? how much could you bench press when you got to 50 push ups? How much could you then bench press when you reached say 200 or 500 or more?
Hi John,
Personally I have never been able to do 200 pushups in a row. In fact, while I enjoy pushups, I cannot say that I have ever done them exclusively for say, 2 months. I have always made them an adjunct part of my program. So I am not qualified to really handle your question. It is a very interesting one though. I imagine you have to consider that some folks are just strong as hell with weights, but are lousy at pushups, and some are terrific at bodyweight exercises, but not so much with strength training.
I doubt that someone like Mariusz Pudzianowski can do even 100 pushups in a row, even though he can bench 600 pounds or more. On the other hand, lots of average sized athletes can do hundreds of pushups at a time. These are two different kinds of strength.
Herschel Walker did all his excersises in the morning, done before the distractions of the day start.
Thank you for that input Richard. You know, I freely admit that when I train early in the day my progress is better and my days are better. Trouble is, with Cystic Fibrosis, getting my workouts done in the morning is very difficult. I want to be able to do it all the time. I wish I could.
Are pushups, in any way, better and or quicker for building muscle than bench pressing or, vice-versa?
Hi Mike.
This questions gets asked a lot and I have a few things to say about it.
Regardless of what exercise you choose and what rep scheme you settle on, your body is going to present you with some unique challenges in terms of growth response.
Each of us is slightly different. Our muscles tend to respond best to certain exercises, we have certain body parts that are our “best” body parts, and some body parts that tend to lag behind. Some of us are better suited for endurance exercise whereas others of us are better suited for power or explosiveness. One routine might work well for you, and not so well for me. This just owes to the fact the each of us is unique, with unique needs and concerns. All of us who are strength athletes have to find ways to build on our strengths and strengthen those areas that are weak. Learning what works for you will take time, and having a journal to record your progress, whether it is measured in terms of pounds or by tape measure, is a must. So get a training journal and begin recording the data.
Now, in regards to your question about push-ups, let me say that there are some common rules of thumb when it comes to muscular development.
Our uniqueness notwithstanding, muscle tends to grow best with higher amounts of weight with lower reps. But there are those individuals out there that seem to defy commonly accepted exercise theory and do just fine with high reps, lower weight and lots of sets. Walker seems to be one of those types of people. And you may be as well.
Most athletes with any degree of conditioning can do 20 or more push-ups. So, to the extent that an athlete’s body responds well to high volume with hight reps, then I would say push-ups are superior to bench press. But, to the extent to which an athlete needs low reps and high weight, that athlete may find that he is better of with bench presses, or at the very least finding weighs to increase resistance in his push-ups in order to limit his reps. This can be done using resistance bands, like so:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5RmN6DyZwk.
In the end, you are simply going to have to experiment. As I said, keep a journal and a tape measure handy, as well as a scale to weigh yourself. Focus on push-ups for, say, 2-3 months exclusively. Monitor the results and form your conclusions.
One last thing about push-ups.
All things being equal, and assuming both push-ups and bench press work well for you, I tend to side with push-ups as being the superior exercise simply because it develops better conditioning and strengthens and builds muscles in a way that leaves bench presses in the dust. Trust me, push-ups will develop triceps, abs, shoulders and serratus muscles, not to mention strengthening the bodies core…including the lower back. It is a great cardio exercise and, frankly, after a good push-up session you are left with a tremendous sense of well being. You feel refreshed. I hardly ever feel that way with a good session of bench presses.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Webmaster
When I first heard of Hershel Walker’s claim I also thought it was a bit far fetched, but judging by how massive and how good a shape Hershel was in (and still is) its obvious he puts a great deal of emphasis on his fitness so I doubt he would lie about this. also, after starting to do pushups every second day myself, i have noticed my # of pushups go up each workout I do, so its really not that unrealistic to believe. I think he would have to do a large number of consecutive pushups in order to achieve this though. but the world record holder did 10,000+ consecutive pushups so its definately not unrealistic to think that someone can do 1000 pushups either spread out or done consecutively. my goal is to do 500 pushups every second day and see where im at after that.
Man this has been a great read. I have been considering lately to start a body weight only routine. I am 50 now and I used to lift alot in high school and college. i have been using them off and on for a little while but old shoulder injuries from benching have started to resurface. ( rotator cuff ). I like the doing pushups everyday and breaking them up in groups of reps. I love chinups and dips so I am going to do a daily with this. I will start out slow but I am going to see what I look like when beach season comes around!! June will be 6 month’s. Looking forward to great results.
Thank you for stopping by, and I am glad this post encouraged you. Here is an interesting link you may like as well
LINK :Walker to enter NFL at 50?
first time to see your post and this is very educational to say the least.. i will be following this site from now on.. how many times a week should a person do push ups? i do mine everyday.. is it ok or am i setting myself for overuse injury? any help will be appreciated.. thanks..
Hi Jampi.
I am dealing with some profound illness, so my entries are slow in coming these days. However, I still moderate the comments quickly, so thank you for yours.
As for daily push-ups, all I can say is that if you gradually add reps you should be OK. That said, I think the real truth is this: Everyone is different. Walker is still doing this fitness regimen, well into his 40′s, but you have to remember that he has superb health and a superb foundation of fitness that he has carefully crafted over 30 years or so.
Pay attention to your body, your energy levels etc. Keep a journal. Monitor your progress. If you are not making progress, then back off some by either reducing the frequency of your training or the volume of it, or both. Let your progress be your guide.
Jampi,
I agree with the webmaster. Listen to your body. I do pushups 4-5 days per week. From time to time, I get a small injury. But to be honest, I get more injuries when dealing with weights.
But of luck to you,
acj108
Some years ago I could not join a gym to workout so I did normal pushups, pushups with a pushup stand both level with the ground and inclined with my feet on a chair, pushups with weight on my back (when by myself the weights were in a backpack and if my wife was there she would put weights on my back. I got up to 100 pounds on my back–I weighted 170 punds at the time). I would do dips with my feet on a chair and hands on the pushup stand, facing backward. But I also did some dumbell curls for biceps and rows for the back. I did this for several years. I was in terrific shape. But frankly I missed going to the gym for the change of scenery and social contact. Today I go to the gym and workout with the machines (no chest presses, however) and get a good workout a couple times a week but once or twice a week I stay home and do pushups for an hour (this is my chest workout). I do normal pushups at a moderate steady pace (doing them too fast is cheating and too easy) for 30 minutes, incline pushups for 20 minutes and wide hand pushups for 10 minutes. My total is usually 750 to 800 in that hour. I also do sprint runs twice per week and jump rope and box jumps once per week. I feel good.
JW, does your chest still get sore from that volume of pushups? That sounds exhausting!
No, I do not get overly sore. When I do them twice per week, more than half the time, I space the days out to 2 or 3 days between. Sometimes I watch TV while I do them and sometimes I listen to music. It really is a great workout.
Well, that is very impressive! I just cannot imagine that. How do you feel about the development you get from the pushups?
Hey guys, I just wanted to say that like last year I kicked off the year with another pushups workout. After moderate working out all last year whether in the gym or at home with weights I kept it up all year and am a little stronger this year. Now trying to get in really good shape for summer.
First set was 50 max so Im not to strong but that was a big question last time. Also I added in pull ups and my max is 20, not to bad.
I did 4000 thru Jan doing 300-500 a few times a week, and on weekends after rest days i do pull ups to change it up. About 100. I needed more rest days this time as my job is very physically demanding now.
I split 100 in 3 sets 30-35-35 Standard width for 500 count days and tricep close width for the 300 count days with 100 done in 4 sets of 25. That leaves me plenty sore in my arms and chest.
I plan now to maintain this and just add dips, or other body weight exercises for a better workout. IF that doesnt deliver the results im looking for then Ill try to do things differently. Maybe shoot for doing more than 100 in a set or something.
I do think tho that I see better results going to the gym a few times a week….
Man alive, seeing all of this is so humbling. Adam, you rock!
Do you have a dipping station at home? If not, head over to http://ironmind.com and grab a set of their dipping bars. http://ironmind-store.com/You-Decide-Parallel-Dipping-Bars-Base/productinfo/1312/
Thanks Tim, If you do this you will feel like you rock too. Seriously.
I ended up doing over 18000 push ups from Jan-June. Herschel would do that in half a month so its not to impressive compared to him.
It was just to hot to continue doing them at work tho so I switched to weight training agian. Bought a bench press and have been trying different things with it but it hasnt given me the results the pushups did. Im starting back on them after I finish the “add 50lbs to your bench” program in 2wks.
My chest and shoulders look fine, firm and more lean than bulky. My flexibility is also good. Since I run sprints for cardio and speed, staying away from benching works well for me. Like I said, i do go to the gym and workout other parts of my upper body. I use the dip machine which also works the chest.
Hii,
I am greatly impressed by herschel walker and this website…. I started doing pushups, pull ups/chin ups, bw squats/deadlifts, at home one and a half month ago. I have come this far….
each day…
12-15 sets of
25-35 pushups (depending upon how sore my body becomes)
4-8 (pull ups/chin ups) (depends again)
20-45 bw squats OR 5-15 deadlifts (one leg/sand bag/weights (60-150 lbs)) OR lunges…
thats it…. no weights for biceps/ triceps shoulders or anything else…..
yet I have build good sized arms….chest and shoulders….and legs (all thanks to deadlifts).
btw I am not able to make a huge increment (in above numbers, especially in pull ups coz they are harrrddddd) coz I do a circuit of the above with at least 4 sets together……
and guess what!! I do them every day….. i do take a day off and run if I feel too sore.. but then the next day I’m all revved up…
As far as diet goes….
protein:=I eat chicken once a week… on sundays, thats it..
others days.. all veg:= rice, lentils, pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, 2-3 eggs every 2 days…..
All I can say is bw exercises :=pushups, pull ups/chin ups, squats rocks, but I feel one should also add deadlifts, coz they really release a lot of growth hormones than any other exercise… so I helps fasten the building of muscles……
take care..
happy working out…..
gentleman,
after finding this site and reading the blogs i am blown away! Having gone back to more BW exercises in recent times its good to get so much feedback. Push ups have always been good to me and that hasn’t changed for me. I even tried an experament when I started to do push ups again: I stopped doing inclines, and seated presses, and only did some form of push ups for my chest and shoulders.I continued this for at least 2.5 months. When i went back to my presses I didn’t lose one ounce of strength. This proved that body weight only exercises speak highly for themselves.You get what you put in. Treat BW exercises as you would weightlifting as far as intensity is concerned Every individual has their own methods.
I love to do push-ups my whole life. I was on a pull-up craze for a while in 2009 in which I did 6 sets (25, 24, 22, 21,20, 18). Now I am on the pushup craze. I call them bathroom pushups (lean on the counter that is around 30 inches high and do your pushups. I do sets of 50 and have done 4-8 sets for the past few weeks (twice a week).
When I was on travel, I decided to do 20 sets of 50 pushups (1000). I was watching the President’s cup (golf) and at 10pm eastern time, I would do two sets of 50 pushups during commercials. After 10 commercials, I did 1000! Since then, my left wrist is a bit sore. my triceps really felt it and i feel that my shoulders are getting real big.
I did 5 sets of 50 pushups last night with a 1 minute break in between and it felt great. I hope to do these bathroom pushups for a while until I can do 1000 pushups with ease. I will then go down to “girl” pushups and finally to regular pushups. Once I am able to do regular pushups with ease, I will start elevating my legs.
Soon I will be integrating crunches, lunges, jump rope, and plank.
Ultimately, I am trying to build a strong and powerful core.
This was a good read! I’m currently laying off the gym and trying to use my body resistance for working out (i.e. push ups, and evenutally pull ups). So its really encouraging to read the benefits, as I aim for 100 push ups (whenever that happens hahaha).
Thanks again for your time in writing this
I saw an interview with him at Discovery Chanel and he said he did in 10 minutes 800 push-ups, which I find CRAZY!!
BTW since I started doing push-ups I became stronger, i.e. before doing pushups I could only military press 45 KG now after doing that program: http://www.alternative100pushups.com/
I can military press 90 KG thats a 200% success, no wonder pushups are the 1st military exam and exercise.
Nice article, watched a documentary on herschel walker last nite and I got very motivated, I use to do abt 100 push-ups straight altho I was never a fan of sit-ups, so I had to device a way of doing my sit-ups rite nw I do abt 150 push-ups thrice a day nd 50 sit- ups thrice a day, in abt a month time I’ll increase and If u also wanna increase muscle mass try sprinting it helps a lot also nd eat well especially a lot of protiens.
I finally did it. I did 1,000 pushups in an hour. If you do 50 pushups every 3 minutes it can be done. Joseph, I cannot imagine doing 800 in 10 minutes. I once read about a guy who did 6,006 pushups non-stop in 3 hours 54 minutes. I wonder if he was able to do it because lactic acid does not build up in him. I once read about a guy who could run for hours and hours because lactic acid did not build up in him. Some people just have nature advantages for some things (developed with hard work, of course). The rest of us have to work their butts off to do 1,000 pushups in an hour. I am in good shape and reasonable strong. I much prefer doing things like this than the heavy benching. Take care and have a great day.
Freaking AWESOME!!!!!! You are a beast. Come back to us and tell us how sore you are tomorrow!!!!
Again, AWESOME!!!!! Damn this is cool news.
Thanks for keeping us updated!!
Thanks Tim. I was a little sore but not bad. I went to the gym the next day. I recently started taking a different post-workout product. Instead of the standard protein powder (MyuFusion), I started taking Myogenix’s Aftershock. Whoa! It gave me more endurance and I was able to push through where I normally tired. Take care and have a great day.