Pushups in addition to resistance training?
- Thread starter Derrick
- Start date
^^^^^ this!
Derrick
New member
Sorry. 
I worded the thread title kind of poorly. I meant to say "Pushups in addition to weight lifting." I've got into a habbit of using the two terms in place of one another.
I lift weights in a upper body / lower body split, so I was wondering if it is ok to still do pushups on the days that I am supposed to be resting my upper body.
RJ must be a mind reader because he seemed to know exactly what I meant.
I will just have to wait on the pushups goal. I wanted to be able to do 100 without stopping. Right now I can do about 45 to 50 depending on my energy level. Maybe if I go to a push/pull workout I can finish off my push workouts with a few sets of pushups.
RJ, would you recommend a push/pull/legs type breakdown for a guy still wanting to lose 10 to 15 lbs of fat?
I worded the thread title kind of poorly. I meant to say "Pushups in addition to weight lifting." I've got into a habbit of using the two terms in place of one another.I lift weights in a upper body / lower body split, so I was wondering if it is ok to still do pushups on the days that I am supposed to be resting my upper body.
RJ must be a mind reader because he seemed to know exactly what I meant.
I will just have to wait on the pushups goal. I wanted to be able to do 100 without stopping. Right now I can do about 45 to 50 depending on my energy level. Maybe if I go to a push/pull workout I can finish off my push workouts with a few sets of pushups.
RJ, would you recommend a push/pull/legs type breakdown for a guy still wanting to lose 10 to 15 lbs of fat?
KaraCooks
New member
Ah. I was confused.
I personally would just throw in a couple of sets of pushups on the same day as you do your upper body stuff. When I was working through that 100 pushups meme that was going around, that's how I did it. I work on strength/resistance stuff every every other day (3x a week) and so I just added whatever pushups I wanted to do to either the beginning or end of my regular routine.
I was confused.I personally would just throw in a couple of sets of pushups on the same day as you do your upper body stuff. When I was working through that 100 pushups meme that was going around, that's how I did it. I work on strength/resistance stuff every every other day (3x a week) and so I just added whatever pushups I wanted to do to either the beginning or end of my regular routine.
Derrick
New member
Kara, I just now saw your sig. You've come a long way. Congrats! Thanks for the suggestions too.
RJ, I am doing weights 3 times per week and cardio about 6 times per week. On days that I do weights, I always do weights first. I also sometimes throw in one or two hours a week of a yoga/tai chi/pilates type class called Body Flow.
A good week for me looks something like this:
Monday: 30 to 60 mins of swimming, biking or running or a combination of two or three of them.
Tuesday: Upper body for 30 to 35 mins followed by 15 to 30 mins of HIIT on the treadmill, eliptical or bike. Possibly Body Flow in the morning also.
Wednesday: 30 to 60 mins of swimming, biking or running or a combination of two or three of them.
Thursday: Lower body for 30 to 35 mins followed by 15 to 30 mins of HIIT on the treadmill, eliptical or bike. Possibly Body Flow in the morning also.
Friday: 30 to 60 mins of swimming, biking or running or a combination of two or three of them.
Saturday: Upper body for 30 to 35 mins followed by 15 to 30 mins of HIIT on the treadmill, eliptical or bike. Possibly Body Flow in the morning also.
Sunday: Rest
The following week will look just the same except, of course, I do lower body twice and upper body once.
In addition, I always warm up for 5 to 10 minutes and stretch a lot. Sometimes I'll spend about 5 or 10 minutes practicing kicks on the punching bag. That usually gets me warmed up even more.
I was just wondering if I could do pushups everyday or just days I do upper body or just days I do lower body. Sounds like I should be doing them on days I do upper body.
RJ, I am doing weights 3 times per week and cardio about 6 times per week. On days that I do weights, I always do weights first. I also sometimes throw in one or two hours a week of a yoga/tai chi/pilates type class called Body Flow.
A good week for me looks something like this:
Monday: 30 to 60 mins of swimming, biking or running or a combination of two or three of them.
Tuesday: Upper body for 30 to 35 mins followed by 15 to 30 mins of HIIT on the treadmill, eliptical or bike. Possibly Body Flow in the morning also.
Wednesday: 30 to 60 mins of swimming, biking or running or a combination of two or three of them.
Thursday: Lower body for 30 to 35 mins followed by 15 to 30 mins of HIIT on the treadmill, eliptical or bike. Possibly Body Flow in the morning also.
Friday: 30 to 60 mins of swimming, biking or running or a combination of two or three of them.
Saturday: Upper body for 30 to 35 mins followed by 15 to 30 mins of HIIT on the treadmill, eliptical or bike. Possibly Body Flow in the morning also.
Sunday: Rest
The following week will look just the same except, of course, I do lower body twice and upper body once.
In addition, I always warm up for 5 to 10 minutes and stretch a lot. Sometimes I'll spend about 5 or 10 minutes practicing kicks on the punching bag. That usually gets me warmed up even more.
I was just wondering if I could do pushups everyday or just days I do upper body or just days I do lower body. Sounds like I should be doing them on days I do upper body.
Derrick
New member
I think you are more hard core than I am, I just make sure I do cardio every day, even if it is only for 20 minutes. The yoga classes are for my back and my poor flexibility. The weight lifting goes fast. I am not trying to build muscle right now, just maintain muscle mass and hopefully add a little bit of strength. My main focus is still fat loss. I want to get to get to 181 lbs and then stay between 181 and 185 for a while. Maybe someday I will try a mass gaining phase and gain back 15 lbs or so just to add some muscle and strength but for now, I am still focused on reaching 10% bodyfat. I think 181 lbs to 185 lbs will get me there for sure, assuming I don't lose a lot of muscle. I wish I had the experience you have with nutrition and weight lifting. I have read your diary on and off and I don't think I have the balls to try what you are trying right now.
I used to follow the Bill Phillips Body for Life method to lifting but I have modified it a little bit to shorten my weight lifting sessions so I can still have time to do cardio on those days.
This is how I am lifting right now.
Chest:
dumbell bench press; one set of 15 reps at a 70% effort
increase weight and do one set of 10 to 12 reps at a 90% effort
increase weight and do one set of 6 to 10 reps at a 90% effort
dumbell flyes; one set of 12 to 15 reps at a 90% effort
Shoulders
3 sets of dumbell presses just like above, followed by one set of side raises.
Back
Either lat pulldown or seated rows, same way, followed by one set laying at a 30* angle and raising dumbells similar to side raises (I don't know what the exercise is called but it targets the muscles in between your shoulder blades and spine...I am trying to improve my posture a little bit)
Biceps
Seated one arm dumbell curls, same way, followed by one more set of one arm cable curls
Triceps
Rope pushdowns, same way, followed by one set of dips, same way.
I usually rest only 30 seconds in between each set and I drink water after each muscle group. Then I immediately go to the treadmill, stationary bike, eliptical or swimming pool to get in 20 to 30 minutes of cardio. On the days I don't do weights I try to hit the cardio a little harder focusing on triathlon type training and maybe combining a swim and bike or a bike and run.
I used to follow the Bill Phillips Body for Life method to lifting but I have modified it a little bit to shorten my weight lifting sessions so I can still have time to do cardio on those days.
This is how I am lifting right now.
Chest:
dumbell bench press; one set of 15 reps at a 70% effort
increase weight and do one set of 10 to 12 reps at a 90% effort
increase weight and do one set of 6 to 10 reps at a 90% effort
dumbell flyes; one set of 12 to 15 reps at a 90% effort
Shoulders
3 sets of dumbell presses just like above, followed by one set of side raises.
Back
Either lat pulldown or seated rows, same way, followed by one set laying at a 30* angle and raising dumbells similar to side raises (I don't know what the exercise is called but it targets the muscles in between your shoulder blades and spine...I am trying to improve my posture a little bit)
Biceps
Seated one arm dumbell curls, same way, followed by one more set of one arm cable curls
Triceps
Rope pushdowns, same way, followed by one set of dips, same way.
I usually rest only 30 seconds in between each set and I drink water after each muscle group. Then I immediately go to the treadmill, stationary bike, eliptical or swimming pool to get in 20 to 30 minutes of cardio. On the days I don't do weights I try to hit the cardio a little harder focusing on triathlon type training and maybe combining a swim and bike or a bike and run.
Last edited:
thats actually a decent routine for just putting it together yourself. props on trying to hit all muscle groups, which is more than I can say for most other routines I see. If you're only going to be going for that amount of time though, I would honestly suggest dropping the isolation exercises like bicep curls and tri extensions. And in their place, add a couple more compounds one pull one push. I think you would get a lot better mileage out of that.
Derrick
New member
Well the % effort is not exact by any means. For example, for the dumbell bench press I will grab 45 or 50 lb dumbells and do 15 reps. I can easily get all 15 reps but the last few are a little bit of a struggle. I just kind of guess that I had to put forth a 70% effort to do 15 reps. Then I grab 55 or 60 lb dumbells and try to do 10 to 12 reps. Somedays I can get all 12, some only 10. To do that usually takes at least a 90% effort. Finally, depending on my energy level that day, I will either use 65 or 70 lb dumbells and try to do 10 reps. Usually I can only get 6 or 7. I call that at least 90% effort if not 100%. Finally I finish with 35 lb dumbell flyes. Those middle two sets are basically until failure or near failure. The first is just a warm up and the last is just to kind of hit the muscle a little different and finish it off. It's very similar to what is taught in Body For Life but I just got rid of 2 sets so I would have time for cardio.
Jynus, thanks for the suggestion. I have really weak biceps, always have, so I have been reluctant to drop those. My triceps are pretty strong though, probably from years of swimming. I could do without those I guess. What kinds of exercises are you thinking of that I could replace them with?
Jynus, thanks for the suggestion. I have really weak biceps, always have, so I have been reluctant to drop those. My triceps are pretty strong though, probably from years of swimming. I could do without those I guess. What kinds of exercises are you thinking of that I could replace them with?
RJAZ520
New member
Jynus is right on with dropping the iso arm stuff,
I'd say instead of the pull downs or the rows (sounds like you just do one or the other)
make both part of the routine. So that frees up one movement.
I'd say the squat... most bang for the buck.
this way you'll have
Vert push, vert pull
Horiz push. and Horiz pull
add the squats, or even a leg press if you don't have the proper instruction.
how many push ups can you do?
I'd say warm up with those before you do your DB presses, and maybe replace the light set, if its too much volume
I'd say instead of the pull downs or the rows (sounds like you just do one or the other)
make both part of the routine. So that frees up one movement.
I'd say the squat... most bang for the buck.
this way you'll have
Vert push, vert pull
Horiz push. and Horiz pull
add the squats, or even a leg press if you don't have the proper instruction.
how many push ups can you do?
I'd say warm up with those before you do your DB presses, and maybe replace the light set, if its too much volume
for future reference, %intensity is normally based off your 1rep max. so if say you can bench 200lbs for 1 rep, then 60% intensity for 10 reps is 120lbs for 10 reps. there are also calculators that can guestimate what your 1rep max would be from your multirep bests.
Also, as a general rule in my workouts, after my first couple sets which i consider warmup sets so to speak, I always go to failure at whatever the rep range is. especially if it's under 8, and depending on how you're training i'll go past failure. for my bench for example, some weeks i do 1rep max singles, where i just work my way up about 25lbs below my 1 rep max and just keep adding 5lbs at a time, and try to beat it till the weight beats me. Other weeks I do 5x5. where for me for example my new 5 rep max is 225lbs. But I can only do that for like 2 sets tops before i'm so tired i'll need help (spotter assistance) finishing some reps for the last 3 sets. but thats fine, it forces my body to adapt and i'm seeing my 5 rep max increase about 5 lbs every couple weeks for the last while by always pushing to just beyond what my body can do.
to note though, i only really do this for like 1-2 movements in a workout. it just takes to much out of me if i do everything like this. so for example on my max effort push day, i'll do this for bench and sometimes for oly clean and press where i pull from the knees. for the other stuff like cable crossovers, incline bench, etc i'll do like 3x8-12 where i'm just hitting failure and not going past.
weak bis can be worked fine by not directly working them.. the bis assist back movements. more in some than others. so if you drop a bi isolation exercise, I recommend you add chinups, in which the bi is a big assister in addition to working the back effectively. if you can't do bodyweight chinups then find a cable machine that can give you weighted assistance and use that to help you.
Also, as a general rule in my workouts, after my first couple sets which i consider warmup sets so to speak, I always go to failure at whatever the rep range is. especially if it's under 8, and depending on how you're training i'll go past failure. for my bench for example, some weeks i do 1rep max singles, where i just work my way up about 25lbs below my 1 rep max and just keep adding 5lbs at a time, and try to beat it till the weight beats me. Other weeks I do 5x5. where for me for example my new 5 rep max is 225lbs. But I can only do that for like 2 sets tops before i'm so tired i'll need help (spotter assistance) finishing some reps for the last 3 sets. but thats fine, it forces my body to adapt and i'm seeing my 5 rep max increase about 5 lbs every couple weeks for the last while by always pushing to just beyond what my body can do.
to note though, i only really do this for like 1-2 movements in a workout. it just takes to much out of me if i do everything like this. so for example on my max effort push day, i'll do this for bench and sometimes for oly clean and press where i pull from the knees. for the other stuff like cable crossovers, incline bench, etc i'll do like 3x8-12 where i'm just hitting failure and not going past.
weak bis can be worked fine by not directly working them.. the bis assist back movements. more in some than others. so if you drop a bi isolation exercise, I recommend you add chinups, in which the bi is a big assister in addition to working the back effectively. if you can't do bodyweight chinups then find a cable machine that can give you weighted assistance and use that to help you.
Derrick
New member
Hey thanks for the tips guys. I can do 45 good form pushups in a row. I'd love to be able to do 100 someday. I can only bench press 215 lbs. I have been reluctant to work my muslces too hard on weight days because I am still trying to lose weight. I am worried about losing muscle. So if anything, I have been trying to be conservative with the weight lifting. I was hoping I could gain "some" strength while still making fat loss my main focus. I wouldn't expect to increase my bench press from 215 to 250 while losing weight but I thought maybe increasing my pushup max from 45 to 100 was more realistic since I would have less weight to pushup as I continue to lose weight and as I get slightly stronger anyway.
KaraCooks
New member
This is the exact opposite of what you should be thinking. The purpose of lifting weights while you lose weight is to help insure that you minimize the loss of lean muscle. Being "conservative" is counterproductive.
When you reduce your calories you ARE going to lose part of your weight through the loss of lean muscle. When you lift weights you MINIMIZE the loss. So lift as much as you can. You can still build STRENGTH while you're losing weight, even if you're not building muscle.