Push-Ups

What's up with push-ups? Are there any other women out there besides me who cannot do even a single one? I don't mean the fake push-ups, I mean a real one where your body is rigid and you are using only the muscles in your arms to push yourself up. I can't do one. Is there something wrong with me?

Fri. Jun 29, 9:23pm

They are just hard for women to do...but not impossible. I started with zero too and now I can do maybe 5 real pushups (with lots of swearing). I like doing pushups from stability ball. As you get stronger push the ball further away from your hips and toward your knees. You will get there if you keep at it! A woman on one of my groups does 100 some days. She said a few years ago she couldn't do any. I am impressed!

Friday, June 29, 2007, 10:25 PM

I used to be able to do tons of knee pushups and maybe 1 regular pushup if I was lucky! Now I can do several sets of 12 regular pushups, and also have no trouble w/ tricep pushups and narrow pushups (the kind where your index fingers and thumbs form a triangle on the ground)! No secret trick, just a lot of upper body work!

Women do have less upper body strength than men, but that doesn't mean you can't improve your fitness and gain muscle!

Just keep trying and you will get stronger-start on your knees if you have to, and do other exercises for your chest, abs, arms, and shoulders. When all of you is stronger, the pushups will get easier!

Saturday, June 30, 2007, 12:02 AM

pushups are an awesome exercise. i have had to stop trying since getting tendonitis in my wrist... WAY too painful. stick w/ it... you'll get better.

Saturday, June 30, 2007, 12:20 AM

12:20 - tell me about your tendonitis! I have been having wrist trouble (in just one) for about a year. It's tender and I can only bend it back so far before it hurts. Do you know the casue? Any treatment?

OP - you're not alone!! I used to be able to do 10 good pushups then I stopped doing them and now I can barely do 1. Like pp said, you can do it - just work up to it. I started with 1 and added another one every couple of days or one a week.

Saturday, June 30, 2007, 9:29 AM

OT: tendonitis

9:29-- a couple of possibilities for your wrist pain, but tendonitis is definitely one of them. my wrist soreness got worse over about 6 months. i went through a few weeks when i was playing the piano a lot, and the pain became unbearable enough for me to go to the doctor (and that's significant, as i don't like going and usually wait for things to go away).
by that point i couldn't open doors or lift anything without a lot of pain.
the doctor said tendonitis usually comes with a lot of repetitive activity, maybe from a sport, computer work, etc. i was exascerbating things by bending my wrist forward while sleeping.
i went to a physical therapist, but by the time i got to her the pain had pretty much gone away. she prescribed a lot of stretching exercises.
one thing to know- if the pain goes away, it comes back!!! (as mine has.) so don't think you're cured, and continue to follow your doctor's regimen.
like i say, there's other possibilities. the doctor could also give you a brace to hold your wrist still for 6 weeks. ibuprofen helps too.

Saturday, June 30, 2007, 10:51 AM

thanks 10:51. Very helpful!

Sunday, July 1, 2007, 12:32 PM

My personal trainer had me do 3-4 sets 20 push-ups within a circuit training routine, and start off each set with full push-ups but drop to my knees when it got too hard. At 200 lbs I could just do one, but now I'm doing more boy push-ups than girl push-ups in every set.

Sunday, July 1, 2007, 1:25 PM

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