Archive for January, 2009
I believe many people have this same question. The push-up is a staple of any body weight exercise program. But the question is how much weight are you really pushing up when you do a push-up. In other words how can I compare it to what I might do in a weight room.
I am not sure of the source of the information that I am going to pass on to you but to the best of my knowledge it is accurate. If you are doing a standard push-up then a male will be pushing up about 75% of his weight. A woman on the other hand pushes up about 70% of her weight. Men push up more weight as a percentage of their body weight merely because they are normally bulkier through their upper bodies. They have larger chests, larger shoulders and unfortunately larger bellies in many cases. Since more of their body weight resides in their upper bodies their percentage will be slightly higher.
I weigh between 180 and 185 pounds. This means that while doing a push-up I should be pushing about 125 – 130 pounds. Now I can knock out about 50 push-ups without much problem. I have never tried bench pressing 125 pounds for 50 reps, however. I guess I will have to perform an experiment one day to see how accurate it is.
If you are performing cheat push-ups from your knees then both males and females are pushing up about 55% of their body weight. Simple math can tell you how much your are pushing.
I did not find a percentage for doing elevated push-ups but I would guess that it exceeds 80% of your body weight. It also most likely depends on how high the object is that you rest your feet on.
So their you have it. A quick simple way to determine how much weight you are lifting when doing a push-up. This can be especially helpful if you are doing an Escalating Density type program where you are trying to measure how much force you put out during a particular time period. So get out there and crank out some push-ups.
One of my favorite pieces of equipment for body weight exercises is the good ole ab wheel. It is a tremendous tool for building up real core strength. You can find them in just about any store that sells fitness equipment (i.e. Target, WalMart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, SportsMart, etc). They aren’t very expensive and they last forever.
The ab wheel that I have is almost as old as I am. Yes, they have been around that long. It was originally my parents and I can remember using it as a young teenager (about 30 years ago). I absconded with it when I moved out on my own. I enjoyed using it then and I enjoy using it now.
When you begin using the ab wheel you will most likely have to begin on your knees. While on your knees, grab each handle with your hands and slowly begin to slide it away from your body. You want to reach the position where your arms are extended fully over your head and your body is virtually touching the floor. Now slide it back up. You can see how well this works your abs. Trust me you will be sore the next day.
When you master this part of the ab wheel you can begin to try the advanced version by performing the same exercise from a standing position. I am not going to mislead you. This is tremendously difficult but I am confident you can find success if you work at it. You will probably think I am crazy the first time you try it.
In order to build up to the point where you can do this you will probably need to take it in stages. Perform the exercise and just before you feel as if your are going to collapse to the floor roll back to your feet. In time you will be able to get lower and lower until you are able to perform it without problem. Don’t give up.
There are fancy ab wheels on the market that allow you to hook your feet into straps on the wheel and present you with the opportunity to perform more advanced exercises. I do not have one of these yet but I am quite interested. If you want to learn more about it you can click on the picture below.
Running stairs often gets overlooked as an exercise tool. This is unfortunate since running stairs can be one of the best body weight exercises for getting you in shape very quickly.
You don’t need fancy treadmills or stair climbers or elliptical machines; you just need a good set of stairs. One of the best places to do this is your high school football bleachers or a park that has a good set of stairs. Get your sneakers on and get to stepping. If you happen to work in a building then you can run the stairs in your building. I would recommend doing this at the end of your work day since most workplaces don’t have showers that you can use and your co-workers don’t want to get periodic sniffs of your aroma during the day. If you do it at the end of the day then you only have to put up with yourself on the ride home.
Running stairs can provide a number of benefits. It can get you in shape very quickly. The act of running up and down stairs is much more difficult than it sounds. It will ramp up your heart rate and enable you to burn calories at a rapid pace. Running stairs is one of the best ways to burn body fat no matter if it resides in your belly, your thighs or some other place. You will build great endurance and strength in your legs. Your aerobic capacity will increase. The list of benefits could go on and on. If you have never tried running stairs then you should give it a shot.
There are a tremendous variety of workouts that you can perform. There is a pretty thorough program that has been developed called the Ultimate Stair Exercise Program. It has been created by Virgil Aponte. Virgil is a personal trainer and physical education teacher in New York City. He has served as conditioning coach for the New York Mets Baseball Academy and as an assistant on the WNBA’s New York Liberty’s strength and conditioning staff.
So check out the Ultimate Stair Exercise Program and see what you think.
A couple of years ago I first heard about Crossfit. I made my way over to their site and within a short period of time I was in love with what I saw.
The thing that drew me in more than anything else is that they had a different opinion of what real fitness was all about. Most of us have imbalanced views of what fitness is. If you have a running background, you might think that being fit means you have the ability to run 10 miles at a 5 – 6 minute pace for each mile.
If you are a weightlifter you might believe that being fit means that you can bench press in excess of 400 pounds, squat nearly 600 pounds and deadlift about 500 pounds.
If you are a bodybuilder you might believe that being fit is easy to determine. If you have built large muscles and rippling abs, then you have arrived.
The point is that we have a tendency to define fitness by the standard defined by the fitness area that we gravitate towards the most. Although, all of the above things are positive and beneficial they don’t necessarily define fitness. What good is it if you can run 10 miles but struggle carrying two gallons of milk in from the store?
It is nice to be able to lift heavy weights but if you are tired after walking a couple of flights of stairs then I would venture to say that your overall fitness level is not too great.
Crossfit looked at this problem and developed a workout protocol that attempts to build proficiency in all areas of fitness. They focus on endurance, strength, and flexibility. They incorporate running, body weight exercise, olympic lifts, kettlebell training, medicine ball training, etc.
Here is Crossfit type workout that I have modified slightly. It will kick your butt and have your heart leaping out of your chest. Give it a try and let me know what you think of it.
50 Body weight squats
40 Push-ups
30 Sit Ups
20 Pull-Ups
This list above is meant to be performed in succession without any rest in between the exercises. As soon as you are done with the squats fit the ground and move on to the push-ups. At the end of the entire set you can rest for 3 minutes. Repeat the set five times. At the end you will have done 150 body weight squats, 200 push-ups, 150 sit-ups and 100 pull-ups.
Good luck and let me know how it went and how long it took you to complete it.
The muscle-up is a very demanding exercise and can be done on a straight bar with a set of rings. The rings will make it more difficult since you have to have the strenght to stabilize them as you do the exercise. For this reason I would recommend that you start on a straight bar and work your way up to the rings.
I suspect that as you first begin to attempt this exercise you will need to add a little bit of a kick to it to get you going. Once you have mastered that you can then work on mastering going slower so that it requires more strength since all momentum will have been removed.
So lets start looking at the muscle-up with a kick.
Grab a bar suspended over your head in a normal pull-up position. Your palms should be facing away from you. As you begin to pull up to the bar, keep in mind that you do not want to perform this like you would a normal pull-up. In a normal pull-up you are in essence pull yourself up from underneath of the bar. This may be difficult to understand but you need to move yourself away from the bar as you rise. This is where the kick comes in handy. The kick will give you the swing you need to move away from the bar.
Try to keep your hands away from your body and only partially flex your arms. If you flex your arms too much you will end up pulling your chest to the bar. If this happens you will not be able to get over the bar.
Kick your legs up as you are nearing the top and then kick them back. This should give you enough momentum to move away from the bar. Continue to power yourself up over the bar. As you start to get over the bar shift your weight forward so that you don’t fall back. Also remember to rotate your wrists from below the bar to above the bar. If you have such a tight grip on the bar that your wrists are still below as you get your upper body above the bar you won’t be able to hold your positions. At this point all that is left is to power yourself up with the strength of your triceps.
You have just completed one rep. Keep up the good work until you can do several reps. I know this will be very difficult as you start but don’t give up. Keep working at it until you get it. Once you get the first the others will seem easier. At least until your fatigue. Never give up. You will succeed.
The stronger you get the smaller the kick that you will need. So get to work and try some muscle-ups. If you don’t have a straight bar then buy one or build one or head off to your local park.
I have also included a training video from Crossfit on performing the muscle-up. He does his muscle-up on rings. Once you have mastered the straight bar buy or make yourself a pair of rings and try these out.
Enjoy the video.
Here is a video that I ran across of a guy doing some crazy muscle-ups. Give it a watch and if you are up to the challenge find a playground and give it a shot.
In my next post I will write about performing muscle ups. Stay tuned and enjoy the video.
I am sometimes asked if I believe that body weight training is the only way to train. Let me make my answer clear. No I do not believe that body weight training or body weight exercise is the only way to train. However, it is at this point in my life the preferable way to train at least for me.
I do have 700 lbs of weights in my garage to go along with a bench and squat rack. I no longer use it all that often due to the wear and tear on my tendons. Body weight exercise allows me to continue to train and gain strength without having to lift weights. However, I do not have it in for weight lifting like some.
One of the things that I love about body weight exercise is that you don’t require much else to get a great strength training workout. It removes that excuses that you couldn’t get to the gym or that you didn’t want to spend the money on weight equipment.
Some of the fittest people in our country are our military. They just about exclusively use body weight exercise for building muscle and for improving their overall fitness levels. I figure that they must know something. On top of it all they are functionally fit. They are equipped to handle the fitness rigors of military service and everyday life not merely equipped to perform a barbell curl.
You body will build muscle if you put a stress on your muscle. You body will adapt. You heavier load that you place on your muscles that more they will grow to handle that load in the future. Your own body weight is sufficient to stress your musculature to the point of growth.
And if you have never done body weight exercises then I suggest that you do them. You will find out that they are not easy to perform. Your heart will begin to race and your muscles will begin to quiver. Give them a try. You will be glad you did.
Rope climbing is a tremendous body weight exercise. It works the grip, the forearms, the biceps and the back. It is a tremendous test of your strength.
I remember in elementary and junior high school that rope climbing was a part of our physical fitness training. I never liked getting to the top of the gym since I was not a big fan of heights but it was a great body weight exercise. Today we seem to have gotten away from it.
Many people are caught up with the idea of big biceps. The guns look good in a short sleeve shirt. But for the most part the bicep curl is a mostly worthless exercise. It doesn’t really mimic anything we do in real life. I am a firm believer that you can build huge biceps without ever doing bicep curls. Climbing rope is one of the ways to do it and not only are you working your arms but your back as well. You will also be working your core also.
So if you have never considered rope climbing before in your bodyweight exercise workout then give it a shot. Make sure you buy a quality rope. They are a little pricey but well worth it over the long haul. After all you will use it for years. Just attach it to a sturdy tree limb in your backyard and get to climbing. Below you will find a rope on Amazon if you need to purchase one.
