First time real push ups in my life - goal

vivviv

Member
Posts: 7
Hi everyone,

I've been doing Darebee on and off for years, completed different programs and some challenges in the past.

But one thing I never managed in my life: A real push up. Not push ups on my knees, but a real push up 😅

This summer I started with the Fighter's Codex. I did Kung Fu, but moved and in my new location there's no studio, so I wanted a program with some decent Combat moves.

Well, it was too hard, so I switched to Shadebound and started very, very, easily to establish a workout routine first.

July: Shadebound 1 set, whole program
August: Shadebound 2 Sets, whole program
September: Shadebound 3 Sets + Cardio Go 1 Set
October: Shadebound 4 sets + Cardio Go 2 Sets

I developed quite decent leg, butt and ab muscles in the last weeks, but there's no arms happening 🙈

I know added Arms of Steel Chair Edition 3 Sets (no push ups) and 50 Push ups in one go Challenge on my knees. It would be great to be able - after the 30 days of the challenge - to switch to real Push ups and start the challenge again 😍

Dream big, start small - let's see if I can build enough arm muscles to do deal push ups by the end of the year 💪💪💪

Any tipps for push ups would be really appreciated 🙏
 
Clyde69

Clyde69

Member
from Frankfurt, Germany
Posts: 19
"Warming up the engine"
Welcome :hi:

Push-ups are a challenge for me too .... still a kneewbie :D

I'm doing the https://darebee.com/workouts/less-is-more-workout.html every other day.
Aimed at reducing inclination each after hitting a 5 sets ... started with simple wall push-ups ... chair second ... by now down to the frame of my bed (a 13in height roughly) where I did hit my "target 5" today. Took roughly a 6 weeks in total, 4-5 w/o this damn cold I would assume. Up next, minimal inclination using dumbbells up until 5 sets, and floor afterwards. Rinse, repeat, same program w/o knee's.
Never underestimate push-up holds, burn and gain in one exercise, great deal :D

Also on the list, at least once a week ... https://darebee.com/workouts/ppl-push-a-workout.html for some additional "stress" :D
I'm a huge fan of this PPL series, both upper and lower body :u:
 

vivviv

Member
Posts: 7
Clyde69 said:
Welcome :hi:

Push-ups are a challenge for me too .... still a kneewbie :D

I'm doing the https://darebee.com/workouts/less-is-more-workout.html every other day.
Aimed at reducing inclination each after hitting a 5 sets ... started with simple wall push-ups ... chair second ... by now down to the frame of my bed (a 13in height roughly) where I did hit my "target 5" today. Took roughly a 6 weeks in total, 4-5 w/o this damn cold I would assume. Up next, minimal inclination using dumbbells up until 5 sets, and floor afterwards. Rinse, repeat, same program w/o knee's.
Never underestimate push-up holds, burn and gain in one exercise, great deal :D

Also on the list, at least once a week ... https://darebee.com/workouts/ppl-push-a-workout.html for some additional "stress" :D
I'm a huge fan of this PPL series, both upper and lower body :u:
Click to expand...
Awesome that you hit your target 5 goal yesterday, @Clyde69 ! 😍🥳

The Less is more workout looks great, the PPL too, but I don't have dumb bells and ain't sure about the best weight. In the shop I tried out 5 kg (11 lbs) with some bicep curls, those worked pretty fine. Not so sure with 5 kg above my head though 😂💪.

I checked out all of the 8 pages of Challenges yesterday and there are so many, I'd like to try in the future 🤩.

I'm now on Day 5 in both Arms of Steel Chair Edition and 50 Push ups in one go. Only 5 days in and I already notice my brachialis muscle developing on the side of my arms 😱 It's like they've been waiting for these additional workouts.

I don't want to call the day before the evening, but possibly, possibly I can reach my goal of one push up by the end of the year 🥰

Shadebound is Day 5 and 4 Sets, Cardio Go Day 12, doing 2 sets 💪 So an easier day for me in Shadebound, some resting time 🥰

Thanks for welcoming me too, @Fremen 🙏❤️
 
Last edited:
Fremen

Fremen

Well-known member
Shaman from Italy
Posts: 3,341
"“Keep an eye on the staircases. They like to change.” Percy Weasley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone."
If you are interested in combat programs, also take a look at:
Fireheart
Combat HIIT which has excellent videos for each workout (at the end of the page of the individual days, you must copy and paste the link for security reasons)
 
Clyde69

Clyde69

Member
from Frankfurt, Germany
Posts: 19
"Warming up the engine"
vivviv said:
Not so sure with 5 kg above my head though 😂💪.
Click to expand...
Wear a helmet :LOL:
(until one is confident regarding grip strength)

Yeah, have to admit, dumbbells are a like/hate thing, but personally love 'em, good addition to pure calisthenic workouts in my opinion.
Picking the right weight is something magical, but no worries, Darebee has you covered ... https://darebee.com/fitness/how-to-choose-dumbbells.html is a good starting point.

But besides dumbbells, there are other ways to add some more pain, ahem gain ... one could wear a backpack filled with books or alike to add some extra load to planks, push-ups, lunges, even calf raises, just to name a few (but increase slowly as this puts extra strain to back and shoulders due to shifting your center of gravity) .... even resistance bands can aid (and, tbh, are even more flexible than dumbbells).
 
Anek

Anek

Well-known member
Sorceress from Bavaria, Germany
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 2,294
"If the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember Cedric Diggory."
Hello and welcome!
I've been doing Darebee programs since almost 3 years and I still can't do proper push ups... I blame it on being old :D
Good luck!
 

vivviv

Member
Posts: 7
Hi everyone,

Thanks a lot for all of your comments and tips 😍

This weekend's been rough - actually I've been doing nothing, no energy for anything except my workout routine and survival: Shower, food, sleep. Saturday I had to work, Sunday I simply existed. Doom-scroll for 3 hours, gaming on my phone ... Really, I only was there doing nothing ...

So, back to my routine today that - at least - I did:

Morning

✅ Shadebound, Day 6, Leg Day, 4 sets
✅ Arms of Steel Chair Edition, Day 6

Evening

✅ Cardio Go, Day 13, 2 sets
✅ 50 Push-ups in One Go, Day 6 on my knees

@Fremen Thanks for the programs! I already looked into Fireheart several times over the past months. I don't know why, but it doesn't appeal to me ... 🙈 Combat HIIT might be a good one on days I don't have much time 🥰

@Clyde69 I like that helmet idea 😂 Really, a huge stone fell on my cousin's head when he tried lifting it above his head ... I have memories regarding this setting 😂🙈 I remember doing paleo fitness workouts with filled bottles and stuff too make the farmers work more difficult 😂 I thought about parcour next to Kung Fu. I guess, I'm sticking to the bode weight/calisthenics exercises for now, need my head in the future 😂

@Anek Hi Anek and thank you! 🥰 My first Darebee workout, I did roughly ten years ago 😱 I'm pretty happy though, though I aged as well 😂, I'm quite back in the same condition as back then. I did Pandora and some separate workouts, but didn't stick to it and switched a lot. And of course ... I couldn't do any push ups. I even tried Convict Conditioning, but got stuck on the wall 😅. Now I'm ignoring the 50 wall push ups you're supposed to do in a row before moving on and just went to knee push ups, since I can already do them nonetheless. On Darebee and other sites they say 10 wall push ups are enough ... I'm somewhere between 10 and 50 in a row. I think it were about 45.

@TrainHardJason Yes, I totally agree with you! I've been watching a lot of videos in the past and asked friends (10 years into martial arts) how to do it correctly. The moment I can do my one push-up I will definitely ask again if my posture is okay or not. Hopefully, your shoulders are fine now! 🙏
 

vivviv

Member
Posts: 7
Hi everyone,

Hopefully, you're doing well and enjoying your workouts! 🥰

Indeed, I've been having kind of a cold - this explains my total lack of energy on Sunday. It didn't really develop so far, yesterday my energy was back, today it's still here, but I'm having a sore throat.

I kept going with my workouts - and am very imressed that I can do 14 knee push ups in a row now 😳. Shadebound was some Yoga positions today, Cobra included. I always struggled with Cobra Pose because it asks quite decent arm strength - today it was so easy 🤯😍 This improvement really cheers me up to keep going 🥰💪

Morning

✅ Shadebound, Day 10, Yoga Poses (Stretching)
✅ Arms of Steel Chair Edition, Day 10

Evening

✅ Cardio Go, Day 17, 2 sets
✅ 50 Push-ups in One Go, Day 10 on my knees
 
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