The Complete Push-up Program
About 10 years ago I was exercising with free weights approximately 3- 5 times a week. I was feeling great. I was performing chest press, shoulder presses over head (military presses), Barbell squats, dead lifts, heavy dumbbell rows, barbell curls and overhead Tricep extensions.
Well, that was 10 years ago. Times have changed and so has my body. All of us experience change as we grow older. Around 5 years ago I found that exercising with heavy weights 3-5 times a week was becoming detrimental to my joints. I wasn’t able to recover the way I used to as when I was younger.
I was looking for a new way to exercise and I was introduced to functional training. I began instructing my patients on functional training which helped them to recover faster from their injuries. Functional training also helped to manage their symptoms.
There is a difference between traditional weight training and functional training. Functional training involves training the body for the activities performed in daily life, where as in traditional weight lifting you are performing movement patterns that are usually not required for activities of daily living.
One of the first functional movement patterns I was introduced to was the push-up. Interestingly I thought would be able to easily perform 50 push-ups as I was able to lift a lot of weight over head, from my chest and off the floor. I was mistaken.
After trying for my 50 repetitions not only was I breathing heavy but I was also very sore in muscles that I haven’t felt in a long time.
With trial and error I developed a system to increase my upper body conditioning without injuring any of my body parts.
The program I am going to share with you is a progressive program. In other words this push-up program builds on itself. You are slowly introducing movement and demand on the muscle (s) without over training.
Disclaimer: As with any exercise program please consult your physician before you begin to exercise. If you have any pain, stop immediately and report to your doctor for evaluation.
If you are just beginning to perform push-ups, you should start with push-ups off the wall. This is called Wall Push-ups.
Standing several feet away from the wall, raise your arms in front of you at shoulder level and walk to the wall. When your hands are touching the wall you are in the perfect push-up position. Make sure when you perform the push-up your elbows go out (parallel to the floor), not down (perpendicular to the floor).
If you feel Wall Push-ups are too easy then begin Push-ups on your knees. The technique for performing the knee push-up is to lie on your stomach with your knees bent at 90 degrees (heels towards buttocks) and hands a little more than shoulder width. Push up and away from the floor. Try to keep your stomach (abdominal) muscles tightened during this movement pattern.
Most people know how to perform the standard/traditional push-ups. The key tips to remember during this movement pattern is to keep your buttocks and abdominal muscles tightened (contracted) with each push-up. Don’t let your lower back sway.
Before you begin to experiment with different hand placements (close, wide, diagonal), leg placements (wide leg, one leg), or advanced push-up movements (plyometric push-up, Hindu style, claps) you should be able to perform at least 30-50 traditional push-ups with good technique.
Whether you start with wall push up knee push up or traditional push-ups here is the program I have used to help me perform over 100 push-ups in a workout.
Sets and Repetitions Total Push-ups
Week 1 1 x 10 repetitions daily 10
Week 2 1 x 12 repetitions daily 12
Week 3 1 x 15 repetitions daily 15
Week 4 1 x 15, 1 x 10 repetitions daily 25
Week 5 1 x 15, 1 x 12 repetitions daily 27
Week 6 2 x 15 repetitions daily 30
Week 7 2 x 15, 1 x 10 every other day 40
Week 8 2 x 15, 1 x 12 every other day 42
Week 9 3 x 15 every other day 45
Week 10 3 x 15, 1 x 12 four days a week 57
Week 11 3 x 15, 1 x 15 four days a week 60
Week 12 4 x 15, 1 x 10 four days a week 70
Week 13 4 x 15, 1 x 12 four days a week 72
Week 14 5 x 15, 1 x 12 four days a week 82
Week 15 5 x 18 four days a week 90
Week 16 5 x 20 four days a week 100
I know you are probably thinking to yourself, “I can’t do all this at one time.” Don’t worry; you don’t have to perform all the movements at one time. Quite often I will perform these movements throughout my day. Remember this is functional training. I also find when I perform some of the sets in the afternoon I don’t experience the “afternoon lull”. The exercises give me an energy boost.
Keep in mind it is a 4 month progressive program. There is no competition and everyone excels differently. I strongly suggest keeping an exercise journal. If you are experiencing any discomfort stop the program. If you find this particular program method too much start with 1 set of 5 repetitions and slowly add 2-5 repetitions per the workout progressing to a complete set of 15 repetitions. Once you achieved 1 set of 15 repetitions comfortably follow the same principle of adding 2-5 repetitions per workout with the goal of 2 sets 15 repetitions. Following the same directions strive for 3 sets 15 repetitions.
You may find you are very comfortable with the Wall Push-up for 2 x 15. That’s okay! There are no steadfast rules that you have to do more and more. You should always perform what is comfortable. There are some days when I am not able to achieve 100 push-ups in my workout because of an old shoulder injury. I listen to my body and don’t push through the pain. It’s not worth it as I might severely injure a joint or a muscle.
Exercising is no longer a matter of “No pain, no gain.” If you experience pain or excessive soreness after a particular exercise movement do not perform the movement.
Don’t forget to warm-up prior to performing push-ups and the best warm up movement pattern is arm circles. To perform arm circles, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and raise your arms away from the sides of your body to shoulder level. Perform 10 arm circles in one direction followed by 10 arm circles in the other direction.
Remember to start slowly and listen to your body.
Good luck!
Dr. Michael Kaye
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