Push ups everyday, or every other day

[stingray]

I've been wondering if it is ok to do high volume push ups 5 or 6 days a week. I like to do my 300-500 push ups in an hour. Some people advise taking a day of rest between push ups so that the muscles can rebuild themselves. Ted Skup and others say to do push ups everyday.

When weight training I never trained the same muscle group without a day of rest between. Does the same principal apply when doing push ups, or are push ups different?

Should I use muscle soreness as my guide, or will this soreness go away with practice.

What have your experiences been training daily, or training every other day.

Thanks for you input.

:waiting:

[Hopeful]

I train nearly everyday. I let how my body feels to determine the number of reps that day. Like today I was feeling under the weather and I could only do 70 total in two sets of Tiger Stretch PUs. Obviously not high numbers but I think that might have helped answer your question.

I believe both John and Ted advise never going to failure. So pushing one's self to one's limits for any particular day should not be done.

I guess what I am saying is listen to your body. If it is sore don't do as many reps. Only what you are comfortable with.


HOPEFUL

[rob w]

I do pushups everyday. Since Chrostmas I have been doing 1000 minimum a day and I have had no soreness and I feel energized every pushup workout.
I can only echo what Hopeful has already stated and that is listen to your body let your body tell you if you can do them everyday.
Although I do 1000 per day I never go to failure in any of my sets.

[gs300tx]

It all depends on how your body responds, I now do 3 days a week for push ups and i like the results. You have to find an equilibrium when it comes to workouts. I also like to switch up the workouts by doing pull ups on certain days so that I dont get bored from the same routine workouts.

[rob w]

Congratulations on those numbers Tim, That is fantastick, keep up the great work

[John Peterson]

Hey Ray,

My recommendation is to monitor your body's response by keeping a journal for three months that allows you to check out the effects of both methods of frequency and intensity. You need to document everything including energy, mood, how strong you feel and how well rested you feel after each night of sleep. Here's the deal. There is a point at which one can train daily and feel absolutely great. There is also a point where you are doing to much to recover adequately and consequently will feel totally depleted and need to revert to every other day training. But there is only one way to know what the right combination is for you. And frankly Ray, it doesn't matter what any of your friends here can or cannot do in terms of daily or every other day training. All that matters is how well you respond to the stimulus of training either daily or every other day.

In my case, I have been focusing on Isometrics and DVR's daily since December 15th, 2008 and will resume my Push-Ups and Pull-Ups on January 15th, 2009. At that point I'm back to 150 to 250 Pull-Ups and 300 to 500 push-Ups 6 days each week. I don't see a need to go every other day at that level of intensity. I just happen to truly enjoy those two exercises and that's why I do that many of them. Others need to train according to their own needs and desires.

---John Peterson

[Flash11740]

I think it may be down to the Alen Carr effect. Alen Carr was a man who smoked 100 cigarettes a day for 30 years. He then quit and wrote a book on stopping smoking. It's a very good read even for non-smokers. Very cleverly written. Anyhow, people used to ask why person A smoked 10 a day, person B smoked 40 a day, and person C smoked 100 a day. Alen Carr theorised that it was down how much the individuals body would tolerate. Which is why I only smoked 2 per day (cigarettes not packs). Interestingly it's just as hard to pack in a 2 per day habit as a 100 per day habit.

I suspect with exercise it's a similar thing. I do cals every second day because more frequently than that and I tend to get injured more often.

You naturally tailor your routine to your physical requirements. I do lots of martial arts, so my routine is designed to keep me strong but also keep my body weight to a minimum. Not surprisingly my body shape resembles that of an aging light heavyweight boxer. I suspect if I cut down on the cardio, walking, and fat burn then I gain more muscle mass and hit cruiser weight, but also become less nimble... but I feel better at 170lbs than at 200lbs. It's also more in keeping with my height and bone structure.

I also suspect that the more years you invest in this the tougher your body becomes, hence why John can handle levels of calisthenics that are mind boggling. It's scary that he does more in a day that I do in a week!

A funny story. A friend of mine told me a bout a guy that attended his gym. All this guy did at the gym was the stepper machine. Every time my friend visited the gym, no matter what time, it seemed as though this guy was on the stepper machine, and he ran it at the maximum resistance level. THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK went his legs. Two little pools of sweat formed on the floor directly under his elbows. My friends workout typically lasted an hour, and as he was leaving this guy would still be on the stepper at maximum, THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK. This guy probably did a couple of 2 hour sessions on that thing every single day. Anyhow he had developed legs like the incredible hulk only much shorter and thicker, and an upper body like Stan Laurel only much thinner. Go figure! And when he walked it sounded like this: THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK...

[Viking Dan]

In my case, I have been focusing on Isometrics and DVR's daily since December 15th, 2008 and will resume my Push-Ups and Pull-Ups on January 15th, 2009. At that point I'm back to 150 to 250 Pull-Ups and 300 to 500 push-Ups 6 days each week.

Out of curiosity, hoe long do 250 pull ups take you to do?

[John Peterson]

Hey Viking Dan,


On days that I do 150 they are done in sets of 25 or more along with Push-Ups, DVR/VRT, and other exercises between sets of Pull-Ups in a 1-hour workout. On days of 250 I'm usually doing another 4 sets in the evening.The reason I do that is because I really enjoy performing Pull-Ups. I especially like the elongation of the spine that Pull-Ups provide.

---John Peterson

[Mitch]

Hey John you are right it really elongates the spine. I have had lower back problems for years, and for about the last 3 months I have been doing a lot of pull ups. It has helped greatly.

[John Peterson]

Mitch My Friend,

You are not kidding. Pull-ups that are properly performed can go a long way toward relieving pain in the lower back because they have a natural decompressive action on the lower spine. But everyone must allow themselves to gain pull-up strength and endurance naturally. Pull-Ups are the ultimate upper body test of functional strength to body weight ratio. Even people with very poor leverage can make a dramatic improvement in Pull-Up strength/endurance if they allow themselves plenty of time and never push themselves to the point of experiencing tendinitis. In fact, It is not necessary nor is it ever desirable to train beyond one's capacity with Pull-Ups in order to achieve great benefit. Even sets of one rep can have a tremendous effect on upper body strength. So my advice with pull-ups is slow and steady. Take your time in building up your reps.

---John Peterson