Posted: 12/13/2012 7:03:23 PM EDT
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Over the years i've had some shoulder injuries that always cause me problems during bench. So earlier this year I decided I'm not going to do bench again. Instead I'm just going to do pushups and weighted pushups. I'm really loving the weighted pushups because it seems to allow my shoulders to move more freely and compensate for the issues I have more so than I could during bench press.
Currently I have a 50lb weighted vest. My personal best is 73 pushups in a set with the vest. I should be getting an 80lb vest for xmas. I guess my long term goal is to do one set of pushups with 100lbs on me for 100 reps, 100x100 lol. 
Has anyone else done weighted pushups? |
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Yes and glad it works for you. I have had shoulder issues(still do) and still bench but don't lock out and only do about 70% range of motion. Keeps the weight on the muscle instead of the joint. Machines are good too.
Staying hydrated and having a spotter are a must. |
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I have problems with my shoulders too. I'm still only doing pushups for my chest and triceps. I have to limit body weight or free weight exercises to every other day to give my shoulders a break.
I've been doing body weight exercises and shoulder rehab exercises for a long time now and have been trying to get back to using weights. Some free weight exercises I can do, some I can't. Flys I was seemingly OK with, but on the following week couldn't do them without pain. Skullcrushers - holy hell I was in pain for days. Maybe worse with incline dumbell press. That killed lifting for 3 weeks. 
Back to pushups - do you do 'proper' or just pushups? I was reading about proper form, hands shoulder width apart and keeping your elbows close to your body, not flared out. I've been doing them for the past week or so, but they seem to strain my shoulders more. I think I need to check out those weighted vests too. |
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Quoted: What about working towards handstand pushups? I have slowly been working on my pushups and am lucky to do 15 at a time. I have been elevating my feet by a couple feet and I can do 8-10. It is quite a bit harder The best way is to elevate feet on a box- but then you have to "pike" your butt up so that your torso is vertical, otherwise it's not quite the same. |
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What about working towards handstand pushups? I have slowly been working on my pushups and am lucky to do 15 at a time. I have been elevating my feet by a couple feet and I can do 8-10. It is quite a bit harder Handtand puhups work different muscles than standard pushups. There are of course some similar muscle groups worked, but standard pushups will use the triceps and chest more, handstand will use the shoulders and back. A really good upper body workout I will do consists of 4 maximum reps sets each of pushups, handstand pushups, and pullups with a 30 sec to 1 min rest between each set. An easy way to start doing hadnstand pushups now is to invert with your front facing the wall. To do this, get in a crounching position facing away from the wall, then walk your legs up the wall while moving your arms closer to the wall in a handstand position. It is much easier to do than you think. Begin your press, and slowly go down as far as you can as many times as you can. Over time, you will be able to go deeper into your press, with the goal of touching your head with each rep. When you have enough strength to maintain an steady handstand, you can try kicking up into a handstand with your back to the wall. A good way to practice the sense of balance needed for this is to practice doing headstands. Start by forming a tripod with your head and hands, then bring one leg up at a time with your knees resting on your elbows. This is called a frog stand. When you can hold that, slowly raise your legs up and straighten them. This will develop the muscles needed to balance your body and maintain your legs upright over the body. You will eventually be able to kick up into a straight headstand position. Handstand pushups require a lot of upper body and core strength, but your body will quickly develop the strength needed as you put forward an honest effort. I am currently working towards being able to do an unsuported handstand with the goal of doing unsupported handstand pushups, walking on my hands, and finally, walking up and down stairs with my hands (which is supposed to be an incredible upper body exercise). |
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Quoted: Quoted: What about working towards handstand pushups? I have slowly been working on my pushups and am lucky to do 15 at a time. I have been elevating my feet by a couple feet and I can do 8-10. It is quite a bit harder An easy way to start doing hadnstand pushups now is to invert with your front facing the wall. To do this, get in a crounching position facing away from the wall, then walk your legs up the wall while moving your arms closer to the wall in a handstand position. I would recommend most people start with the box and pike method, and then graduate to this method (which is a good one, just not for the first try). |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
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What about working towards handstand pushups? I have slowly been working on my pushups and am lucky to do 15 at a time. I have been elevating my feet by a couple feet and I can do 8-10. It is quite a bit harder An easy way to start doing hadnstand pushups now is to invert with your front facing the wall. To do this, get in a crounching position facing away from the wall, then walk your legs up the wall while moving your arms closer to the wall in a handstand position. I would recommend most people start with the box and pike method, and then graduate to this method (which is a good one, just not for the first try). I feel like that is good advice for me. I would break myself and my wall most likely  What is piking?
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: What about working towards handstand pushups? I have slowly been working on my pushups and am lucky to do 15 at a time. I have been elevating my feet by a couple feet and I can do 8-10. It is quite a bit harder An easy way to start doing hadnstand pushups now is to invert with your front facing the wall. To do this, get in a crounching position facing away from the wall, then walk your legs up the wall while moving your arms closer to the wall in a handstand position. I would recommend most people start with the box and pike method, and then graduate to this method (which is a good one, just not for the first try). I feel like that is good advice for me. I would break myself and my wall most likely What is piking?Stick your butt up in the air so that your torso is vertical. Like this:  |
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Gotcha I that is what I was picturing but I was confused. That is so it works the same muscles as a handstand pushup rather than the "standard" muscles you use when your body is rigid.
Learn something new everyday  It is interesting to me how much difference there is by changing your hand or body position just a little.
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I use one of these. It's really effective. http://www.sklz.com/sports-training/athletic-performance/strength/power-pushup  |
| Also try doing pushups with your hands on medicine balls with the weighted vest. When you get good at that, put both your hands and feet on medicine balls. It really helps work stabilizingbalancing muscles. At least for me, it is much harder to get as many reps when you are trying to balance yourself at the same time as doing the pushup. |
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Quoted:
I use one of these. It's really effective. http://www.sklz.com/sports-training/athletic-performance/strength/power-pushup http://cdn.sklz.com.s3.amazonaws.com/storeimages/PowerPushup_Hero.jpg  Never seen that. Looks like it would collapse your lower back. You like it?
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Quoted: Quoted: I use one of these. It's really effective. http://www.sklz.com/sports-training/athletic-performance/strength/power-pushup http://cdn.sklz.com.s3.amazonaws.com/storeimages/PowerPushup_Hero.jpg Never seen that. Looks like it would collapse your lower back. You like it?It's awesome. Actually, most tend to want to arch the back up anyway so it kind of just forces you into tightening up your abs and keeping good form - which also works your stomach. |