Furey/hindu push ups-how to build up numbers.

[GKC]

I know some people will say just do them and I do know that.However I wonder if anyone can say how they got to 100 straight reps.I can do 40-50 on a good day.I was thninking of doing 5 all out sets every other day.Thanks

[John Peterson]

Hello GKC,

That is one great variation for athletic strength and conditioning. For me personally, the best way to boost my reps to the point that I could do 500 consecutive reps was to work up to the point of discomfort and then make myself perform a few more. for instance at first 37 was a point of discomfort for me. I would then force myself to do just 3 more. In a very short time 37 was no longer an issue. Not even remotely. But let me also make another point. For me personally, my strength and endurance always increased by jumps rather than a gradual and steady improvement. For instance, I remember as a kid being stuck at 74 Atlas Push-Ups and really struggling to get beyond it. And then suddenly being able to do more than a hundred. I wonder if our other friends have experienced anything similar? I wouldn't be surprised.

---John Peterson

[gs300tx]

So does this mean we try to push our selves past the failure mark when it comes to push ups? If so, do we do it every time we workout? I ask this because when it comes to regular push ups, I can do around 40 in a set, but the hindu push ups,I cant go past 15.

[Hopeful]

I think what John said is just go a little past failure each time. So if you are stuck on 50 then do 3 more for a total of 53. I think that is great advice. The only thing I would add is to wait a few seconds in the up position (where your butt is higher than your head) catch your breath and then do three more. I found doing that was how I got to 60 on a good day myself. I hope John does not mind this addition to his comment. But I believe what John said (and who wounldn't) is fanatistic advice. Just do three more each time no matter what number you stop on. Just three so you don't have to kill yourself.

Anyway that is my two cents


Hopeful

[gs300tx]

But isnt that going against the advice of not taking the sets to failure? Just so i have it right.
Lets say I do 225 push ups, in sets of 15. I should now do each set to past failure?

[Hopeful]

I think what is being talked about is one set max. John I know in one set can do three hundred straight, and I believe in his reply he said he can do 500 straight. I would not know about adding three more to each set. I'll let others answer that. And when I did 60 it was in one set. And when I do TSPUs (tiger stretch push ups) I only do one set, but that is not the only way to do them. I believe that is what was being talked about too-- one set max. But adding three more to smaller sets is a good question.

[Bill_Meyer]

I may be wrong here but John said "the point of discomfort" and I don't think that is the
same as "point of failure." When I do my pushups I reach a point when the "burn" is
uncomfortable, when I have to slow the reps down.....that is the point at which I usually
stop the set.....it has become a discomfort to continue. Now as I read John's advice, he
means this point.....as I described above. To me failure means not able to squeeze another
rep out, and John clearly states that he went for 3 more reps (which were uncomfortable).

This is just my take....hope it helps.
Bill

[Greg Newton]

GKC,

You've got good advice. There is one more strategy that is easy to try with the Tiger Stretch Pushups. After the first ten pause in the up position, take two deep breaths and then do this after every ten reps until you get to 100. You'll start out getting to seventy or eighty the first time or two. After a week or so, you should be able to make to 100. Then gradually you can start taking out the rest/pause intervals; starting with the first ones and saving it for the harder reps at the end. This is what got me to 100.

[JoeJustice]

I'm nowhere near that high number of push-ups, but for some other exercises where I aim for higher numbers I've used a tapering set method that has worked pretty well...

Take the number of reps you want to do total and divide that by the number you can presently do. Now do that many sets of those reps. Then start adding reps to the first set and taking them from the others in successive workouts. So let me explain by example...

Say you can comfortably do 25 push-ups (by comfortably I mean it's difficult but you aren't straining) And you want to work up to 100 straight. So you do 4 sets of 25 (25+25+25+25) Now the next week you bump the first two sets up to 30 and drop the last two down to 20 (30+30+20+20). Then the next week you go 35+30+20+15. Then 40+30+20+10. Then 45+30+20+5. Finally 50+30+20. Then begin to taper off that last set in the same way until you're doing, say 75+25. Eventually you'll get to 100 in a single set.

That might be a good way to get there. Good luck!

-Joe

[GKC]

Some good ideas ,thank you.

[John Peterson]

hey Friends,

I'm surprised that my post could have been misconstrued as me advocating pushing beyond failure. That is not at all what I meant. I was always taught to stop as soon as I started losing the ability to maintain good form. So what I was advocating was to actually force yourself to perform just a few more slowly and in as close to perfect form as possible. I have never been an advocate of pushing to failure because doing so reinforces a psychological barrier. So let me repeat, always stop when you feel as though you could do a few more.

---John Peterson

[entrma]

Prior to setting a Goal of 100 Tiger Stretch Pushups and then searching for a method to
achieve your Goal, you should give consideration as to whether or not this particular exercise
is one you as an individual can do in volume given the various dynamics you have as an individual
and does it meet your overall long term fitness Goals.

The mechanic's of each of our individual bodies are such that high volume Tiger Stretch Pushups
may be the wrong exercise for some people given their "BODY MECHANIC'S." Also, if your goal
is muscle size and strength rather than muscle endurance the Atlas Pushup would possibly serve
you as a better exercise.

Eric

[Alan_OldStudent]

hey Friends,

I'm surprised that my post could have been misconstrued as me advocating pushing beyond failure. That is not at all what I meant. I was always taught to stop as soon as I started losing the ability to maintain good form. So what I was advocating was to actually force yourself to perform just a few more slowly and in as close to perfect form as possible. I have never been an advocate of pushing to failure because doing so reinforces a psychological barrier. So let me repeat, always stop when you feel as though you could do a few more.

---John Peterson

Hi John,

I think I can understand the reason for the misinterpretation.

When one is a relative novice and can only do a few pushups, failure comes at about the same time discomfort and loss of form begins. It is only after a bit of practice for a few months or so that one begins to notice that the "John Peterson Stopping Point" (for lack of a better term) comes 5 or 10 repetitions before failure. But when one can only do 5 or 10 repetitions or fewer, the distinction is not so apparent.

Regards,

Alan

[tony84]

I just read this article online and i thought id post about it here becuase it has to do with the hindu push up. Mike Mahler is known for kettleball training and i he wrote an article about how he decided to try bodyweight training. In the article he claims he can do 800 hindu push ups in one set. When i first read that sentance i thought it was a typo. But next sentance of the article says, "and that isnt a typo". I just find it hard to believe that someone could do 800 hindu push ups in one set. If you search google for mike mahler and hindu squats it should come up. What do you guys think about 800 hindu push ups in one set?


Tony

[GKC]

Well these things are achievable as mankind has do many amazing things.On a more modest scale I used to run alot of track and really worked hard to beat 50.0 for 400m and 2.00 for 800m.I eventually achieved 48.8 and 1.55 respectively.
I now look back at my training diary and marvel at what I did ;sessions like 20x200m intervals in 27.0 etc.
It can be done.Now I have a new target;100 straight hindu push ups at the age of 44!

[Scott Silva]

I've done 300 a couple of times before, the last time I did it it took me just under 15 minutes to complete...

But that isn't the way I started out, I couldn't do 50 straight at first. Sometimes I would do straight sets as part of the Royal Court, other times I would do high-volume workouts in the form of ladders or what I called Hindu Poker (AKA Carl Gotch Bible).

When I would do straight sets, sometimes, like John said, "force yourself to perform just a few more slowly and in as close to perfect form as possible."

This I would do and I would go and break my personal record, later on, perhaps by as much as 10 or 20 reps (I would never try to do this several consecutive days in a row).

The road to getting up to 300 wasn't easy, I remember when 125-150 would take me just as long or longer than the 300 later on. (Actually 301 in 14:59)

A big part of learning and teaching your body to get used to doing bigger numbers is by not letting your knees touch the ground and resting in-between reps with your butt up in the air. This allows your body to overcome and get used to the lactic acid buildup that makes you want to quit.

Remember this exercise was used by wrestlers & Judo practicioners for a reason, I think it really simulates in your muscles the struggle that goes on in Judo & wrestling.

In a match, one simply couldn't say, "Ooop's, that's it, I'm tired!" after only 2 minutes, not if you were trying to win anyways...

Once in a while at least, prepare yourself mentally, put some inspiring music on, and try to go the distance.

WB

[mts]

I certainly don't mean this negatively, but besides hittting numbers for the sake of hitting numbers, I'd love to hear what these high volume routines did for your strength, stamina, mental fortitude, etc.

I do anywhere from 100 to 500 pushups a day, but in sets that don't burn me out (for example, I can do 40 or so Atlas push-ups in a row, but I typically workout in sets of 10-15 and just do more sets).

If I go all out in one set, I find it burns me out and I lose interest in PCs altogether.

[Hank_Z]

. Mike Mahler is known for kettleball training and i he wrote an article about how he decided to try bodyweight training... In the article he claims he can do 800 hindu push ups in one set. ... What do you guys think about 800 hindu push ups in one set?

Tony

I'd like to the see a video of the 800 push-ups. That would help me evaluate the credibility of the claim. If he can do it, why not simply record a video of it?

- Hank

[Dominick]

Well, laddies, I'm afraid there's nothing for him to prove. Mike Mahler never claimed to do it in ONE SET, but rather one WORKOUT. Here's the direct quote, cut and pasted:

After I did 800 Hindu pushups and 1100 Hindu squats in one workout (no, that's not a misprint), I decided to start working on some of the other exercises in the book such as reverse pushups, wall walking, fingertip pushups, and jumper squats.



I happened to have seen this article a couple of times when I Googled "Hindu Pushups."

800 reps in one workout, on the other hand, is nothing to sneeze at.

Dominick