Can’t do a single pushup

[fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn]

@trendymom2 I’ve had a sleep study done and it was determined that I have abnormal brain wave activity during sleep which prevents me from getting restful sleep. There’s no treatment for it. Even when I sleep, it’s poor quality.

 

[trendymom2]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn Yikes, I'm sorry to hear that. I would try to get lots more sleep, with hopes of compensating for your poor quality sleep. From what I've read, sleep that happens before midnight is somehow more efficient than sleep after midnight. So the old saying about 'early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise' might be backed by science.

And I would still try to avoid screens and keep the house lights off (or dim) after sunset. And do the outdoor sunshine thing in the morning, that can be surprisingly helpful.

 

[saviour]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn That could be a part of the issue.

Sleep is probably the most important part of life in general, let alone muscle/strength gains. Sleep > Diet > Training.

If you can, you should try to see a physio or a PT.

 

[christian6000]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn So honestly one of the easiest ways to fix this is to start benching.

I couldn't do a single push up, but starting to bench with just the empty bar and following a standard linear progression got me strong enough that one day I could just do pushups.

Also make sure you're eating sufficient protein. 0.8-1 g per pound of bodyweight.

 

[mzwi]

@christian6000 I second this.
I could do 3-4 push-ups which hurt a bit. Then I joined a gym. Started benching and can now easily do 10 reps just after 2 months of gym. Even though I took a break of 1.5 months after because of a wrist injury. Still retained some of that strength from benching.

Wasn't doing any pushups before I recovered from the wrist injury or even when I was going to the gym.

 

[christianlady903]

@mzwi Me from 0 to 3-4 in two years. I can do 18kg curls now, could only do 2kg before.

 

[jcraig]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn Try to find an incline angle that you can do push ups for couple of reps and stay in that angle for a while. For example if 45 degree is too hard try it on 60 degree. When you can do like 8 to 10 push ups for couple of sets with enough resting time inbetween, lower the angel and start over.

 

[fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn]

@jcraig That’s where I’m currently at. I just haven’t been able to lower the angle from my initial lowest. The lack of progress over months is the primary issue.

 

[jcraig]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn Then you can try to do better push ups at your current level. Perform each push up with your full attention, breath in while lowering yourself and breath out on the way up. And make sure about your protein intake, it should be 0.8 gram per pound at least. Idk man it is hard to say something maybe you can look it up on youtube.

 

[sincereforyou]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn What is your diet like? More specifically, how often do you eat foods with protein like eggs, meat, and dairy?

 

[fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn]

@sincereforyou I eat a fairly high protein, somewhat low fat and low carb diet. Very minimal to no processed/junk foods. I don’t meticulously count macros but my overall diet is pretty controlled.

 

[sincereforyou]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn I did a bit more reading in this thread and I'd say this is above Reddit's pay grade, so sorry for any useless or redundant comments.

Some more questions I have:

Have you gone to a physical therapist for this issue?

Are you weak in general or is it particularly bad for your chest?

Are you constantly lethargic?

Have you gained or lost a significant amount of weight post puberty?

Have you ever tried to count your calories and see how much you normally eat? (Ballpark estimate)

Is your lifestyle generally sedentary?

Can you elaborate on your training where you had no improvements after multiple months? E.g. in a week how many times did you train and what did you do?

Have you gotten blood work done to measure stuff like free testosterone?

When you say you have sleep and stress issues, does this mean that you have very little sleep and a lot of stress?

Have you used dumbbells or a machine before to see how much you can press?

Do you feel sore in the days after training?

 

[fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn]

@sincereforyou So I’ve never been to a PT for this.

I have overall muscle weakness throughout my body and chronic lethargy. I figured getting into better shape might improve this but my efforts have only made my problems worse. Feel sore for days after training.

I’ve attempted a few training programs for a few months at a time but was never able to progress with them. Ended up getting hurt in some cases.

I’ve asked doctors about this and had bloodwork, they basically didn’t think anything was wrong with me.

 

[sincereforyou]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn At this point it might be worth checking if TRT is right for you with your doctor. From my perspective I'd be willing to accept a lot of side effects to resolve chronic fatigue.

 

[fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn]

@sincereforyou I’ve had that tested, my levels are within the normal range so my Doctor would not permit it

 

[christian6000]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn If you don't actually measure what you're eating, it's very likely that you aren't eating what you think you're eating.

I'd definitely recommend getting a food scale and actually tracking with an app like Macrofactor.

 

[jesus65535]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn Have you considered upping your carbs? They’re the easiest fuel for your body and a primary source of energy. I know a ton of people push the low carb high protein idea but you may be TOO low in carbs. I’d try increasing your quantity and seeing if that helps.

 

[faithwarrior1988]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn Do negative pushups on your knees and progress from there.

 

[fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn]

@faithwarrior1988 Can’t get off the ground, even for knee negatives

 

[doubleflip7]

@fjdajfkldajkbfejfnsiqn Getting off the ground is irrelevant when doing negatives. Slow the negatives down. Do isometric hold at top, middle, and just before the ground.