I got about 9½ pushups in before my arms gave out and I had to roll out of it and give up LOL!

I’m 43 years old for reference, but my main preferred exercise is BMX flatland, which generally exercises the legs more than the arms. I did make sure as best as I could to keep my back and legs straight for proper pushups.

I guess I’m getting old, I’m sore today…

Edit: Tonight I managed 10, yay me! I really should give my muscles a bit of a break for a few days or so…

Edit 2: Thank you kind strangers for the words of encouragement and motivation! I do think I need to take a bit of a break for a few days or so, but I do plan to work on more exercises as such every couple days or so at my convenience…

  • Mose13@lemmy.world
    1·
    21 小时前

    Redislocated my shoulder yesterday (past injury). Gonna try and do a few pushups every day to slowly build up strength

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      26·
      3 天前

      Wait, scratch my last comment, even as sore as my muscles are right now, I just managed to do 10 full pushups! 👍

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      10·
      3 天前

      I think I’ll give myself a couple days for my muscle soreness to fade before I try again, as it’s been probably over a decade since I did any pushups.

      I’m happy that I almost hit my first day goal of 10, honestly I got closer than I expected. But yeah, taking a break now I’m sore, but I’ll probably be trying again by Tuesday or Wednesday or so soon…

      Edit: Check my other comment, I just tonight managed 10 pushups 👍

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 天前

    You’re doing much better than I am - yesterday I bought a weight set. And I had the guy put it in my car

  • JustAnotherKay@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 天前

    One of the important things about working out is knowing which muscles you’re actually working out so that you can consciously focus on firing them off with force.

    Pushups aren’t for your arms, at least not normal pushups. They work your triceps a bit, and a few of the stabilizer muscles in the forearms and shoulders. But, for the most part, push ups are about your chest. Squeezing your chest inwards should give you your upward momentum, not pushing away from the ground.

    It’s also not quite enough to just have a straight back. You ever flex your stomach while looking at a mirror and it kind of auto-straightens your back? That’s the move you’re lookin for, tighten your abdominal muscles as best you can to make it so those are the muscles supporting your lower half, instead of pushing that weight onto your lower spinal column and shoulders

  • ODGreen@lemmy.ca
    7·
    2 天前

    Now that you know your maximum, do a couple of sets below your maximum. So do 7-8, rest 2 minutes, repeat for 2 sets. Then 3 to 5 sets later if you want.

    This is for building your strength.

    Remember there’s a difference between testing strength and building strength. Going for as many as you can til you can’t do any more is a test. Stopping 2-3 reps before for multiple sets will build your strength.

    I’m going for 10 pullups in a row. My max is 7 right now. So I did 3 sets of 5 yesterday to build up strength.

      • rollmagma@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 天前

        Nice. At our age it’s all about the consistency. Take a look at this guy “K boges” on youtube. He has solid advice on how to keep working out in a way that’s sustainable.

  • moody@lemmings.world
    13·
    3 天前

    Do the 10th one even if you need to rest a bit first. Eventually you need to rest less, and then you won’t need to rest at all, and then you’ll be able to do more than 10.

  • 🔍🦘🛎@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    2 天前

    Yup, when I started working out, I only managed 7 on the first day. After a week I was doing 20, and now I’m up to 40. It’s certainly been harder to increase from there, so I’m not sure if I can get to the One Punch Man regiment

  • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
    8·
    3 天前

    Playing with some kids, I kicked a soccer ball for the first time in years. I walked with a limp for days afterward. On the bright side, I can kick a soccer ball without issue now.

    As a kid, you’d never had the opportunity to avoid a new activity for very long. Atrophy feels like the ultimate novelty of adulthood.

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      3 天前

      I’m a BMX flatland rider, my pain scale goes up to 13.

      13 is basically when you stand up and a walk to the microwave oven merely 10 feet away from you makes you literally pass out.

      Yesterday my pain scale was about 4 on my scale, today it’s about 2… 👍

  • Beacon@fedia.io
    7·
    3 天前

    Give at least a day between strenuous exercises. I recently strained my arms and now i have to stop working out completely for 4-6 weeks

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      4·
      3 天前

      Truth be told, I just recovered from a right side thigh muscle pulled tendon, I almost couldn’t even walk for like 5 days.

      The moment I realized that pain was fading, I’m like fuckit, I need to get out and try to stretch and flex all my muscles! By 2:30pm yesterday I was able to get out and walk our dog again. By about 7pm last night was when I tried pushups, got close to my goal too.

      Today, about 6pm, even being sore, I managed to get 10 pushups in 👍

      But yeah you’re right, I really should take a bit of a break…

  • PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk
    6·
    3 天前

    I’m in the same boat bro. I can pan in miles and miles, but I’ve got all the upper body strength of a wet fart.

    Keep going though bro. Today nine; legs tomorrow; ten on Tuesday. Same thing next week. Eleven, on Sunday, twelve on the following Tuesday.

    If you want some advice that’s more than “do more, bro” then check out Shaun T’s Insanity or Focus T25. I loved those programmes and I developed arms and chest more than I ever did do half-arsing weights or resistance machines.

    Nail it bro.

    • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      3 天前

      Just remember your diet while doing it. Nothing worse than training without the diet pegged. Treat yourself to your protein of choice. It’s both necessary and delicious!

      • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
        6·
        3 天前

        My diet is a random mix of beer, roast beef, ham, cheese, and beer. Oh, did I mention the beer?

        LOL, I did manage to get 10 pushups in tonight at least…

        • blarghly@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          3 天前

          I vote you add some beans for fiber (huevos rancheros are pretty bomb for breakfast). When you drink, alternate drinking beers with waters, ideally with a low-sugar electrolyte mix. In college, I would just finish a beer, walk to the sink, fill the can or bottle with water, and drink it again - I always ask myself why I stopped doing that.

          Also, you said bmx is your main hobby. I assume the mechanics are somewhat similar to riding dirt bikes, which I’m more familiar with. You probably actually have some pretty decent pushing strength from holding yourself up on your handlebars, but have trouble expressing it at end range because you never spend any time there. I would bet that after a couple workouts, your nervous system will get used to it and your push up capacity will shoot up.

          If you wanna turn this into an ongoing thing, I recommend Pavel Tsastouline’s program The Naked Warrior

    • VoodooAardvark@lemmy.zip
      5·
      3 天前

      I used a can of garbanzo beans to crack one open on thanksgiving - don’t let not having a lighter prevent you from achieving your dreams.

      • slothrop@lemmy.caEnglish
        1·
        3 天前

        Technically, it’s more about leverage, etc…bics just happened to be always around, though it’s fading.

        • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
          2·
          3 天前

          When nothing’s around, I look longingly at the edge of my counter, then make the adult decision and open it with a butter knife instead.

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      21·
      3 天前

      I crack my beer bottle cap with my teeth, like any other average nutjob. Hey, at least the aluminum cap is flexible and malleable…

  • D_C@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    3 天前

    Do 10 push ups a day but use your knees instead of your feet.
    The next week use your feet but keep going until you can’t do anymore push ups. (Remember your highest amount of push ups).
    Week after that go back to using your knees but try to beat your highest amount from the previous week.

    Etc etc and so on until you are at a level or amount that you are happy with. Using the knees puts less stress on everything, but especially your lower back. And makes things a bit easier whilst also strengthening the arms for the next week.

    Or one day do normal push ups, and the next day use the knees. It’s like a rest day without the rest, and it can help get the push up technique correct.
    Good luck. Kept it up.

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      31·
      3 天前

      I hear you and appreciate the advice. But thankfully I don’t have any problems with my legs or back, it was just that my arms gave out.

      Hey, I got 9½ out of my 10 goal, so I’m already pretty close to my starting goal, and I haven’t even tried any pushups in over 10 years.

      I think I’ll give my sore body a break for a few days and try again, but I’m not about cheating, if I’m gonna do pushups, I’m gonna do proper pushups.

      Edit: I told myself fuck the break, I just managed 10 full proper pushups tonight 👍