I can’t even do a wall push. Not even one

[alidvx]

For some context, I’m F/20
height- 5’10”/177 cm
weight- 75 kgs/165 pounds
I have long and lanky arms and legs and carry most of my fat in my chest and belly region.

I’ve always been aware than I’m quite unfit and I want to change that so I recently started working out. I started with cardio and now I’m venturing into strengthening my muscles. In doing that, I just had a shocking realisation that has honestly left me feeling a little concerned and embarrassed for myself, I can’t even do a wall push-up... or a plank for more than like 2 seconds w/o shaking. I start shaking the second I resume proper plank position. I can’t do some ab workouts because I can’t tuck my lower back in and keep my core engaged, my lower back always leaves the mat during a lot of ab/core workouts which I’ve been told is bad form.

I’m feeling a little demotivated and dejected because I’m struggling exponentially more than I initially thought I would. Which is my fault.
My initial goal was to be able to do 5 push-ups in 6 week’s time but now I’m thinking maybe that’s a little wishful and I should aim for 1 in 6 weeks.

I’m wondering if any of you have tips on how I should go about this. Or if any of you have gone through the same issue when you first started working out.

EDIT: thank you all so much for taking time out to read and respond to this! I really appreciate your kind words, encouragement and advice! I will definitely incorporate upper body workouts with correct form and not be too hard on myself. I will be consistent and hopefully soon enough I’ll start seeing changes.

 

[antimatter]

@alidvx Duuuude, I'm 3 years into the whole workout shebang but push ups? Nope, my body just won't cooperate. And I accepted that fact

 

[julissa]

@alidvx It just takes time, and you’re young, so you’ll catch up quickly. I started working out 4 years ago, when I was 57. Triceps exercises are still my favourite because when I started, I couldn’t do even one. And planks?! Deliberate exercises are life changing.

 

[tomfoolery64]

@alidvx Hey, don't feel bad. We all have to start somewhere

 

[crr]

@alidvx 2 second plank is something! Work your way up to 5. Then, next week, 10 seconds. Then 15. Soon you'll be at 30 seconds, which is a great core strength indicator.

You got this! Keep going!

Also, make sure you're doing a good form plank. A lot of people will get too focused on keeping the plank for a long time and compromise their form. Keep that butt down and that core tight (almost like you're going to push out a but not totally lol). If you can do that for 10 seconds with good form, you're already better than people I've seen trying to do a crappy form plank for 30+ seconds.

 

[jayannedgar5]

@alidvx Push ups are really hard, so don't be discouraged. If your gym has a chest press machine (most do) use that at first to build up your chest muscles. You can also do chest presses with dumbbells or with a barbell. For planks even a few seconds is good, when I started doing them I couldn't even do 10 seconds, but you progress rapidly. If you can't keep the plank for very long you can also do sets - like 3 sets of 5 seconds or however long you can do them. Also for pushups don't think that you have to go all the way to the floor at first, just a few inches of down and up is ok. If you keep at it you will probably be surprised at how fast you progress - just keep going.

 

[david_thesalmst]

@alidvx If you can’t hold the poses for the rr I’d like to suggest starting with yoga. I was quite similar to you when I started my fitness journey and just doing one beginner video a day helped me get to a place where I can now hold a side plank for 20 seconds.

I highly suggest Yoga with Adrienne. She had a 30 day beginner intro series that is amazing. Good luck! You CAN get stronger!

 

[honeybee81]

@alidvx If there is one in your area try a beginner Pilates class. I’ve found it’s the best way to strengthen your core. Also good luck!

 

[absolute1963]

@alidvx To be completely honest, when I started getting back into a regular exercise routine, it took me over a month to get from doing 2-3 knee pushups to a single pushup. And after a month of falling out of routine, my strength vanished. I started heavy lifting again this summer and with a 90lb bench and finally working up to unassisted tricep dips, now I can do 10+ pushups without having worked on pushups at all. I guess from this story I just want to say that it can be damn hard building upper body strength as a female! And maybe consider getting into weightlifting at some point. I know that especially when you're new it can be intimidating, and working out at home is more comfortable and accessible. Remember you can always start light and work up in a lot of ways I find weights easier to progress with than bodyweight exercises. Even if a gym isn't an option right now, keep working at it! Good luck

 

[anthonyadrianbell]

@alidvx If you have access to a gym or even just dumb bells at home I would highly recommend bench pressing to help build up strength. That's what I had to do to build up my super frail upper body strength. Another thing to try is doing push ups on stairs. I had to start on like the 4th step up and then slowly I was able to work my way down and eventually could do a real push up. It was a long, hard hustle where I just kept making little, incremental bits of progress, but I'm so grateful I never gave up because now I can do 14 pushups in one go!! You can do it, you just have to keep pushing through even if you lose progress along the way. I was super embarrassed about my weak ass upper body too, but if you're trying to make a change there is nothing to be embarrassed about.

 

[kingshellie]

@alidvx Keep trying! That was me when I started 2.5 years ago, going from a completely sedentary lifestyle, I had hated sports my entire life. 20 seconds planks would leave me dead, and I wasn’t able to do incline push ups. Heck I barely could lift the 2.5kg dumbbells.

Now I’m halfway to getting full floor push ups, can manage up to 20 on my knees, and I’m doing 3 point planks (where you lift one of your limbs and hold).

Also, bear in mind that as you lose a bit of weight (specially fat) body weight exercises become easier. But it’s even more important to build a good solid muscle base. I lost 12kg in 4 months and was still struggling with core work...now I’m almost back to my original weight, and they’ve become my favorite thing to work on. Of course, now I’m way leaner, and even though i still have a lot of fat, it’s mostly just in my belly area.

TL;DR: keep working hard! Stay consistent, consider looking into your diet and cut/recomp for a while. Never give up! You can do it!

 

[dawn16]

@alidvx No shame in your game! Don’t compare with others. Only compete with yourself. As long as you are doing the best you can and making progress that’s all it matters.

I like lifting and HIIT type withouts but I started to incorporate more LISS cardio about 2 years ago when I turned 30 to control my weight. The longest distance I ran before that was in high school when I ran a mile. When I was running outside everyone was passing me and it was frustrating at first but I decided to power through. I completed my first 5k last year even though I was pretty slow (34 minutes). I went for a run this morning and I felt great. At long as you are constantly improving I think you’ll feel great too!

 

[fouraces]

@alidvx hey hun, I'm a PT here's some tips for you:

DONT GIVE UP!! everyone has somewhere to start & it may be disheartening, bit think about how much room you have to grow!

literally just start by going as low as you can with your wall push up & every time, try to go a teeny bit lower. first time can barely bend your arms? awesome, do 5 reps & 5 sets of those! next time, try to bend your arms just that teeny bit more, do that again. that's the fundamental principles of progressive overload- it doesn't just mean lift heavy weight etc.

also aim to get your dumbbell press stronger too, incline, flat bench & if that's intimidating, start with the machine press.

you've got this!

 

[violet181]

@alidvx When you are extremely unfit, bodyweight exercises can be too advanced for you and actually can cause injury. Seek out exercises that are "stabilizing" and listen to your body. There are always easier versions of every exercise and you should try to begin with what feels doable. I can barely do wall pushups as well, due to various disability and lack of foundational strength in my youth.

There are some good suggestions in this thread. Treat yourself gently. Work daily on foundational strength building that is appropriate for you. You'll get there.

 

[%C3%ADomh%C3%A1nna_beag]

@alidvx A lot of great input on this thread- if push ups were easy everyone could do them. For some reason I always equated my inability to do a pull up with weakness, since I could never ever do one. It took me 9 months of serious training before I could do one. It all takes time. The people who do this stuff have been training for years. Doing a perfect push-up isn’t out of the box for a woman. You need to build the strength first. And all that shit takes time and routine. Find a program that works for you. As a beginner, I loved Bret Contreras Strong Curves. Designed for women. All body workout. It’ll have you doing push-ups in a few months.

Commit and I promise you’ll see the results.

 

[epor]

@alidvx Start on your knees, at the top of a push up and lower yourself slowly. Then just get up and reset, not doing the push up part. That’s still strengthening your arms but you’re only doing half of a push up. Once that’s easier then try full push ups.

 

[bellemem]

@alidvx Okey doke. I know you’ve already got a bunch of advice, but I scrolled through and didn’t see mine. You sound a lot like me. Before you mess up your back, please see a physical therapist, particularly for your core. Your core is extremely important for keeping proper form in a lot of exercises and not messing up your back.

Mine taught me little exercises to do to strengthen my core, and helped me pinpoint where I need to focus on activating certain muscles. I’m now at a point where I can do some of the other beginner exercises that the others recommended for and actually use the right muscles. It’s essential to be able to connect with your body and use the correct muscles for each exercise in order to not hurt yourself. I test each of my exercises to make sure I’m able to activate my muscles right, and switch out exercises to get what I need.

 

[tinylilmin]

@alidvx Girl that is totally ok, you’re at your starting point, so there’s nowhere to go but up from here! Number one is to try not to compare yourself to others, but compare yourself to the former versions of you. Your current comparison is the old you who didn’t even try to do a wall push-up, so you’ve made progress. The next version of you will perhaps be able to do a negative (lowering yourself with control to the wall) and then stepping back and starting again. The following version will be able to push herself back up from the wall once. I’ve been an athlete for years and I am still amazed every year at all the things my body has learned to do because I tried something new. You will be amazed at your body’s capabilities this time next year to if you keep trying.

 

[akimbastark]

@alidvx Good work for making a change! Don't be discouraged.

What you're describing with your back arch sounds like you have a pelvic tilt - I struggled with this too. It is worth getting sorted out as I didn't for ages and eventually injured my back.

My physio had me practice "neutral spine" against the wall - basically standing there with my legs out slightly and my pelvis tilted in so I could get a flat back against the wall. Then it was doing this away from the wall (sitting, standing free) and then finally to maintain this while in motion doing squats, bends, etc.

It has immensely helped my core strength, being able to maintain that flat back has really helped in doing the core exercises others have mentioned (bird dogs, dead bugs etc) - because yes, to get proper activation your back does need to be flat.

The other tip that helped we with this was how I visualise "engaging my core". A lot of trainers and guides will say to "pull your bellybutton in" (even my yoga teachers do that!) and that doesn't work for me at all because I have to be mindful of what my pelvis is doing too. The best cue I've had is to "shorten the distance between my hip bones and bottom ribs". This tucks my pelvis in and gets more core knitted in strong. I then maintain the this hold while doing my core exercise.

Best of luck! If in doubt, see a phsyio or a personal trainer - even if only for a couple of sessions. They can troubleshoot your form to get you on the right track.

 

[dawn16]

@alidvx Don't be discouraged! Push ups with strict form are not the easy beginner exercise they are made out to be.

I've personally gone through this like 4 times since I was your age. I get proficient at something like push ups or pull ups and then my focus changes or I just stop working out and then it's back to square 1. But I know at this point that it's going to be fine--showing up and putting in work is 90% of the battle.

That's really all you need to do. Be consistent and use progressive overload. Keep trying--It sounds wrong but the continued pursuit of your goals is more important than reaching them. Persist