Does doing 30 pushups a day impact your upper body strength a lot?

[lefty18]

I looking for a simple easy workout to do which will improve my upper body strength any ideas?

[JetFan1983]

I usually do sets of 10 pushups, and I'll do maybe 12 sets in an hour mixed with pull-ups in between. I'll probably only work out my chest once a week. It's really not good to workout the same muscle group every day. Take a day off in between and do more on the workout day.

You're your own best judge of how many you should be doing. Listen to your body and stop if it tells you to stop. There's good pain in the gym, and then there's bad pain. When the bad pain comes, its time to stop what you're doing and get some ice on it.

By the way, I'd also make sure you have good form when you do them. Really make a point to check somewhere on the net how to properly do them. I know they're pushups and everyone knows what they are, but you'd be surprised how many people have terrible form with them.

[saevel25]

For one thing, don't work the same muscle groups back to back days, give them time to rest.. But, push ups work alot, especially if you do them right, and you can modify them to work other muscles as well..

[Chief Broom]

When I was young I used to do a lot of push ups and it helped.  What I did was get to where I could do 50 push ups.  That probably took a while for me to be able to do but I kept at it and eventually could do that many in a row.  I could do them pretty fast too, probably in just a couple of minutes.  Then the next step was I would do 50 push ups like that throughout the day.  I never kept count the number of sets like that I did a day, but if I'd been sitting down watching TV or riding in the car I'd take a break and knock out those push ups.  It'd boost my heat rate and get me a good pump in my chest and arms.  I'd also work out too, but those push ups certainly made a difference.  Now days (I'm 44) I really don't focus on push ups.  They can put a strain on your back and are pretty hard on your shoulders.  I still work out though...

[Chicago Lefty]

Are you trying to improve swing speed?  I'd work on your core, legs & back more than chest & triceps.

[allin]

I wouldn't emphasize push ups that much, if it is for golf.  Your triceps, lats, shoulders and forearms, are probably more important.  Push ups do strengthen bicep and chest areas so are beneficial as long as not overdone. If you have a ball, planks, combined with pull ups probably targets priority areas for golf more effectively. I think if you review posts almost everyone agrees that core, glutes and legs are keys for golf.

[Chief Broom]

The benefit I see in doing this is that it's something you can do any where at any time.  It's also beneficial because it's very easy for you to chart your progress.  When I was real young (10-12) I couldn't do a single chin up, so I bought a chin up bar and put it in the door of my room.  I'd constantly be trying to do a chin up and eventually I got to where I could do one.  Then I was all about seeing how many chin ups I could in a row.  I finally got to where I could do 10-15 in a row and it was all because I kept at it all the time and I had a bar where I could constantly try.  Doing something like this won't transform your body, but what it will do is get you started and when you do begin to get serious about physical fitness, maybe investing in a gym membership or equipment, you've already begun the process and have some experience working toward a goal and achiving those goals.  I know as a kid I dreaded having to do chin ups in PE, so that's when I decided I was going to do something about it.  Certainly I was at the right age where I was able to develop some muscle, but it also showed me where if I stuck with something I could be successful at overcoming it.  Later I started taking working out more seriously and that's where I used doing push ups all the time to also keep me motivated.

[radMR2]

Doing the same 30 push ups a day will not be beneficial in the long run. Your body will get used it to it over time. Programs like p90 and the typical bodybuilding routines revolve around muscle confusion. Upping your volume will induce growth.

If you do insist on relying on push ups, try different types ie diamond, wide, decline and etc

[saevel25]

Muscle confusion is a total myth, Its like a plecibo, it keeps things fresh and non boring, keeps you working at your max. Your muscles will break down and repaire them selves under stress no matter what. But they do get use to weight, so you got to increase weights. Just like the spot reduction is a myth, you can't loose fat in one specific area, the body uses fat uniformily over the body. People hit the wall because they don't adjust there weights, there nutrition, or don't rest properly.

[CassinoNorth]

Do the 100 pushup challenge if anything

http://hundredpushups.com/

[saevel25]

Whats great about pushups, if you do them right they are basically a plank as well, so your working your abs. If you do 100 pushups your abs should be screaming, try to hold a plank for a minute, it hurts, if your doing the exercise right.

[CR13]

30 a day isn't going to do much..... Now if you do 5 sets of 15-30 push ups a day you will feel an increase in strength. Pull ups and dips are great exercises as well.

[saevel25]

Quote:

30 a day isn't going to do much..... Now if you do 5 sets of 15-30 push ups a day you will feel an increase in strength. Pull ups and dips are great exercises as well.

Not true, a recent study showed that most of the muscle gains are in the first set of a workout, after that you get minimal muscle gain. So really its all dependent on either number of reps or intensity.

[CR13]

All I was getting at was that if you do 30 push ups a day you are not going to see any real results. It's just not enough exercise for a day.

[Noonan1]

Push ups are great and there are many different varieties that you can do to work a lot of muscles. You can do wide, regular, diamond, pike, decline, military, beach, etc. pushups. I would try to do some core in there as well. Not just crunches though - do some planks, side and straight, as well as some scissors. I would also grab a chair and do some dips. Throw in some body squats and you can have yourself a decent workout without having to go to the gym.

[perfectswing]

Any type of exercise is better then none, however I would suggest that you try to implement other types of exercises for the core like planks and maybe some crunches.  30 pushups a day will help your endurance and strength to some degree, however to get really big gains you will have to do a little bit more.  Not a bad way to get the blood flowing in the morning however.

[GaijinGolfer]

Pushups are one of the best exercises you can do for core strength because they work lots of muscles at the same time.

Personally, I do 3 sets of 20 pushups every other day.  In addition to that, I do 50 crunches, 30 arm curls (at 80 pounds right now) 60 single leg squats (30 for each leg), deep knee bend squats (holding the squat for about 60 seconds) and various ankle exercises.

I started doing them to get into shape for hockey but found that they did a lot to help my golf swing as well because I was much more in-balance because my legs and core were much stronger.

[Chrepper]

Hey lefty18, good question.

I used to lift a lot, and got pretty big for my size.  Then, I went to the police academy (firefighter now so go ahead and make fun).  I can see truth in mostly what everyone has said so far, but everyone is different.  What works well for you might not work for me, etc.

Anyway, I did hundreds of pushups, and other calisthenic exercises, everyday...it's like boot camp, but for 6 months straight (PT everyday).  Pushups are a great exercise.  I cannot put a number or time limit for you to get some muscle with any exercise, no one can.

Google some good calisthenic work outs and stick with it.  And whats so good about that, you may ask?  Free, no equipment needed, no gym membership, and you can do it in front of your TV at your convenience.