New to doing push-ups…arms shake and feel super week for a long time

[mstub]

So just for reference I am a 5’6 130 lb male — as you can imagine, I am not very strong. I’ve been trying to eat heavier this past week as I have started body weight training for muscle (nothing crazy, just want to go from 0 muscle to athletic/lean muscle) by doing push-ups. I’m a noob so please understand that the answer may be obvious and stupid to you, but I’m just making sure I’m doing everything right!!

I’ve been doing 3 sets of 10 push-ups every other day. The problem is that by the end of the 3rd set, my arms feel extremely extremely weak and they shake. It wouldn’t be a problem if it went away, but even after 30 mins to an hour if I put weight on it, maybe even push down on a soap dispenser, etc I feel super weak in my triceps (or back of upper arm in general) and can barely do it. Does this mean that my triceps will be getting larger over a long period of time?? Or is overuse bad. Because despite the crazy weakness I feel afterwards, I wake up with no soreness in my triceps

 

[dawn16]

@mstub I mean when your arms aren’t use to using said muscles it’s gonna be sore, they’ll build overtime that’s not to say overuse isn’t bad, but atleast personally I remember starting I pushed through that first barrier then when I moved on from basic push-ups and such is when I started worrying about overuse, the soreness shows they are getting use which is a good thing

 

[mstub]

@dawn16 Yes! Except they aren’t sore. Just incredibly weak. Like my arms would collapse if I put weight on them. I love DOMS (even though it doesn’t always imply muscle gain) because it makes me feel like I accomplished something.

 

[wanikum]

@mstub that just means you need to get stronger, you don’t have the strength to do all those reps. keep going, and eat your protein. you’ll get there.

 

[linkster]

@wanikum Was going to add after I first started going to the gym and hit my triceps it was a bit harder to throw switches at work.

 

[christianmarine85]

@mstub Sounds like you may have muscle fatigue. The more consistently that you work out, the less impact the fatigue will have.

 

[thesimpsonslover1]

@mstub You can try a lesser intense pushup.

Yiu can try using your knees instead.
Or even a wall.
Then as you progress move your feet further from the wall.

The a kitchen counter, or lower fence. Chairs are not a good idea since they can slip. Unless you push the chair up to a wall so it cannot.

As you slowly progress, you practice good form FIRST. from wall to counter, you want to be able to do perfect form.

Then, perhaps after a good 30 min when done, eat a banana, the potassium will help rebuild and prevent cramps. This, along with your regular nutrients, you're eating. Food is important. But, I just wanted to bring up the option of less strenuous push-ups that promote good gorm. Good form will promote good looking muscles.

You can also add in some plank time.

 

[mstub]

@thesimpsonslover1 Yessir have been planking for 1 minute on days where my body feels good enough. Although because I’m pretty light weight to begin with, they tend not to be terribly difficult. I’m going to try the side plank or one-leg lifted and see if it engages my core more.

 

[thesimpsonslover1]

@mstub Sure.
Planking is just a bit extra.

Consider wall- based push-ups, though. More important. One must crawl, walk, then run.

Consider this video... very good

 

[darrelx]

@mstub If you start at a mild incline, you can progress lower and lower once you're comfortable with the number of sets you're looking for.

 

[mstub]

@darrelx Thanks for the tip!

 

[dawn16]

@mstub Yeah, this is the way, we want to regress/progress these exercises to our current level so we can do a good number of reps with good form.

That said, if you can already do 3 x 10 pushups on the floor, you are stronger than you think and you'll probably find that in a couple of weeks it will all go much smoother and you'll lose the weak/shaking feeling.

 

[ggg17]

@mstub You feel weak after exercise. It's normal to lose dexterity in your arms and hands for a couple of hours after hard workout.

Just a note if you didn't know: your muscle grows when you rest.

So make sure you allow the muscle sufficient time to recover and then grow more. If you don't feel improvement in strength on the next workout, have a day or two more rest and see if that works better.

 

[mstub]

@ggg17 I appreciate the advice! I’ve tried to avoid working out when my arms still feel weak, I only work out if there’s mild soreness that doesn’t give me major pain or prevent me from completing the sets.

 

[pporcile]

@mstub Try doing sets of 12 10 and 8. With strength training you really need to stop before it gets to that point. Whenever the muscles start to fail just stop the exercise at whatever rep

 

[agustin956]

@mstub Push-ups are great full body exercise, but when first starting you NEED to go slow and start small. Seems annoying and frustrating but that’s how you properly build muscle. Wall push ups, then modified knee push-ups, then PROPER full body pushups, and when first starting don’t be surprised if you can only do two or three. By the end of the month you’ll be up to 20. It’s all about form form form. If you’re in bad form not only will you not get the best workout, you could injure yourself which sets you back further. Take it slow and concentrate on your form. Breathe with the movement and tighten your core, because that is where so much strength and stability comes from.

 

[mstub]

@agustin956 You nailed 2 of the bigger issues I’ve been trying to address: not breathing enough/properly and not tightening my core. All things considered I humbly believe my form to be decent (elbows not flared, body straight as possible, chest to the floor then all the way up, taking it slow — no momentum).

So with that being said, would you still recommend doing the incline push-ups first? Because I will probably be going to failure regardless…so is 3 sets of 30 incline push-ups any better or worse than 3 sets of 10 normal push-ups since I’m capable of doing them?

 

[djs4him]

@mstub If I was starting with push ups and I could do a couple like you with proper form, I would start with 3x5. Then increase by one each week.
Week1: 5,5,5
Week2: 6,5,5
Week3: 6,6,5
Week4: 6,6,6

Etc..

 

[mstub]

@djs4him Gotcha. I’ll give that a go! And others have mentioned I can do that, or I can do full set of normal and then work my way down to easier variations…I’m going to experiment a bit and see what works for me.

 

[junebug72]

@mstub You are doing fine. At the risk of oversimplifying things, the weakness is caused by your strong muscles still lacking the energy stores to contract, while soreness is caused by inflammation from your body flushing waste byproducts as your muscles repair themselves. So you are fatiguing the muscles without causing much damage, which is probably best for growth, at least for the beginner level. Its also normal for you to feel it in your triceps the most.