Nothing glamorous like the PRs usually posted here.. but I was very pleasantly surprised at the gym this afternoon..
My arms are definatly my weekest link.. with shoulder and elbow problems over and over again for a long time.. I've been doing 3x8 regular push-ups in my workouts lately.. and today decided to see how much my 3 x max is.. I thought it would be around 12-10-8.. well I was so wrong [img]smile.gif[/img]
it was 21 / 13 / 15
guess I'll have to do more than 3x8 next time I hit the gym. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Wow, that's very good, MK. I don't know about other people but it took me a while to get those numbers when I started exercising again. Quite frankly I haven't tried as many recently (since I was sick) but I would be glad if I could hit those numbers. Thanks for sharing.
__________________ We are only human so long as our thoughts are humane
wow great job marykaa. good for you. we had to do 50 push ups in under 1 min for our entrance testing, wow it is alot, keep at it and you'll be increasing like mad. its nice to see progress, keeps you modivated. cheers girl
__________________
"My darling," she said at last, "are you sure you don't mind being a mouse for the rest of your life?"
"I don't mind at all," I said. "It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like so long as somebody loves you."
Nice work. Like TM said, it's awesome what happens when you get over that mental block.
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"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
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That's awesome, Mary-Lou! Maybe next time you can add some weight, or elevate your feet. Great job!
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Marykaa, you're right about having to do more than sets of 8 now.....actually what you did (21-13-15) looks like the perfect workout for you.
BTW, how did you get more on your last set than your 2nd set??
__________________
Robert dos Remedios, MA, CSCS,
HCC (Hartman-Cosgrove Certified)
Director of Speed, Strength & Conditioning
College of the Canyons, CA http://www.canyons.edu/departments/pe/strength
"NO CHAMPION HAS EVER ACHIEVED HIS OR HER GOAL WITHOUT SHOWING MORE DEDICATION THAN THE NEXT PERSON; MAKING MORE SACRIFICES THAN THE NEXT PERSON; WORKING HARDER, TRAINING, AND CONDITIONING HIM / HERSELF MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON; ENJOYING HIS / HER FINAL GOAL MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON"
Marykaa: Good work, particularly for a woman with full pushups. You'd do well during our taekwondo warmups!
Dos: I find I sometimes do a bit better on my last set of 3 or 4 sets than on the previous one. It's kind of "sucking it up to do better than the last set", which was usually disappointing despite what seemed to be good effort. I'm sure it comes down to a mental failure on the previous set, and then very good mental focus on the last set. Unless there is some underlying physiological process of which I am unaware.
DOS I asked that quetions to one of the trainers.. I was figuring that on the second set it was a mental block.. though I remember that no way could I do another one. The trainer said that it sometimes happens.. they did tests with 10 sets.. and sometimes people lower their reps in the middle but then the body adjusts and the reps go back up..
maybe my 1 min rests between the sets were too long?
actually.. that is one of the reasons I posted my results here.. thought maybe Id have some insight on that..
the next thing (maybe next week) I want to try.. is max PUs but not only for 3 sets.. for as many sets as I can..
CHRIS.. mental failure.. that's exactly what I thought, because I know it exists.. but that is not how I felt..
my last PU of the 2nd set.. was in excellent form but it took me over 2 seconds to push up.. and I know I was giving it my all.. no mental block while forcing..
but then.. mental can affect the physical..
so I'm back at square one in my thinking
I'll have to test myself again on that..
"mental" things are fascinating [img]smile.gif[/img]
Regarding the extra reps on set 3, it's a common phenomenon. It's actually the result of a short-term neural adaption. I believe it's similar to post-tetanic facilitation, but don't quote me.
Looks like you've raised the bar for yourself for your next workout. Again, great work!
After I thought about it, it makes sense. Your set of 21 was an absolute all-time best and probably wore you out pretty good so even if you kept the same exact rest periods bertween sets 1-2 and 2-3, you wouldn't be as taxed after set #2.
I can remember doing a max set of pull-ups one time and just bonking on my 2nd set (from 25 to about 10 reps)...on my next set, however, I was back to around 15 or so.
__________________
Robert dos Remedios, MA, CSCS,
HCC (Hartman-Cosgrove Certified)
Director of Speed, Strength & Conditioning
College of the Canyons, CA http://www.canyons.edu/departments/pe/strength
"NO CHAMPION HAS EVER ACHIEVED HIS OR HER GOAL WITHOUT SHOWING MORE DEDICATION THAN THE NEXT PERSON; MAKING MORE SACRIFICES THAN THE NEXT PERSON; WORKING HARDER, TRAINING, AND CONDITIONING HIM / HERSELF MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON; ENJOYING HIS / HER FINAL GOAL MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON"
Thanks LOST DOG [img]smile.gif[/img] and CAPPY.. you know you're my idole.. so you have something to do with it
R- humm big words to google on.. I'll tell you if I find a reference.
DOS
Quote:
even if you kept the same exact rest periods bertween sets 1-2 and 2-3, you wouldn't be as taxed after set #2.
humm VERY VERY logical.. I didn't think of it.. but that sounds more how I felt then the mind block thing.. and makes me think that I should do say.. 3 x 18s for a while? (or try to) How does that sound?
Well, if you've seen my previous posts you'll know that I'm a big 'overload' fan. In other words, if you can do more than 18 on set #1 then do it.....basically do as many as you can for a set number of sets. Without overload we can have no growth, improvement, change....etc.
Thank's for the PM marykaa......very motivating!
DOS
__________________
Robert dos Remedios, MA, CSCS,
HCC (Hartman-Cosgrove Certified)
Director of Speed, Strength & Conditioning
College of the Canyons, CA http://www.canyons.edu/departments/pe/strength
"NO CHAMPION HAS EVER ACHIEVED HIS OR HER GOAL WITHOUT SHOWING MORE DEDICATION THAN THE NEXT PERSON; MAKING MORE SACRIFICES THAN THE NEXT PERSON; WORKING HARDER, TRAINING, AND CONDITIONING HIM / HERSELF MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON; ENJOYING HIS / HER FINAL GOAL MORE THAN THE NEXT PERSON"
DOS.. humm actually I'm a slowly but steadily fan.. but let's say for push-ups I'll it try your way. I don't feel even a little bit in my arms the push-ups I did.. so I guess I should not be scared to go max....
Regarding post-tetanic facilitation, coach Poliquin, Ian King, etc use it for wave loading. You do a 1RM for a lift, then after a few minutes, you perform a 6RM. The 1RM load potentiates your CNS, which in turn allows you to lift more weight for your 6RM than you’d typically be able to lift. The wave scheme would be 1,6,1,6,1,6 (or 4,1,4,1 …this one is to increase you 1RM). Do a google on wave loading or the 1-6 principle for a MUCH better explanation than I’ve provided.
Anyway, the CNS can “kick in” as well on later sets, without the wave loading. Example, doing 10 sets of 10 (German Volume Training), the first few sets will seem easy then progressively harder as fatigue sets in. However, do to a short-term CNS adaptation, sets 8 and 9 might seem easier than the first few sets.
Again, a google search will provide some articles that can explain it more thoroughly. I think dos’ idea may be more dead on though. Whatever the reason, it’s happened to me quite often as well e.g. getting more reps on a later set.
Hope this helped.
Another question…how are you doing your push ups i.e. arms shoulder width apart, wide, etc.? Just thinking you may want to consider raising your feet up on a bench or changing your hand placement to increase the overload…depending on your goal that is.
However, do to a short-term CNS adaptation, sets 8 and 9 might seem easier than the first few sets.
I think that that's what the trainer at the gym was talking about!! I remember him saying 10 reps..
google.. yup.. as soon as I have a few lead words (and time) I jump on google.. no problems there [img]smile.gif[/img]
push-ups.. I just started doing PUs a while ago.. doing 4 x 25 knee push-ups. I WOULD like to get up to 30 push-ups in one set. No idea why.. just a number.
I've been having alot of problems with a shoulder so I have to be careful.. What I'm trying to work on now.. is to put my hands closer to my body.. so at home on off days.. I'll do 4x25 knee push-ups trying to get my hands closer.. I alternate those with 4x25 chair dips.. (feet on the floor in front, knees at 120°) As you see this is "L'il Ol' Lady" stuff.. [img]tongue.gif[/img] but when I go to group fitness "SuperWorkout" we DO do different kinds of push-ups.. so I don't think I'll have trouble finding variations when I get there [img]smile.gif[/img]
As for my goal.. I'm mostly outdoor sports oriented.. so PUs are just part of general fitness.
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thanks RON and EVERYONE.. your answers are really motivational.. not just for PUs but for everything.
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