Week 7 Challenge - 7-Days of Push-Ups

So here we are in the last 2 weeks of your 8-week challenge.  You still hanging in there?  I sure hope so!  I've heard from some of you over the past few weeks and it sounds like things are progressing along.  The next two weeks will be challenging in a physical way.  Hopefully as these weeks have progressed, you have learned a little more about how you exercise and eat.  You should be well on your way to losing inches and maybe a few pounds so far if you have been following your daily activity levels and making sure you are getting enough water into your body.

Ready for this week's challenge?  I hereby challenge you to "7 days of push-ups".  No I'm not crazy, I really want you to try this challenge.  Since everyone has differing upper body strength, I am going to give you 3 different options.  First, let's talk a little about the push-up.  This is a great exercise to build strength in the upper body (chest, arms, shoulders) and is a great core workout.  Whether you perform a full push-up (on your toes) or a modified push-up (on your knees), you will hold the body in a "plank" position throughout each push-up.  This will strengthen your abdominal and low back muscles.  Remember, I don't call the modified version a "girl" push-up and neither should you!!  Click HERE for my blog on the difference between the two types of push-ups.

OK, so here's the plan.  I challenge you to perform a certain number of push-ups four times a day for the next 7 days.  Here are your options as these are based on your current upper body strength/abilities (click on each link to view push-up instructions):

Option 1:  Perform 20 wall push-ups 4x/day for 7 days

Option 2:  Perform 15 table/desk push-ups 4x/day for 7 days

Option 3:  Perform 10 floor push-ups 4x/day for 7 days

Here's how it all breaks down.  When performing push-ups in option 1, you will be lifting a smaller percentage of your body weight therefore I am asking you to perform more repetitions than in the other options.  This option is good for beginners or for someone who has shoulder issues.  In option 2, your body will be more angled towards the floor thus lifting more body weight than in option 1 but not as much as in option 3.  This option is good for those who aren't new to push-ups but still are working on building strength in upper body.  Finally, option 3 will allow you to lift the most body weight.  Whether you perform a full or modified push-up in option 3, you still will be requiring more upper body strength than in the other two options. All-in-all, you will either complete 560 wall push-ups (option 1), 420 table/desk push-ups (option 2), or 280 push-ups (option 3) by the end of the week.  

Are you ready?!  Before you start, here are a few key points to remember.  Warm up first by circling the arms forward and backwards and across your body.  Maintain good form no matter which option you choose.  Breathe normally throughout each repetition.  If you need a breather during one of your daily sets, take it but then jump right back in to complete your challenge numbers.  If you feel pain, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING!  This challenge is not worth hurting yourself over so go by how your body feels.  At the end of each day, be sure to stretch your chest and arms.

As always, share your progress with me on Facebook or at the end of this blog.  I am here to help you, guide you, and cheer you on so don't be a stranger!!  Good luck.  Until next time.............

"Girl" Push-ups vs "Guy" Push-ups

As a trainer, one of the terms that bugs me the most is when someone calls a modified push-up a "girl" push-up.  Let me tell you firsthand there are A LOT of guys who cannot do a full push-up and must start at a modified push-up.  On the flip side, I know plenty of women who can do a full push-up (a.k.a "guy" push-up).  They are not happy when you call it a "girl" push-up and neither am I!! So what really is the strength difference between a modified push-up (performed on the knees) versus a full push-up (performed on the toes)?  Well I am going to highlight a study that looked at the strength difference.

In the study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research  "The effect of position on the percentage of body mass supported during traditional and modified push-up variants" by Suprak et.al, (2011), the authors looked at the amount of strength during the "up" phase (push up off of the ground) versus the "down" phase (lowering body back down towards ground) in both a modified and a full push-up.  The subjects were 28 highly strength-trained males.  Strength was measured as a percentage of body mass lifted.  In a nutshell, here are the results:

 

So in other words, if you weigh 150 pounds and you perform the modified push-up you would be lifting:

• ~80 pounds in the up phase and
• ~93 pounds in the down phase of the push-up.

 If you were to perform a full pushup you would be lifting:

• ~108 pounds in the up phase and
• ~113 pounds in the down phase of the push-up.

As you can see from the chart above you actually lift more of your body weight in the down phase of the push-up.  So if you are training your upper body for strength improvements, try holding the push-up in lowering phase.  

The next time you are talking about push-ups to your friends, be sure to call it either a full or modified push-up, not "girl" or "guy" push-ups.  Because you never know who you are talking to or who is around you when you joke about how easy "girl" push-ups are!!  I know some women who could probably kick your behind when it comes to full push-ups!