How can i go from doing 2 pushups to doing 27 push ups???

Right now i can only do 2 push ups and i need to be able to do 27 pushups in one minute to pass basic training in the Air Force...

I seriously have no upper body strength. Ive been stregth training my arms on the machines at the gym (they hurt so bad right now) but still nothing! nothing is working...

help please?

have you been working your chest muscles? do bench press.

basically the best way to get better at doing pushups is to do pushups.  I could barely do one at some point, and now I do 45 (not all in a row, in three sets.  I'd die!).  It took me about 5 weeks to get up to 30.

I've always hated pec workouts, but recently a friend challenged me to see which of us could lift 200 lbs first. I've been doing primarily bench press, dumbbell flyes, Incline bench press and flyes and, of course, push ups. I've been doing this for just over a month now and I've gone pressing 110 lbs (3 sets of 10) to 145 lbs. I only do it once a week, so I think that is pretty good progress. Hope it helps.

build up to it. do them on your knees, leaning against the back of a chair, against a coffee table, etc. make it a goal to do 27 a day...start with the two normal ones you can do, then do the rest modified. when you feel ready, add another normal one, and so on and so forth.

ornella, i used to not be able to do 1 push-up, now i can do 15! i just kept at it. you say you can do 2? TRY to push out a third, then a fourth etc. do it a few times a day. eventually it gets easier and you'll work your way up!

Doing more push-ups is the only way I've been able to improve.  I don't like the traditional bench press; I prefer 1-arm dumbbell presses but to each their own.

My suggestion is to modify them until you start gaining strength; the easiest modification is doing wall push-ups, then w/ bent knees, then w/ straight legs.  The isometric movement of holding the start position might also be helpful.

Good luck! 

Hi, I don't consider myself an expert in the field of push-ups or anything but its "quite" easy to build up the amount of push-ups you can do in one sitting.

Build it up over the week: In the first week. Do as many as possible on the first day.  Next day do one more... next do do another extra one etc etc. Does this Monday to Friday.

On the second week. Start with the amount you did on the previous Friday and again, just do an extra one each day.

Also, as someone else mentioned, make sure you benchpress to build up your chest and do tricep squats (stand infront of a chair, lower yourself til your palms touch the chair on the seat then using your arms lift and lower so you can feel the stretch in the back of your arms)

Doing the extra muscle work will get you up to your 27 in no time. 

I used this method in the summer and got up to 45 press-ups in one go over a period of 3 months

 

good luck 

Do the 2 that you can do and then take a brief break.  Do 2 more, but a different type, arms wider, arms closer, a dive, on your knees if you have to.  In an hour, do the 2 push ups that you can do, then 2 more of a different variety.  Do this 3 or 4 times a day, take a day off in between, you'll build the muscles so that soon you'll be doing 3 and continuing on.  I can do 20 at once, but not in perfect form so I'm working on that.

I have nothing new to add other than, remember that with any type of muscle building, rest is essential. I would say do push ups every other day. Your muscle fibers tear when you work your muscles hard and the healing process is building more muscle. So do as many as you can, but the next day work a different muscle, then come back to the pushups the third day.

 I can do 20 but I have to take a break after 10, and then again after 5. Still working on it though!

Best way is to do sets ,do what you can ,then rest for 1 min ,then do it again 4 sets total every other day.I know what i,m talking about because i,ve been to army basic training and i also have problems with push ups, i went from 25 to 50 doing 4 sets of push-ups every other day plus add in 4 sets of set-ups doing  it the same way.I have my next APFT in march i,m trying for 250.It took me one month to add 25 more push-ups but of coarse i way 272lbs, which i have to loose at least 50lbs to make my 1SG happy. Its not easy to loose but i,m loosing inches around my waist but kinda staying at the same weight, i am strenght training also.There not much to do here in iraq (tallil) but work out and eat at the defac.I do go on security missions 3 times a week then the other 4 i,m the S-4 clerk.Good luck to you i hope you dont have to deploy but if you do it,s not really that scary here.

Yeah, just keep at it. You'll be doing sets before you know it.

I have a question: What kind of pushups are you doing, or what kind do you have to do for basic training? If you are trying one of the harder types (like triceps pushups, those always kill me), that might be why you aren't able to do many.

The only way to be able to do more push ups is to DO PUSH UPS. And make sure your eating plenty of protein to fuel those muscles your working.

Original Post by ornellanicole2007:

Right now i can only do 2 push ups and i need to be able to do 27 pushups in one minute to pass basic training in the Air Force...

I seriously have no upper body strength. Ive been stregth training my arms on the machines at the gym (they hurt so bad right now) but still nothing! nothing is working...

help please?

 

 There's several ways to get on track.

First of all, quit doing those machine exercises.  Isolation exercises, with machines specifically, don't really add much to your functional strength in the real world.  Even doing bench presses with barbells isn't going to necessarily give very good gains to your pushup routine.  The best way to get good at pushups, is to do... pushups..

First of all, as has been stated, do as many "normal" pushups as you can until failure, then drop to your knees and finish the rest.

You will make the best gains by NOT maxing out your pushups every single time you drop to do pushups.   For you, who can only do 2 pushups right now, start with small sets with a minute rest in between.  I'd do 10 pushups, rest one minute, then do 5.  Go to your knees to finish all the reps.  Do this monday-friday and rest on the weekends.  Before you know it, you'll be able to finish them all without dropping to your knees.  Once you can do them all without dropping to your knees, add 1 to each set, and start another one "on the bottom" - so 11, 6, and 1, with a minute between each set.  Same thing applies - if you can do them all without dropping to your knees, then add 1 to each set the next time - 12, 7, 2.. 13, 8, 3..  and every 5 increase in reps, you start another set - so after 15, 10, 5 - you'd go to 16, 11, 6, 1.   BELIEVE me, this method works great and you'll see steady increase.

The hardest part of increasing pushups is when you are only doing a few to start with, since increasing your pushup number by just one is a big percentage increase.  Adding 1 now is 50% more, but adding 1 when you are at 20 is only 5%..

You could also just do sets of 1 normal pushup and rest a minute between each - and do this 5 times, Monday thru Friday.  On Saturday, max out and see how many you can do.  Once you can do 3-4, then increase your sets to 2 pushups for the following week (rest on Sunday).  Try to do sets of around 60% of your max.  You'll amazed at how fast you progress.

Don't get discouraged, and don't waste your energy on those machines.  You have low strength, so learn body weight exercises and master your body.

Good luck!

I'd suggest trying 100 pushups. It's like the Couch to 5k of pushups and I've seen a lot of progress following the program.

Original Post by ornellanicole2007:

Right now i can only do 2 push ups and i need to be able to do 27 pushups in one minute to pass basic training in the Air Force...

I seriously have no upper body strength. Ive been stregth training my arms on the machines at the gym (they hurt so bad right now) but still nothing! nothing is working...

help please?

 

 Honestly, I wouldn't even worry about it. I never exercised in my life until I joined the Air Force. But by the end of basic training, I was running a mile and a half in 10 mins. and could do 50+ push-ups in a minute. Half the people at basic are out of shape to start with, just as long as you stick with all the training you should be fine.

Original Post by dreadfulpenny:

I'd suggest trying 100 pushups. It's like the Couch to 5k of pushups and I've seen a lot of progress following the program.

This is great.  Thanks!

Original Post by dreadfulpenny:

I'd suggest trying 100 pushups. It's like the Couch to 5k of pushups and I've seen a lot of progress following the program.

I second this. I love 100 Push Ups!

I recommend doing as many as you can in sets, with 60-90 second rests in between. When I first started, I could do 5, and that was a struggle. Now, I can do 20 before I collapse! If I take breaks, I can do 3 sets of 10.

I started them this way: I would do as many as I could do on the floor, then go to the stairs. I put my hand on the third step, the steeper the incline, the easier it is. Finish out your reps on the stairs, countertop, wall, whatever will allow you to complete 4 sets of 10. A couple of days later, repeat the process, but try to do increase the amount you do on the floor. 

try this website  scoobysworkshop.com/zero-to-100-pushups-for-c omplete-beginners/

I am doing it now and it is very methodical and it is building slow but steady