I can’t do push-ups

I

ilovejesuschristourlord

New member
Im a (26F) and been trying to do push-ups and every-time I do I struggle with form or pull a muscle and it makes me cry. It shouldn’t be this hard for me and then I feel like I’m doing girl push-ups wrong. Is their a secret? some people make them look so easy and fluid but I skip them because they just haven’t been working for me. I’d rather do burpees than push-ups.I can’t even do the modified ones on the knees. The wall ones are the only ones that are most comfortable. Makes me cry out of frustration which is embarrassing.

Edit: OMG you all are wonderful!I woke up this morning to helpful messages and excellent advice. I apologize for the term “girl push-ups” that’s how I always heard them but I realize o silly it sounds. And now I’m crying on my exercise mat I feel so supported. Thank you so much! I don’t feel as defeated. Bless you guys!Thank you for the silver you are too sweet
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord First of all, they're not girl pushups. They are knee pushups and they are totally valid exercise that can be helpful in any program, regardless whether beginner or advanced. I don't like it when people call the easier version of something the "girl" version as if being a girl automatically denotes that you're weaker.

I also used to not be able to do push-ups, honestly I still can't lol but I started with wall push-ups. Did them everyday until I could do knee pushups. I can do at least 15 reps of knee pushups now so I've transitioned to negative/knee pushups. That's when you're in normal pushup form going down and then knee going up. Just keep doing these variations until you can do a real pushup.

Also, it helps to lose weight. When you do pushup, you are lifting your upper body and engaging core. If you're top heavy and have a weak core then it will be difficult.
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord There's so much good advice here so I don't elaborate too much, just share my experience. I was also unable to do a single pushup for the first 32 years of my life, and now I can do 20 standard pushups in a row (and then feel like dying haha). I tend to still do knee pushups for longer workouts with more reps.

The thing I want to reiterate the most is take your time and don't be down on yourself. The modified pushups on the wall, stairs, knees, etc. are not of lesser worth. They after helping you develop your strength, so they are as "real" as any standard pushup, just a modification. And it's okay if you spend a long time at each of those phases. Doing those steps right for as long as you need to is so much more valuable than flopping around on the floor and getting frustrated.

Good luck! You're gonna get it, I promise.
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord I think all the tips listed here are valid and with enough patience and determination you can definitely do it. Even at my fittest (which definitely is not right now) I couldn't do a push up, but I also realized that it's kind of a random measurement of fitness that we have all just accepted is reliable and standard? Like it's largely a chest workout, with some assistance from your shoulders/arms, but I rarely work out my pecs, so I don't know why I internally judge my overall fitness based on how strong my pecs are. Most of these fitness tests were created for men, and it's scientifically easier for men to do pushups because of the muscle distribution in their upper body and in general their higher baseline muscle mass compared to women. It doesn't require this much discipline and hard work for a guy to do a single pushup. I'm sure you will get there, but please don't get too frustrated with yourself.
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord When I first joined the military I struggled with them also which is a fitness requirement to do so many while under time. What helped me was doing chest presses with dumbbells which strengthened by very weak upper body and then pushups were a breeze. Sometimes activating upper body muscles first by practicing with weights feels hard but do able compared to a push-up but essentially a similar movement. With time of this my strength increased and started with pushups finally because at one point I couldn’t do one now I can do 40 per minute
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord I too wasn't able to do a single pushup some years back, don't worry If you have access to gym , just normally start working out all you muscle groups and within a mont you will see changes and always try to do pushups with proper form it will really help you in the long run.
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord I use to be someone who could not do push ups, I started slow, with Blogilates arm workouts. Those became easy so I pushed myself from knee pushups, to full push-ups. I kept pushing and pushing and now I can do 20 in a minute. My arm muscles are still my weakest muscles but you need to give yourself time. It took my years to get here and when I stop training push ups, I lose it In a few weeks. It’s frustrating but you’ll get there! It just takes a bit of time developing these muscles :) (am 29 now and I started training for push-ups at 23)
 
@lyd Try floor handles! They will keep your wrists straight while doing push-ups. One of the trainers at my gym had a pretty serious hand/wrist injury a few years ago and swears by these.
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord It didn't figure out pushups until I was 40! And for me it wasn't a strength issue as much as a coordination issue. My brain never figured out how to get the core, arms, shoulders firing in the correct sequence. Once those neural pathways got built it became so much easier! They are still hard, but not impossible anymore.
 
@ilovejesuschristourlord Also - the only thing that makes a girl push-up a girl push-up is a girl doing a push-up. You’re just modifying to a knee push-up.

The best way to work on them is to keep your elbows kind of tucked and close to your ribs instead of flared out.
 
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