I just registered for kenpo and shotokan a couple weeks ago, and its only been in the last year or so i've really started to do anything physical (well i took up learning to ice skate in sept 2008) but i basically grew up a couch potato though i never was overweight. since i have to do pushups to pass my yellow belt test in kenpo next year and get stronger i would like to know how many times a week should i do them? I have lessons in kenpo and shotokan 4 times a week, and every kenpo lesson we always do some. How many times a week should i practice them? like i said my body is pretty new to exercising so got to build up strength.
Because the others - running in place, stretching, situps, for example, are all the easier ones. I wanted to work at that which i found most difficult. no point in working at that which you can already do except to make sure your muscles are toned. I do them for that anyway, but i can already do them ones well.
I have to agree with Jax, you'd be better off having a balanced strength and conditioining program that works your whole body. By just training one range of motion you run the risk of developing muscle imbalances which, eventually, could lead to injuries. At the very least you should balance pushups with rows of some kind. If the other exercises are easy, then think about working more difficult progressions. That being said, a good way to increase pushup numbers is a 'Greasing the Groove' (GTG) approach. Basically, at several intervals during the day you do a set of pushups (but not to failure), so if you can do 10 good form pushups, you would do 6-8 several times a day, and then every week or so, add another pushups to each set.
seriously- people put too much faith and place too much importance on pushups. If I were you I'd start a more balanced exercise program. But if you insist: I remember back in the day, 'how do I increase my pushup numbers' was probably THE most frequently asked question on these forums, and the answer was always the same: do pushups! Seriously, there are loads and loads of routines you can do. There's this: http://hundredpushups.com/, but I now have my doubts about that one. There's also this: http://www.military.com/military-fitness/workouts/try-pushup-push-workout There's greasing the groove, mentioned above. You can also do ladders (doing 1, resting, doing 2, resting, etc. etc.), pyramids (e.g. doing 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, which would be referred to as a 'pyramid up to 10'. You might also decide just to do straight sets (e.g. 10 sets of 10,etc. etc.) or include them in a circuit with other exercises. One of the best ways I find is just to set yourself a number (100, for example) and do them however you are able. In any case, I've come to the conclusion that the specific routine you follow doesn't really matter. The important thing is to do loads of pushups.
