Last year, I was able to improve from not being able to do a single pushup to a maximum of 18 reps. However, I stopped for four months and recently started again. A week ago, I could only do a maximum of 10 reps, but I've noticed that I've been regressing. My max reps have decreased to just 7 this week. I've been doing pushups daily since I restarted, whenever I feel like it. I want to push myself to do more but it feels really frustrating. Could it be exhaustion? Any tips to improve?
For the background: Iām a F, mid 20s, 5ā2ā, 48kg
@ridgerunner70 Just a point here, its just s thought u should give for the future, not now cuz u are a beginner, what my friend here is saying is that ur fatigue is pretty high, and when this happens your fitness and performance start to decrease if you dont dissipate it, quote on quote rest properly or else get an injury, although as u get more advanced, you will be able to train more frequently your push ups, some people do full body 5 to 7 days a week, but thats for more advanced trainees as their bodies require a lot more stimulus than someone whos a beginner
@diaspora Just to pack on to this everyone's body is different. My chest/back/arms/core can take some major abuse. No matter how hard I push lifting to failure they are barely sore the next day and I probably don't need to rotate days. However when I do legs they are absolutely fucked for two days.
@guruvads Not that i know ur body better than u( i know, this sounds how it sounds), but back and chest are also big muscles, so maybe u should reconsider how ur technique is rn and if you are working out your arms in mistake of your back and chest
@guruvads Not to speak for someone else and preface this with: you do you, and what you enjoy when working out.
That being said, high frequency training tends to stop soreness so I wouldn't personally use that as a deciding factor as to whether your muscles need rest.
Research would say daily workouts at a high intensity to failure would accumulate a lot of fatigue of the CNS at least and I think you'd struggle to name a pro athlete who goes to failure everyday.
But I think the more important part rather than research is what works for you. If you're progressing and gaining muscle and strength consistently that's awesome. It is abnormal and you are in the minority however but if someone is working out daily and regressing on those exercises, it's pretty likely they need rest
@guruvads If I had to guess it's probably the loads being lifted and size of the muscles. More mass more inflammation etc. it could even be that it just hurts more so you don't train through the pain, but these are all shots in the dark really.
And yeah everyone's different to a point, fatigue tends to be the unifying factor somewhat in workouts and it's so often the case that just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Obviously I don't know anything about your training split, but for the most part training the same muscle groups daily to failure will catch up to you eventually! Hence why advanced athletes and pros prioritise rest and recovery
@chrysalis_me Lol probably not. I blame working in manufacturing for 10 years. I had to do a lot of upper body work, I don't recall when but eventually I just stopped getting sore. Not sure if its a mental thing where the brain stopped responding or they got used to abuse.
@puppies_and_rainbows It could be a great many things. The first thing that comes to mind would be yes, exhaustion. Either from prior excercise in the same training session, or a lack of rest in general. It's important to include rest days in your week, and also to eat enough protein to sustain a degree of strength and recovery.
As a female, there might be also more complicated hormonal factors. But I'm most definitely not versed in that area. It's just another possibility.
@archercrebb Iāve been eating more since I started getting active again, Iām also taking protein supplements and multivitamins just to be sure. But yeah, I think I need to rest for a bit and see if things improve
@chumleypm I always feel like my skill level jumps up in most things when I take a week or so off. Too often and it just destroys consistency but sometimes life gets in the way for a bit and then you come back and smash whatever plateau you were stuck at with ease.
@puppies_and_rainbows Besides what others said (eating enough proteins and minding rest time between sets) try to do mobility exercises for your shoulders. Having flexible joints is important. Try to strengthen your biceps and triceps too. That will help you
