I read this a while back and I think it certainly applies here. I think people tend to concentrate most on the strength endurance component, but forget about the maximal strength and especially the stability portion. The following was written by Bill Hartman, a PT out of Indianapolis who is well known in the performance enhancement field. I believe the Perfect Push Up is a great tool and can address all of these needs if used to its fullest, but as mentioned in previous posts its not a necessity.
How to do more push-ups?
Q: Bill, I love your blog. I wish you had time to post more often. I had a question. I have never been able to do a lot of push ups. My chest gets fatiqued after about 25-30 now matter what I do. I hear people talk about doing 50 push-ups at a time. Do you have any advice that will help me be able to do more push-ups?” Thanks.
A: Thanks for the question.
If you really have your heart set on setting a PR (personal record) for push-ups there’s a number of factors that contribute to your performance.
1.
Stability
If you lack trunk or scapular stability, your prime movers at the shoulder girdle and upper extremity will be limited in their ability to produce force.
The Fix: Perform long duration planks and isometric holds in the lowered position of the push-up. Be sure to actively depress and stabilize the scapula.
2.
Maximal strength
When doing a regular push-up on the floor, you’re lifting about 2/3 of your body weight. If you can increase maximal strength of those muscle groups involved, your 2/3 body weight becomes a lesser percentage of your maximals strength and theoretically your maximal number of push-ups performed should increase.
The fix: Loaded push-ups with a weighted vest, push-ups with chains, push-ups with bands, asymmetrical and unilateral push-up variations, partial range of motion push-ups, and even bench pressing.
3.
Strength-endurance
High rep sets of push-ups are a test of your strength-endurance, so in essence, doing more push-ups will help.
The fix: Try this progression. 1-2x/week start by performing the maximal number of push-ups that you can do in a row while timing the duration of this first set. Rest the same amount of time that it took to complete the set. Repeat this process until your complete the desired number of repetitions. As strength-endurance improves, it should take fewer and fewer sets to complete the desired number of repetitions.
Bill
To see more of what he writes check out is blog here:
http://billhartman.net/blog/
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