hello need advice from people whos expertise is push ups (exercise) as i have a question thats been

ive always wanderd is it more benificial for people who are quite heavy to those that are skinny cause you hear people all the time yeah i can do 100 push ups etc but you look at them and there really skinny so is like them doing 100 push ups equivalent to me doing 20 since am 15 stone and there like 9 lol i have always wanderd anyways apologise for poor grammer and if i get a reply that would be pretty decent cheers

I'm an ex-rugby league player from Down Under. I played the sport for 18 years during which time I trained 2-3 times per week and we had to do at least 200-300 push ups every training session.

When I started I was a skinny runt, but by the time I was 18 I had the typical barrel chest that most rugby players have.

Push ups are great at building upper body mass across the chest, but it won't build the mass you desire in your arms.

I've never been to a gym, I've only ever done rugby training in grass paddocks, and I felt I had a fairly intimidating physique, until I started loosing it at 36y.o. (7 years ago)

I hope this helps.

Hi. I completed last christmas that 6 week 100 consecutive push-up programme.

When I started, I could barely make it through the simplest set. But by the end I can now do 100 consecutive push-ups. Okay, it took me a lot longer than 6 weeks to get there. (Probably more like 12, I quite often finished a week and had to redo it because I wasn't ready yet to tackle the next weeks targets.)

But, my point is, if I can do it then anybody can do it. And I really recommend the 6 week programme that you can find by googling 100 consecutive push-ups. Just don't feel down on yourself if you need to repeat a week. And before you know it, you'll be feeling good about yoruself because you can crank them out.

Definitely worth doing. Do it!

reply to post by ingram1990


I don't think arbitrarily doing x amount of anything means anything at all. Muscle adds weight, so a muscular fit person will still do more, with less, than an unfit skinny person.

What matters is getting your heart rate up or pushing to breaking point, depending on what you want to achieve. To build muscle you have to break muscle. To lose fat you need to get your heart rate up.

Reps to failure, is not reps to a number. This builds muscle. However, steady constant reps to get the heart rate up, gets more oxygen in the blood, and you burn more fat. You lose weight.

Mind you, I'm sooo not fit.. I could be talking complete bollocks.

Just an after thought
Are you trying to build muscle mass or are you trying to burn excess body fat and tone-up.

Either way push ups are good because they use your own body weight as the resistance. At 15 stone (95kg), if your doing 1000 push ups a week, for at least a year, you'll soon have the same upper body appearance of a defensive back. I don't know too much about NFL but you'll look like one of those guys who defends the Quarterback.

Throw in a few free weights and eat all your veggies and plenty of water, and dude you'll have to learn how to run fast because of all the women who'll be chasing you....

Yeah...Ummm OK I got a bit carried away there at the end, but you get the gist.

reply to post by ingram1990


Pretty much all the advice above is sound. Don't forget the protein if you're trying to build muscle.

I run 3 miles every day at lunch and work out. I used to lift weights really heavy but at around age 50 I realized I was breaking my frame down. I gave that up and bought a bowflex that I use only 3 times a week. It keeps me fit but I am not a muscle bound heavyweight like I was. I went from 225 lbs four years ago to 180 now, but I still have definition. I have a better physique than most men way younger than me.

With that said, pushups and pullups will do all you need to stay fit along with a good diet.

Yes weight does add to the amount of repetitions you can do.

But just like anything, the more you do the better you become. Its like gradually increasing the wights on the dumbbells or increasing the repetitions.

2 week you do 15kg dumbbell curls for 20 reps, the next month you do 17.kg for 20 reps. Same applies with higher reps, you always beat your personal record because there is no point in doing it for consistency because you would only tone up (if doing high reps)

Short answer: Yes, if the guys 9 stone and you're 15, you doing 20 is like him doing 60.

I'm 12.2 stone, been going gym 3 years and I can only do 30, maybe a little more. I'm ripped and lean, bench 110kg so I should in theory be able to do loads of press ups, but I aint conditioned by doing press ups, thats why I can't do them. If I constantly did press ups then I'd be able to do more

I am a smallish American woman and it shocked me in bootcamp the men who could not do pushups.
I was always able to pound them out - but I do think there is some advantage to short arms/body.
Meaning I did not have to push as far up. And NO I was not on my knees - regular pushups.
I discovered way later in life that pushups are made much easier if you engage your core, meaning your abs.
In yoga you hold up plank and low plank - and it becomes easier to hold longer if your core is engaged.
Pushups are a fantastic excersize and there are multiple ways to do them to target different parts of your arms/back/chest.

Typically when you measure strength, you measure it as a percent of body weight. Thus, if you can bench 300lbs and weigh 200lbs, you are "stronger" than a 300lbs person who can do a 300lb bench press. That is, until the fight happens.

I was a power lifter in school. There were a million weight classes, each spanning about 10 lbs. If there was a tie, the tie breaker was who had the higher percentage of body weight.

That would correlate to your question thusly: 100 pushups is great for a smaller person. But if you are fit, and you weigh more, you should be able to do more pushups. Factor in body fat, and that is obviously untrue.

reply to post by ingram1990


Winofiend is correct. Doing pushups till failure is the key. Not the, I'm too tired to do another, but I'm about to poo myself on this one.

I'm going to assume you are doing pushups and no free weights. You first have to focus on proper technique - I'd suggest you Google it as most have no idea what the proper technique really is. Second, you have to do one set of pushups, fast as you can, until muscle failure 3 times a day, not at the same time-morning, noon and night. Do this Monday thru Friday. Leave 2 consecutive days for rest.

The above is only for pushups, it'll get your per minute count up in no time. You won't need protein drinks or 2 days rest in between workouts...you are doing pushups.

If you are doing it with a workout - I'd suggest 2 sets till muscle fatigue, 2 sets of dips, 2 sets of very wide grip pushups, a set of diamond pushups, include core stuff. I'd also suggest you do a dead lift style exercise or a roman chair for your lower back. I've seen many poor souls hurt their back due to pushups being done incorrectly. Do this 2-3 times a week. Allowing rest between workout days. Increase the sets every other week. Include 45+ minutes of cardio with your heart within the cardio range for the 45+ minutes - 5x a week (Monday thru Friday). Note, if your cardio is running/jogging, I'd suggest doing running Mon-Wed-Fri with another low impact cardio Tues-Thurs.

cheers for all the advice sorry I aint been on but yeah I used to workout a lot using protein and stuff at one point I was 39 percent muscle and 21 percent fat not sure if that's stil the case haha but yeah I used to have a bit of muscle now I cycle 3 times a week for cardio and punch the dummy aswell and on the same day do some push ups and I have free weights out side there a bit rusty but that's ok but yeah cheers dude also I have a really crap diet I do get protein but if I work out I use ready made shakes or a glass of milk I eat a lot of processed meats like chicken nuggets fish fingers there not good but I aint put on weight with them so suppose that's kool