Need help with push-ups

xaloumokelos

New member
Hi, i am going in the army in July and i am going for LOK. Lok in my country is like special forces. I asked what i will be asked to do and they told me i will need like 40-60 push-ups and other stuff which i am able to do. The only problem is with the pushups. I am not able to do alot. Can anyone help me and suggest ideas on how to do more.

Thanks
 
I've been trying to figure out the best way to add weight onto my back while doing pushups. That 45lbs plate is hard to keep balanced on the back. That said, the need to balance is good motivation to keep perfect form, in order to prevent the plate from falling off.
 
heres what i use to do while i was in the army ...get 3 chairs.. i usually used my kitchen chairs at home all the same ht and size... set up in a "T" feet on one and one hand on each, allows for one hell of a stretch in the pecs, and start doing sets of 3-4 and rep out w/10-12+ per set w/only 30-45 sec rest between sets..also start doing shoulder wide (hands directly under shoulders, elbows tucked in near ue rib cage) PU, this will help develop your tri's, do 3 sets of 10-12 with these also and lastly start doin more reg PU's..3-4 sets of 10-12 same rest all the way through with every exercise...ive got to the point now that my 8 yr old can lay on my back and i pump out about 2 sets of 15 solid form PU's b4 my arms give out and he wts in at 60+ lbs...hope that helped..also i dont know how ur armed forces does the PU test but ours is timed..2 min to get over 42 PU's but that the bare minimum they want more in 2 min so likw once a week id burn out and do as many PU's as u can in a 2 min peroid id do 3 sets like that w/like a min or 2 of rest between each of those 2 mins...also dont forget about decline and incline PU's these help to alternate in every once in while for the other ones ive named already..
 
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adidamps2 said:
heres what i use to do while i was in the army ...get 3 chairs.. i usually used my kitchen chairs at home all the same ht and size... set up in a "T" feet on one and one hand on each, allows for one hell of a stretch in the pecs, and start doing sets of 3-4 and rep out w/10-12+ per set w/only 30-45 sec rest between sets..also start doing shoulder wide (hands directly under shoulders, elbows tucked in near ue rib cage) PU, this will help develop your tri's, do 3 sets of 10-12 with these also and lastly start doin more reg PU's..3-4 sets of 10-12 same rest all the way through with every exercise...ive got to the point now that my 8 yr old can lay on my back and i pump out about 2 sets of 15 solid form PU's b4 my arms give out and he wts in at 60+ lbs...hope that helped..also i dont know how ur armed forces does the PU test but ours is timed..2 min to get over 42 PU's but that the bare minimum they want more in 2 min so likw once a week id burn out and do as many PU's as u can in a 2 min peroid id do 3 sets like that w/like a min or 2 of rest between each of those 2 mins...also dont forget about decline and incline PU's these help to alternate in every once in while for the other ones ive named already..

Great quote!!
I'm in the Army now, and the only way to get better with PUs is to do a shitload of PUs. For me, I also narrowed my hand placement to a little less that shoulder width and use my triceps more. Weight training has been the biggest key to my push up improvement.
 
mranak said:
I've been trying to figure out the best way to add weight onto my back while doing pushups. That 45lbs plate is hard to keep balanced on the back. That said, the need to balance is good motivation to keep perfect form, in order to prevent the plate from falling off.

use a band instead of weight.
 
pullinbig said:
mranak said:
I've been trying to figure out the best way to add weight onto my back while doing pushups. That 45lbs plate is hard to keep balanced on the back. That said, the need to balance is good motivation to keep perfect form, in order to prevent the plate from falling off.
use a band instead of weight.

Why didn't I think of that? I've even got the bands already. Thanks!
 
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I'm a chick and I got up to 75 pushups when I was in the Army. What I did was drop down and do pushups whenever wherever to failure then get up. 10 minutes later drop down and do them again. I did this all day long. It helped that I was in my second AIT at the time so it was fine to get up during class, go to the back of the room and do pushups. That's what everyone did to stay awake. YOu also need to work your core muscles because you really use them during pushups. Don't do situps or crunches though. Do planks, hanging leg raises, pikes on a stability ball and things like that. Good luck.
 
Everyone's different so you need to find what works for you. Some guys weight train and can get down, knock out 80 and get up with time to spare. I weight train and I notice that my endurance goes down. Some change grip while doing them, starting with a narrow grip until the triceps get tired then widening the grip as they go. Some do them all at once, I do a set of 20, stop for a second, 20 more, 10, 10, 5, 5 and then just knock them out in singles or pairs until time's up. There are a lot of different methods so I would say to just experiment with hand placement, number of repetitions, speed, etc. and find what allows you to do the most.
 
thanks people. Something else i wanted to ask you is about the crunches/sit-ups. Does anyone have any idea on what type of sit-ups i will be asked to do in the army.
Thanks
 
For pushups, get a backpack and put a plate in it wrapped in a towel; start light, and build up weight while keeping the reps 20-25. When you get to 25 pushups with 30 kg on your back, no-weight pushups will feel like flying. It is also useful for a bit of variety. But don't forget to do regular pushups also.
 
In regards to the sit-ups (since you asked about US military): here it even depends on the service. The army does a full sit-up while the marines do crunches. For army: you start on your back, hands behind your head, go up until the base of your neck passes the base of your spine, go back down until shoulder blades touch the ground - that is one rep. Like I said, different militaries and different services will have different rules.
 
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