1 month in the gym and I can barely do multiple pushups

W

walterrutherford

New member
Hey all, Ive never really did exercise like ever until exactly one month ago. Ive been hitting the gym an hour (almost) everyday (somedays I was busy) and it is going ok, I got the hang of it quickly and I now know what to do to achieve the results I want in both diet and exercises to do on the gym. Since I want to bulk up, Ive been eating more and I did my research on what to eat too.

The thing is that after 1 month, im still unable to do more than 3 or 4 traditional pushups in a row! let alone 3 sets of 5!

Something to take in to account may be that I dont really do aanything else except from going to the gym everyday. I think that might be the problem but im not sure so Im going to ask you all since you guys should know about this more than me.

Is this normal or is there something I need to change?

Any advice on what should I change If I have to?

(Im a (skinny) teenager that has a BMI of 18.2 so Im in a healthy weight, its not like im overweight and therefore its harder for anything like that.)

edit: tried to give as much info as possible and I forgot to say im a guy lmao

Thanks and have a nice day everyone!
 
@walterrutherford Strength takes time. If your underweight eat a lot to put yourself in a surplus and you’ll gain muscle faster. Eat a lot and train hard and the strength will come. When I started lifting I couldn’t even do 1 pull up. Last month I did 100 and then 2 days later did 100 more as part of the MURPH. Consistency is key
 
@hideaway70 Ahhh I see, I knew it took time to achieve noticable results. Wasnt expecting over a month though haha. Since Ive been able to lift (with my legs) something more or less close to my own weight, I found it strange that I couldnt even do a couple pushups.

Thanks for the response though, I greatly appreciate it!
 
@walterrutherford Yeah most people’s legs tend to gain strength faster than their upper body. Most resistance training programs will have you try to add 5lbs to your upper body lifts every week or two. Whereas for your lower body 10-15lbs is recommended. Tricep and chest exercises will help you get better at push-ups. Or just keep doing as many push-ups as you can, even if you have to rest for 10 minutes between one. Push-ups are generally regarded more as a muscular endurance exercise rather than strength.
 
@hideaway70 I will do that. tbh im glad I posted this since I was a bit lost but now I have a bit of a broader view on what to do!

thanks to you btw!! (again lol)

I was adding weight every certain time like the second week I would do more and more. I will try to keep going with it!
 
@walterrutherford If you can do 3-4 reps of pushups per set I'd recommend doing 2 reps per set and keep adding sets each workout. In a couple weeks you'll be doing 20 sets of 2, then jump to 3 reps per and start again at 5 sets.

You'll see consistent improvement this way. It's called a volume cycle and works great with bodyweight exercises where you can't really adjust the load
 
@walterrutherford Idk if someone said this or not, so excuse me if they did, but also switch some of your workout days to flexibility training and endurance practice.

For example maybe 2 days a week focus on deep stretching and in areas you don’t use often, like ankles, wrists, elbows, different leg muscles etc and do reps similar to when you are lifting weights.

After you do this, focus on endurance reps, so for example start with a goal of 7 pushups and just push through them, then do 6 more reps repeating the process but going down by one each time, so the next set would be 6 push-ups, then 5, then 4 etc and as you go down it’ll be easier and easier to do 2, 3 or 4 at a time.

The key to this is ONLY doing deep stretching and endurance reps for the day, so you start with maximum limberness and energy as well.

You can do this process with anything, I like to do it with running, I am able to build speed with this process as well as time spent running at maximum speed. How I started was by running at 7 miles per hour, 30 seconds full sprint, 30 seconds rest for a total of a mile ran. did that every day until it was easy, then upped the mileage as well as speed, 2 miles ran at 9mph, 30 seconds on 30 off. It made a huge difference for me with endurance! Hope this helps!
 
@walterrutherford Consistency is key and you’re doing the right thing by being in the gym regularly but maybe you need to add in some rest.
I started going to the gym consistently in March and I could barely manage 2/3 push-ups but I can manage 10 pretty easily now. You’ll get theee
 
@walterrutherford Consistency is key and you’re doing the right thing by being in the gym regularly but maybe you need to add in some rest.
I started going to the gym consistently in March and I could barely manage 2/3 push-ups but I can manage 10 pretty easily now. You’ll get there
 
@walterrutherford It sounds like you are on the right track. Make sure that you are not doing pushups everyday and allowing at least 48 hours of rest before working the same muscle group. Try tossing in some more endurance training by doing a smaller weight and more reps.
 
@walterrutherford How do you train to do one pull-up? I literally just hang and can barely pull an inch up. What I have been doing is strengthening my core as I just hang, but I don’t know how to build the arm strength to pull.
 
@scottmcc1 Try lat pull downs and negative pull ups. Find a box or something and stand on it where your head is above the bar and let yourself down as slowly as possible. It’s the same as a pull-up just in reverse.
 
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