Some eaiser variations of push ups to help you build the strength to do a traditional one!
I don’t generally reblog ‘fitness’ stuff but gaddamn could I use some more arm strength.
Push-ups are my worst nightmare. I can only do 44 before I pass out on the floor.
“I can only do 44” hahaha omg I can’t even do one.
yes good
I was always frustrated how my P.E. teachers wanted all of us to go “all-or-none” and basically hurt ourselves without letting us build up from square-one like in the first gif. Then they’d fuckin yell at us for not doing it right >:|
Knee-pushups is not square-one.
When I got my first personal trainer, she had me doing push ups almost standing upright in the weight lifting bars so that I could do 15 reps and 3 sets of them. It’s more about the technique of the push up, and if you’re pushing too much weight, you can’t exersize the correct muscles within their tolerances. This post is pretty important tto know cause of that.
I was introduced to the knee push-up last year and it was such a fucking game changer. I had NO idea it was possible to work those same muscles just with a slight variation in position.
I wanna just verify that these are excellent for building strength, both as someone who took weights class in high school with a good teacher, and as someone who’s had a lifetime of physical therapy (not for my arms specifically, but I’ve spent a lot of time in sports medicine centers). And again, if the vertical one in the first gif is difficult, you don’t even have to lean into it like that. Start standing, and only lean as much as it takes you to lower towards the wall.
And remember, many exercises can be modified in this way! I did an image search for “modified pull up” and got exactly what I was looking for right away, which is this:
Doing pull ups on a lower bar, or from the straps with handles that gyms sometimes have (called the TRX - they can also be used to support yourself during squats and some balance exercises) is a lot easier than jumping straight into vertical pullups, and lets you build up that muscle with exercises that are still comfortable and safe for you, so you can do more sets of more reps.
As a general rule, always start with lower-strain exercises and practice good form before you work your way up. You don’t want to have to unlearn bad habits that could lead to injury later as the difficulty increases.
@imfemalewarrior I’m assuming you’ve seen this post but in case you haven’t—it seems like your kind of thing
Here are push up and pull up progressions!
-FemaleWarrior, She/They
Story time:
I had a shitty PE coach in the sixth grade who berated me for not being able to do a single push up or touch my toes, for not being able to run a complete mile. She wouldn’t let us do “girl” push ups (knees).
Next year I had an amazing PE coach. When he noticed that I couldn’t run a complete mile, he reached out to my parents and suggested that I might have exercise induced asthma (spoiler, I did.) My first week with that inhaler cut my mile time down by a minute. He would run the mile with us, jogging with those of us who were struggling and encourage us.
Thanks to him and that inhaler, by the end of the seventh grade I could run a complete mile in about eight minutes. During the winter months (Michigan) when we couldn’t run outside, we had to run around the gym for 20 minutes. By the end of that winter I was able to jog for all 20 minutes. By the next year, I was able to run for all 20 minutes, and at the end of that year my mile time was just under 7 minutes.
At the start of the year, he told us that if we couldn’t do “normal” push ups, then it was okay for us to do “girl” push ups. He told us that, on average, girls have a lower center of gravity than boys and that this meant it was more difficult for us to keep our hips up and our backs straight. He focused on helping up improve our arm AND core strength so that we would eventually be able to do “normal” push ups.
I started that year being able to ZERO normal push ups. By winter I was able to do exactly ONE. He gave me a high five and told me that I had improved 100%.
ALSO, the next year I developed tendonitis in my right knee. I came in with a doctor’s note and he was so proud of me that he proceeded to tell the entire class they should all be proud of me for taking care of my body. It was extremely embarrassing at the time.
Basically, good PE teachers who actually understand the human body and won’t try to push you past your limits are extremely important and I was so lucky to have one.
That makes all the difference in the world and applies to gym buddies, physical therapists, and personal trainers as well.
-FemaleWarrior, She/They
