Question:

I do push-ups all day and they’re not getting any easier. I’m about to join the military and have been working out for about 4 months. I’ve lost 30 pounds and feel much better about my physical abilities. At first I couldn’t do 10 good push-ups in a row, now I can do intervals of 25. I’ve been stuck at 25 for a long time and it’s not improving. I feel It would be better if I could do at least 40 or 50 at a time. How do I get there quickly?

Answer:

First, great job losing 30 pounds and going from being able to do only 10 push-ups in a row to sets of 25. That’s a 150% increase in your push-ups!

Second, I feel for you, as the military is very demanding. You have to pass the situp test, the 2 mile test, and the push-up test. This requires you maintain a blend of athletic attributes - Primarily, strength, muscle endurance, and cardiovascular fitness. Not to mention extreme mental toughness..

Focusing on the push-up, there are three main things you’re going to want to address in order to increase this number.

• Stability - Your ability to maintain a good push-up position without your shoulder girdle or core stabilizers becoming fatigued. To improve this, try performing holds in the down position, planks, and side bridges. Also scapular stabilization exercises such the scap push-up and the wall slide will help.

• Maximal Strength - Your ability to lift a heavier loads with fewer reps. To improve this, you can add weight to your push-up in the form of plates or chains and propping your feet in the air. I’m also a big fan of heavy bench pressing (1-6 RM) in order to increase raw strength.
• Strength Endurance - Your ability to lift a lighter load for higher reps. Try performing max push-ups in a certain amount of time (I think the army test is 2:00, right?). Of you can break it up into smaller times intervals and try to set new records with that amount of time. Performing high rep bench presses with lighter weight is also an idea.

In addition the exercises listed above, something simple that may be overlooked is your weight. Especially if it’s mostly FAT.

Think about it…

When performing a military style push-up, you are lifting approximately 2/3 of your body weight. So, if you weigh less, that is automatically going to make the exercise easier and allow your to increase your total number of push-ups.

Simple, huh?

Anyway, if you’re reading this post, your main goal is likely to pass the military basic training test. If you’re really willing to do whatever it takes to get this accomplished, you should invest in some expert help. Or if you’re more of a do-it-your-selfer, you can do the next best thing and invest in a system that works.

In his book, Eric does a great job going through EXACTLY what you need to do in order to get in to military kind of shape.

You can check it out here: Invincible Fitness: Basic Training

Now go get to work! I hope this info helps all you future soldiers out there - I really admire what you all do. Best of luck becoming a push-up machine and making it in the military!

Related Posts

9 Ways to Increase the Difficulty of a Push-up (Part 1)

9 Ways to Increase the Difficulty of a Push-up (Part 2)

Video Demo of Push-up Variations

Technorati Tags: Core Training, hartman, muscle endurance, push-ups, stability, strength training

Question:

I am professional dancer and I have recently change my eating and exercising habits and dropped 20 lbs. I do 40 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning 5 days a week and I do the ab wheel every night and some push ups pull ups and dips 3x a week. I still have a little bit of fat around my lower abdominal area. I know diet is 80% of the battle and I eat fruits and vegetables everyday along with lean protein and a little bit of carbs. Are there any little tricks I can do to lose the last little bit of fat? Otherwise I am quite happy with my body… Thanks Doug!

Congrats on your weight loss and getting a body you’re happy with. And props for addressing the major issues like exercise and nutrition and for realizing their importance before worrying yourself with the smaller details.

Here is what I noticed you’re doing right:

• Nutrition–eating lean protein, fruits, and vegetables every day-keeping carbs to a minimum.
• Exercise
  • Frequency- This is how many times per week you exercise. I haven’t stressed this very much on this blog, but frequency is crucial. You’ve built a lifestyle that incorporates exercise so you can get your work in 5+ days a week–way to go!
  • Strength Training- You’re doing 3 days/week of some sort of strength work with your dips, pushups, and pull-ups.
  • Cardio- You’re also incorporating cardio 5 days per week (though I recommend interval training).
  • Core-Training-Keep it up with the pushups and ab wheel exercises.
• Mindset–You realize the importance of nutrition and consistent exercise, are not looking for shortcuts, and you’re obviously willing to put in the necessary work.

That being said, there is one thing I noticed from what you told me about your program that jumped out at me.

Where’s the lower body strength training?!!!!!

Ya know, for your ass and legs—You missed a few BIG muscles here.

Remember, you want to build muscle so that your body burns fat more efficiently. And believe me-if you’re not yet incorporating resistance training with your lower body, you still have a lot of room to grow.

I know you’re doing cardio (and a lot of it), but you’d be better off replacing 20 minutes of cardio with some squat, deadlift, and lunge variations on your three strength training days. This will allow you to keep the ball rolling with your results.

This will ensure that every part of your body will be constantly in a state of building new muscle and burning Calories, (which is what you want in order to lose that last bit of fat.)

So go do some squats and let me know how it goes!!!

Technorati Tags: ab roller, abs, calories, cardio, Core Training, fat loss, lower-body-training, meal frequency, Nutrition, Program Design, strength training, weight loss

Question:

Does the ab roller really work? Or are sit-ups just as good? What are the best exercises for firming your middle?

I know there are a few products out there similar to the ab roller (like the ab dolly, ab slide, ab wheel..) so I’m assuming you’re talking about any one of these similar products where you grip the device with both hands laying face down on the floor, and extending out with your truck, using your core to stabilize yourself.

Anyway, I’ll answer your first two questions right now:

Ab roller or Sit-ups?

The short answer is, yes the ab roller does work and no, sit-ups aren’t just as good. When I say work, I’m not necessarily talking about what you call “firming”, but I’ll get into that later.

For now, the more interesting question is why the ab roller a better exercise than the sit-up.

Function of Abs

First let’s examine the function of your abs. While they can serve to flex the trunk (as in a sit-up), their main function is to stabilize the body.

Your abs are there to PREVENT MOVEMENT during activities that require you to stabilize yourself—which is virtually every movement.

Think about when your throw a ball, reach over your head to put something on a shelf, stand on one foot, or serve a tennis ball—start to notice what your abs are doing. They’re being activated and holding your core in place so that you are able to perform these movements.

Have your abs ever been really sore after a tough workout?

If yes, notice how difficult every day activities become with sore abs!! Yes, in all these normal movements, your abs are firing and active–because they’re preventing movement.

So let me ask you—what are you accomplishing by doing a sit-up?

Well, a sit-up is pretty much just repeated flexion of the trunk, rather than stabilizing your body—not good. Not to mention, sit-ups are a good way to injure yourself!

The ab roller exercise, however, does make sense. You’re not flexing or extending at the trunk, but you’re supporting your own bodyweight as you roll out. This uses your abs in a role of preventing movement, acting as a core stabilizer—this makes much more sense!

Problem With the Ab Roller

The problem with the ab roller exercise is that it’s extremely advanced and, quite honestly, I’d be surprised if you could find a handful of people at your gym at any given time that could do 10 of these with no problem.

(If you’re one of them, good for you—you probably don’t need to read below).

Ab Variations

The good news is, there are some simple progressions and variations to this exercise, and you don’t have to go out and buy anything from a late night infomercial to do it!!

I’ll summarize two basic exercises that can be found on T-nation. Feel free to check out the article as it goes into more depth, but for most people, these two will be enough.

1) Basic Plank

I love planks. Just ask any of my clients!!

This is where you’re in a prone (face down) position, with only your forearms and feet touching the ground. Your back is in a straight line, and your core and glutes are completely tight and activated, working to keep your body in this position.

You should be able to hold this position for 60-90 seconds. If you can’t hold it for at least 40 seconds, definitely start with this exercise before moving to move advanced ab rollouts.

The great thing about planks is that you can do them anywhere, any time! For a while there, my dad was doing these along with pushups every time he changed clothes.

2) Stability Ball Rollout

This is pretty much the same exercise as with the ab roller.

The only difference is you’re placing your forearms on the ball rather than gripping the ab wheel.

The smaller the ball you use, the harder the exercise will be—so start with the biggest one. Trust me—these are hard.

If you get to a few sets of 15 reps on your stability ball rollouts, you can progress to the ab roller!

Now to your third question…

How to Firm the Middle

I did my best to answer your core training questions, but I can’t help but wonder what you meant by “firm your middle”..

So far, I’ve assumed that you meant better, stronger, more functional abs.

You chose the phrase “firm up”!

What this hints to me is that you want to lose any fat in that area so that your abs will show and you’ll have the healthy, slim, and dare I say toned look that so many people strive for.

That’s a great goal!

But..

It’s important for you to realize that while taking care of your abs and doing the proper exercises is a good thing, this alone will not give you a 6 pack or the slim look you desire.

It really drives me nuts when I see infomercials full of people with very low body fat, abs showing, etc., swearing that X product will deliver instant results and give you sleek, sexy abs.

Give me a break.

The reality is that you cannot isolate fat loss to a specific area of the body by targeting it with a particular exercise. Period.

I went over this in some more detail in a previous article titled, Help Me Get a 6 Pack that you may want to check out if you haven’t already. I also talk about what does work in getting that healthy, slim look.

Basically, you’ll need to follow an exercise plan designed specifically for fat loss while also focusing on proper nutrition—which is absolutely crucial.

I also highly recommend downloading this very popular book:

The Truth About 6-Pack Abs - I think you can even try it out for a whole week for under five bucks, and the information is fantastic.

So go get started with your planks and stability ball rollouts! Five minutes of ab work per workout should be plenty. If you need to lose some fat, start an exercise and nutrition program with that goal in mind.

As always, keep the questions coming by using the “Ask Doug” section, and feel free to comment and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: 6-pack, ab exercises, ab roller, core, Core Training, exercise selection, fat loss, Get A Flatter Stomach, role of abs, sit-ups, toning

Question:

I have a skinny 6 pack when I flex but when i’m not flexing im just skinny. I need to lose weight to get the 6 pack to show normally. How many calories should I eat a day? How much should I run on the treadmill for ? How many crunches should I do?

Well, it’s good that you have your goal. You’re on the right track in knowing that you need to lose body fat (not necessarily weight) in order for your abs to show.

There are two major components to changing your body composition–Nutrition and Exercise

Nutrition

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First, the number of Calories you eat per day is just one factor that will affect your rate of fat loss. The answer to your question about how many Calories to eat per day depends on a few factors including your age, gender, and current level of activity–this could range from 1800 for an older sedentary female to about 4,000 or more for a young male powerlifter. More than likely, you fall somewhere in the middle, and to determine this number, your best bet would be to seek the help of a registered dietitian.

What I can tell you is that in order to get a six pack, an important factor is where your Calories are coming from. They should be coming from fruits, vegetables (think brocolli, carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.), lean meat (think chicken breasts, lean ground beef, salmon), and healthy fats and oils (walnuts, olive oil, fish oil).

Follow these basic guidelines:

• Replace all juices, sodas, or any Calorie-containing beverages with water and tea, and even coffee (black). Yes, skim milk is a calorie-containing beverage.

• Eat more frequent meals (~6x a day)–when you eat these meals, eat for the purpose of preventing hunger long enough to last you until your next meal.

-Save your high carbohydrate starchy meals like oatmeal, bread, and pasta for hours following your workout sessions.

Exercise

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Running on the treadmill is one way to burn calories, but isn’t the most effective way of burning fat. A total body strength training program where you perform total body movements like squats, bench presses, rows, deadlifts, and stepups 3 days a week would be the quickest first step to fat loss.

As for core work, I’m not a big fan of crunches, but that’s a different post entirely. You actually don’t need to do as much ab work as you think. Five minutes three to four days a week will probably be fine–again, your focus should be on total body exercise and nutrition. I’m not saying neglect your ab work–it’s important–just not the determining factors in getting your 6 pack!

Conclusion

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If you follow the above nutrition guidelines with a total body strength training program, you should start to see those abs showing in no time. The key is consistency. If you slip up on one meal or miss a workout, no big deal–just get back on track when it comes time for your next feeding opportunity or exercise session.

I hope this answers your question and as will always be the case on this blog, your questions and comments are encouraged.

Technorati Tags: Core Training, fat loss, foods, get a 6 pack, Nutrition