First of all, I can't even do one full proper push up. In the past, I fooled myself into thinking that doing wall push ups, followed by knee push ups would garner any necessary strength I needed to do the full push up, but that simply wasn't the case. So my aim is to complete 10 classic push ups by doing negative push ups to gain entry level strength.
The idea came from some youtube videos where they showed negative chin ups (which I definitely cannot do), starting from the top of the movement, slowly going downwards. The slowness of the movement was also deemed important to build strength in the muscles through each minuscule stage of the motion. The movement is called a negative push up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opr72q6NKTc
Ron Jones Negative Push Ups
DAY ONE - Saturday February 13th 2010
Completed 3 very slow negative push ups. Very tiring.
DAY TWO - Sunday February 14th 2010
3 negative push ups again.
DAY THREE - Monday February 15th 2010
3 negative push ups in the morning, then 2 more in the evening, and the two felt harder to do this time. I definitely felt how important the core is needed to support me as I get closer to the floor. This time, I tried to push up from the bottom. I got a little bit of lift from the ground, no more than 1 cm for less than a second. I don't think I could do this before, but maybe I never tried doing this.
DAY FOUR- Tuesday February 16th 2010
My arms felt a bit sore, especially my shoulders, and even my back muscles felt slightly tighter than yesterday. Considering that, I only did 2 sets of 2 with a couple minutes break in between.
DAY SIX - 18th February
DAY FIVE - 17th February
3 sets of 2 negative push ups
3 sets of 2 negative push ups, done through out the day. Achieved a 2 cm lift from floor.
DAY SEVEN - 19th February
2 sets of 3 negative push ups at the end of the day.
A DAY'S BREAK – Everything needed a rest.
DAY NINE - 21st February
6 sets of 2 negative push ups at the end of the day. 2 negative push ups are a lot easier to do than before and I can easily do 3, 4 or more.
DAY TEN - 22nd February
3 sets of 3 negative push ups
DAY ELEVEN - 23rd February
Negative push ups are becoming easier so a change of tactics in order. I think I should do them even slower with a ten count negative push up.
DAY SIXTEEN - 28th February
You may have noticed a skipped a couple days of recording my daily training. Mostly, I couldn't remember how many push up sets I did, as I'd start in the morning, then as soon as I got home, then between commercial breaks, then after half an hour on the computer. I still can't do a full push up. What I have noticed is that I can hold myself 5cm off the floor for about a second or so. I'm trying to push myself back up once I reach 5 cm from the ground, but first, I'm trying to lower myself then hold it for about 5 counts before I attempt to push back up again. My form is increasing as I've also done a few plank holds and the side plank to get used to keeping my body straight whilst doing the negative push up.
DAY SEVENTEEN - 1st March
A Day of Rest
DAY NINETEEN - 3rd March
Yesterday, I think I did my first push up. The form wasn't totally there, but I managed to a full press up, though I know I can go even lower. I'm keeping to my modified push ups by holding myself at certain levels to build up arm strength. I'm still randomly doing push ups whenever, so I've lost track how many I've done. I should really write it down.
A DAY'S BREAK – Everything needed a rest.
DAY NINE - 21st February
6 sets of 2 negative push ups at the end of the day. 2 negative push ups are a lot easier to do than before and I can easily do 3, 4 or more.
DAY TEN - 22nd February
3 sets of 3 negative push ups
DAY ELEVEN - 23rd February
Negative push ups are becoming easier so a change of tactics in order. I think I should do them even slower with a ten count negative push up.
DAY SIXTEEN - 28th February
You may have noticed a skipped a couple days of recording my daily training. Mostly, I couldn't remember how many push up sets I did, as I'd start in the morning, then as soon as I got home, then between commercial breaks, then after half an hour on the computer. I still can't do a full push up. What I have noticed is that I can hold myself 5cm off the floor for about a second or so. I'm trying to push myself back up once I reach 5 cm from the ground, but first, I'm trying to lower myself then hold it for about 5 counts before I attempt to push back up again. My form is increasing as I've also done a few plank holds and the side plank to get used to keeping my body straight whilst doing the negative push up.
DAY SEVENTEEN - 1st March
A Day of Rest
DAY NINETEEN - 3rd March
Yesterday, I think I did my first push up. The form wasn't totally there, but I managed to a full press up, though I know I can go even lower. I'm keeping to my modified push ups by holding myself at certain levels to build up arm strength. I'm still randomly doing push ups whenever, so I've lost track how many I've done. I should really write it down.
