14
Apr, 2020

Build your chest.

Maybe the strongmen of old didn’t have access to weights. I say that as, many of the old fashioned “get fit at home” manuals and pamphlets,  put push ups and push up variations at the core of their regimes. Maybe  they assumed that their home based clients  didn’t have  a “bench”.

Not a totally insane assumption.

So, push ups or “dips” as Charles Atlas called them,  belong in any home regime. I think they are often overlooked.

Charles Atlas does his “dip”between two chairs in order to get a bigger range of motion. according to his pamphlet its great for “Chest, Shoulders and Back. Excellent for preventing Lung and Chest troubles. Do the dipping exercise   at least 100 times every day. Aim to do it 200 times daily if you are keen on getting a very big and powerful chest development. Do this by dipping 25 or more times, rest and relax a few moments and do them again. Rest and do them again.” Charles Atlas  said he did 200 daily.

However, it isn’t as simple as  just doing any type of push up. Notice from this video that you are aiming for a planche push up. Your shoulders go forward and your hands end up as near the hips as possible

Of course, this is achievable if you already have push ups. If you don’t work your progressions like mad

7
Jan, 2020

An army standard

If you are wondering “how fit should I be” you could start off with an army fitness standard

Voila

  • Full press-ups – a minimum of 44 in two minutes
  • Full sit-ups – a minimum of 50 in two minutes
  • Static lift onto a platform 1.45m high.
  • Jerry can test – carry two 20kg weights over a distance of 120m in two minutes.
  • A Beep test with the level of 10.1 (1.5 mile run in 9 minutes 30 seconds).

I think this is the basic standard that  programmes like “SAS who dares wins”, uses.

9
Sep, 2019

Push up test

The old favourite push up test. Loved by some hated by many. This is supposed to be the amount of push ups you can do before exhaustion. Surprisingly this is not chest to floor, but elbows to 90 degree.

Allegedly, those with weaker upper body strength, can drop their knees to the floor and test from there

Table: Push Up Test norms for MEN

Age 17-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-65
Excellent > 56 > 47 > 41 > 34 > 31 > 30
Good 47-56 39-47 34-41 28-34 25-31 24-30
Above average 35-46 30-39 25-33 21-28 18-24 17-23
Average 19-34 17-29 13-24 11-20 9-17 6-16
Below average 11-18 10-16 8-12 6-10 5-8 3-5
Poor 4-10 4-9 2-7 1-5 1-4 1-2
Very Poor < 4 < 4 < 2 0 0 0

Table: Push Up Test norms for WOMEN

Age 17-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-65
Excellent > 35 > 36 > 37 > 31 > 25 > 23
Good 27-35 30-36 30-37 25-31 21-25 19-23
Above Average 21-27 23-29 22-30 18-24 15-20 13-18
Average 11-20 12-22 10-21 8-17 7-14 5-12
Below average 6-10 7-11 5-9 4-7 3-6 2-4
Poor 2-5 2-6 1-4 1-3 1-2 1
Very Poor 0-1 0-1 0 0 0 0

* Source: adapted from Golding, et al. (1986). The Y’s way to physical fitness (3rd ed.)

1
Oct, 2018

Push ups

There isn’t a decent  home or gym routine that doesn’t have push ups in. Many strong men of old insisted on them daily, getting clients to progress from floor pushups to between chairs to get that extra range of motion.

In my “Andrew Stemler  Fit  at Home” regime,  I say, Do them everyday . Make them a daily habit.