Can't increase pushup reps. Increase in chinups, core strength. Pushups stuck at 20

[krzr3000]

pushups require more than core strength. also try different ways to do pushups, like wide spread on arms, then try them really close right under you. try with one had on something and then switch. can actually workout a lot more than arms and shoulders

This.

Not sure if you are doing or have experience with p90x...but those workouts helped me with push up ability. They encompass varying arm widths and stances...i think the variety is key and worked for me.

 

[bbortko]

if you're referring to me knife, i'm shorter than you and weigh slightly more than you lol

weight has a lot to do with it too of course, the more you weigh it will affect you. i can't do a lot of pushups anymore (off the top of my head, maybe 15-20 if i tried it right now where i stand), and it's because of the lack of activity on my pecs and triceps plus the extra weight, but if i trained for a couple of weeks i'd be able to do at least 40 or so

Over the years I've read many books, countlessagazines and talked to trainers as well as physical therapists, all recommend once every 5-7 days per body part. It has absolutely nothing to do with what your body is used to, but the fact that when you lift you're breaking down an tearing muscle, without drugs the human body needs 5-7 days to heal. No opinion all science.

 

[Jc1119]

Over the years I've read many books, countlessagazines and talked to trainers as well as physical therapists, all recommend once every 5-7 days per body part. It has absolutely nothing to do with what your body is used to, but the fact that when you lift you're breaking down an tearing muscle, without drugs the human body needs 5-7 days to heal. No opinion all science.

True. For the average lifter all the way to Mr Olympia. Sure you can work a body part more, but without drugs(steroids) you'll see vey little benefit.

 

[Desire]

Ok, some advice from a girl. Before I started working with horses I was a weak lil thing, nothing to me (okay I still weigh in at 100pounds soaking wet) but working in and around the yard has helped me pack some serious muscles on. Just doing general chores like mucking out stables and sweeping the yard (vigorously) is in my opinion very good for training your arms, shoulders and chest.
Before this work I was lucky if I could do about 10 push ups *guy style* so not the girly style on your knees. Now after about 5 years of working on the yard I can do more push-ups than my husband, and he is a big strapping healthy muscled guy.
If there happen to be things similar to mucking out stables etc you can do i suggest them. And when the burn kicks in, push harder! If you tell yourself you CAN do it, and you really believe it, you will be able to do it. It is a matter of Mind over Body.

I understand you probably don't want to go around cleaning horse poop to get better muscle tone, but hey if it works, it works!

 

[bbortko]

I do combine those two occasionally but for us who really struggle with chest movements it sometimes helps to work triceps with back because they are opposing muscle groups and they are fresh when you get to them. Alot of times after 3 or 4 chest exercises my tris are really spent so by moving them behind a pulling movement I can get the most out if them. I do alternate though between the two.

Here's another trick I learned from a football strength training coach. Work your weakest bodypart immediately after a leg movement such as leg presses or squats and see what happens. You will be able to lift more weight for more reps. Why? Leg movements release the greatest amount of testosterone into your system so you take advantage of that and your weakness can quickly become a strength. I made major gains in shoulder and tri movements by simply racking the bar in the squat rack and immediately dropping and doing shoulder width(prison style) pushups. First time you try it you'll really be surprised.

I have personally experienced my best gains from using this leg trick.

 

[SumoNinja]

Over the years I've read many books, countlessagazines and talked to trainers as well as physical therapists, all recommend once every 5-7 days per body part. It has absolutely nothing to do with what your body is used to, but the fact that when you lift you're breaking down an tearing muscle, without drugs the human body needs 5-7 days to heal. No opinion all science.

I'll take all that info of "science" with a grain of salt

if a trainer told me i should only work on my pecs once every 5-7 days i'd say he wants me to slowly improve to prolong his job

again, i'm no expert but i can tell you what my experience is and what worked for me. i max out on the bench right now at about 250. if I was to start this week, and bench only once a week, I'd hit 300 probably by end of the year if that. but if I benched mon, wed, fri, I guarantee I'll hit 300 by summer

check out former 7x Mr Olympia's workout schedule, it's not hard to find. yes, i'm referring to Arnold, i'll take his workout routine (similar to what I recommended previously) over the "scientist's" routine (once every 5-7 days)

this is also what Arnold has said about how your body can become used to a workout:

He recommended 48 hours of rest after working larger muscle groups and slightly less for the smaller ones. He also felt that as your training level progressed, you'd be able to handle more work with less recovery time and could tolerate more frequent workouts.

 

[bbortko]

Arnold was juicing it which is we he didn't need as much rest. I vaguely remember Arnold talking about his workouts and also stating he was essentially a greak and that schedule is not advisable for most. When I first starting traing I did every body part twice a week and once I cut back to once per week gains in strength and mass sky rocketed. Right now I keep things light and do 4 sets of 12 reps with 225, so I'm not as serious as i was but I still remember reading in every book that was written by or cited a dr that once a week is all that is recommended. Theain exceptions are beginners for their first 6 weeks of training.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

working each muscle once a week (5-7 days) sounds like a freakin joke

 

[MaddMaxx]

Well, I greatly doubt that I'm overdoing it that much. As a physical laborer I've witnessed first hand how the body will quickly adjust to rigorous use. I think I'll step it up a notch and see what happens.

I'll review the links in more depth, although I still can't make heads or tails of the most recent one posted. Those graphs make no sense. Am I reading across or down? Are those sets or reps? I'd like to adopt a routine that is more proven but I'd think that my usual routine should have helped by now. I mean, for the past three years I've done sets twice a week or three times a week. I'm not fat, but according to the BMI Joke I'm just on the edge of normal and overweight. Not much of a spare tire, really. Just a little extra all over. But shouldn't even a heavy-set person see gains? Should I eat even more meat? I already have a plateful per day on average. Salmon, uncured salami and chicken or canned fish are the usual.

What about caffeine? I'm pretty hardcore about my coffee. Is it making me weak?

Sorry, I missed your post before. The 100 push-up program is a 6 week program built on 5 sets (with 1 minute rest between) per work out. You do 3 (push-up) work-outs a week and each work out get progressively harder.

http://hundredpushups.com/test.html
You have to start with the "test" to find out where your max limit is. Sounds like you already have a good idea of where you are, so you take your max number of push-ups and pick the column that fits - then go down the column to see what each set should be...

 

[Liam]

i've never heard the gap being this long before, but i wouldn't believe that either way. it's fine if you choose to do that, but you don't have to. i think if you are working out every week, your muscles are more used to the workouts and you don't have to rest as long in between

when i work out i need the 5-7 days. 60 mins on chest absolutely smashes you. it's just how hard you push yourself and your particular preference. I could loose the intensity and repeat the same work out a few days later and get the same results. After 60 mins, your chest is jelly and the next few days you can't press anything