Skip to main content

The Disutility of Push-Ups by Mark Hatmaker

 



I have not done a standard push-up since the age of 55 --58 at the  moment. 

Let me ask you a couple of questions.

Question 1: Do you do push-ups as part of your combat conditioning/fitness regimen?

Question 2: Do you consider yourself, at least, an intermediate athlete, that is, of average fitness level or above?

If you answered “Yes” to both, well, you just may be wasting your time; in the worst case, if your goal is improvement, you are stealing time/energy expenditure from superior tools.

The push-up [Floor Dip to Old Schoolers] was originally used as an introductory exercise for the untrained and then abandoned once the athlete graduated from sedentary rookie status.

Unconvinced?

Let’s look at it another way.

I currently weigh 170 pounds.

If I were to say to you…

“Guess what? I can bench press 110 pounds!”

You may think that is an odd lowball brag and question my presumed bonafides as a guy who works out now and then.

The kinda/sorta standard bench press for reps used by Box Training type modalities is 135 pounds. This is usually considered an endurance type bench.

225 pounds gets closer to pushing into power.

My 110-pound bench seems meager next to those numbers.

So, after I brag that I can bench 110 handily, would you advise me, “Great job, Mark. Stick to that weight and never try and move up.”

Or,…

“Good job, let’s see if we can add a plate or two on that bar next time and see what she wrote.”

I wager most of you would advise—more plates.

Why did I pick 110 pounds to pick on?

Because that is 65% of my bodyweight. [Actually 110.5 would be but…]

Data from 2002 research into the topic by M. Duffey and V.M. Zatsiorsky found that 65% of bodyweight is the MOST load one can shift onto the chest IF performing the movement with strict optimum form and cadence.

Poor form and fast cadence reduced the load even further.

My 110-pound bench becomes even lighter with poor form and added speed.

The Old Schoolers and the data back up that—once we can do the Floor Dip properly, 65% of bodyweight is where its gonna stick.

Progress Is Not Made—Simply Homeostasis.

“But Mark you can make the exercise harder by moving hands and feet around, that fixes this 65% problem, right?”

Perceived difficulty does not always translate to the intended goal.

Let’s presume we are using the Floor Dip/Push-Up as a chest conditioner.

Some realize that elevating the feet makes the exercise harder.

It does.

Not because it adds more than 65% of bodyweight to the load, but rather because it shifts that load to emphasize an alternate less robust muscle group. In the case of elevated push-ups, we now emphasize the front delts, shifting focus from the chest conditioner we intended.

No argument versus elevation for front delt work [again, there are better choices], but if the intention is chest….

Elevated Feet—Harder, yes, but it is no longer the same exercise.

We can bench more than we strict overhead press, the overhead press is perceived to be harder because the movement plane is focused on a less robust muscle group, but no one mistakes it for being a substitute exercise for the same goal as the bench press.

“I hear ya, Mark, but I can always add more reps, right?”

More, sure—we can ask that of any exercise—let’s say I run the mile comfortably in 8 minutes, am I wiser now to run two miles at 8 minutes per mile and continue to add mile after mile at this 8-minute pace or to strive to run faster.

Intensity over Addition—Addition gets us into catabolism and we eat the very gains we desire.

Side-Note: I do not run. Warrior Walk for cardio only. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Another Addition No No

Higher reps in regards to the push-up--

Often “more” is no longer a push-up but a gymnastic, quasi-bounce that relies on kinetic energy that by-passes the peak-contraction principle which is the very aspect we need to foster growth.

In other words, to reach higher numbers we often adopt a speedier technique that provides us with less rewards than if had simply stuck to a mere 10 reps but did those with super-strict super sloooooooooow form.

Why does the push-up persist?

I wager it is a cultural artifact with a twist of economic factors.

Push-ups require no gear, they’re easy to learn, easy to offer in a fitness class/Boot Camp structure, they have military cachet, we can impress ourselves with high numbers but, that don’t make them the best choice, hell, the Old schoolers and the science tell us they aren’t even a good choice for any athlete once they can knock out 25 or so with strict form and measured cadence.

Remember 65% of your bodyweight is the best this exercise is gonna get.

65% is a failing grade in academic studies.

Likely that grade holds here.

There are better tools available.

Not all require weight [some do.]

Some of the 65% boundary can be by-passed via some Old School wisdom.

Wisdom that allows us to make gains and not spin our wheels with an exercise that outgrows it utility 2 weeks into training.

Info on our science-backed Old School Inspired Conditioning

Available Volumes in The Unleaded Program

·        The Pliant Physique

·        Core Stability

·        Hips Stability

·        GFF: Grip-Fingers-Forearms.

·        The Chest Battery

·        The Back Battery

·        The Shoulder Battery

·        Unleaded: Warrior Walking, the Only Cardio You Need for Combination Fighting, Physical Culture and Attacking the Outdoors

Upcoming Unleaded Volumes include…

·        Hidden Gems: Stabilizing Muscle [Pre-Hab, Re-Hab, & the True Core]

·        The Shotgun Muscle Trifecta: Strengthening the Peripherals

·        The Shock Muscle Trifecta: Ballistic Motion for Combat Athletes

·        The Tarzan Twelve: Feats to Show Off What You’ve Built

·        And complete Batterys for Core: Abdominal Strength and Rotational/Extension Game-Changers, Thigh-Hips-Knees, Biceps, & Triceps.

·        The Unleaded Female Warrior Program

·        [Each Program is a DVD/Booklet package.]

More Resources for Livin’ the Warrior Life!

The Black Box Warehouse

The Rough ‘n’ Tumble Raconteur Podcast

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apache Running by Mark Hatmaker

Of the many Native American tribes of the southwest United States and Mexico the various bands of Apache carry a reputation for fierceness, resourcefulness, and an almost superhuman stamina. The name “Apache” is perhaps a misnomer as it refers to several different tribes that are loosely and collectively referred to as Apache, which is actually a variant of a Zuni word Apachu that this pueblo tribe applied to the collective bands. Apachu in Zuni translates roughly to “enemy” which is a telling detail that shines a light on the warrior nature of these collective tribes.             Among the various Apache tribes you will find the Kiowa, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua (or “Cherry-Cows” as early Texas settlers called them), and the Lipan. These bands sustained themselves by conducting raids on the various settled pueblo tribes, Mexican villages, and the encroaching American settlers. These American settlers were often immig...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Empirical Fighter: Rules for the Serious Combatant by Mark Hatmaker

  Part 1: Gear Idealized or World Ready? 1/A: Specificity of Fitness/Preparation If you’ve been in the training game for any length of time likely you have witnessed or been the subject of the following realization. You’ve trained HARD for the past 90 days, say, put in sprint work and have worked up to your fastest 5K. Your handy-dandy App says your VO2 Max is looking shipshape. You go to the lake, beach, local swimmin’ hole with your buddies and one says “ Race you to the other side!” You, with your newfound fleet-of-foot promotion to Captain Cardio, say, “ Hell, yeah!” You hit the river and cut that water like Buster Crabbe in “ Tarzan the Fearless ” with your overhand stroke….for the first 50 yards, then this thought hits as the lungs begin to gasp for air, “ Am a I gonna die in the middle of this river?” This experiment can be repeated across many domains of physical endeavor. ·         The man with the newfound Personal Reco...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Roadwork by Mark Hatmaker

  Mr. Muldoon Roadwork. That word, to the combat athlete, conjures images of pre-dawn runs, breath fogging the morning air and, to many, a drudgery that must be endured. Boxers, wrestlers, kickboxers the world over use roadwork as a wind builder, a leg conditioner, and a grit tester. The great Joe Frazier observed… “ You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you're down to the reflexes you developed in training. That's where roadwork shows - the training you did in the dark of the mornin' will show when you're under the bright lights .” Roadwork has been used as a tool since man began pitting himself against others of his species in organized combat. But…today’s question . Has it always been the sweat-soaked old school gray sweat suit pounding out miles on dark roads or, was it something subtler, and, remarkably slower? And if it was, why did we transition to what, and I repeat myself,...
Post a Comment
Read more