Are Those Stupid Push-Ups Really Necessary and Can They Really Help Me Lose Stomach Fat?

Here's a question/comment I get quite often and how to get past this common workout problem.

Question: "What if I can't do push-ups?" Or. "What if I can only do 5 push-ups but your workout calls for 10?"

A: Surprisingly this is a pretty common problem. Many people are either too heavy or too weak to perform a single push-up. Or if they can do push-ups they can't do very many at one time. (FYI: You can substitute virtually any exercise for push-ups like squats, planks, lunges, etc. that people have trouble doing)

That's not a good problem to have, but it's not the end of the world if you take action.

There are a few reasons you may not be able to do any push-ups (or very few).

The obvious ones are that you're too heavy or too weak. That's easy.

However, there are some people who are relatively strong and not too heavy who still can't do push-ups. They may be able to do a decent amount of weight in exercises like the dumbbell chest press or machine chest press, but push-ups are just too darn hard.

These people may be weak in their core. I say that because if your low back, abs and all the little, deep stabilizer muscles aren't strong enough to hold you up, you can't do push-ups.

Or your shoulder stabilizers may be too weak. This is a very common problem, even in people who regularly exercise but only use the machines found in health clubs or a big home gym. You have lots of little muscles around your shoulder that help stabilize that joint. If they're weak, you won't be able to hold yourself in a push-up position, let alone lower your body and press it back up.

But do you really need to do push-ups? Are they all that valuable outside of gym class from middle school?

Absolutely! Push-ups are, by far, the most valuable upper body exercise around. They work way too much muscle to be excluded and help strengthen virtually every muscle in your upper body, including your abs and low back - muscles that everybody wants worked.

But how do you get to a point where you can do push-ups if you're having trouble doing 1, or if you can only do a few?

Well, if you're someone who's too heavy - lose weight. Easy answer, huh?

Seriously though, you can substitute an exercise that I love to use called a "Standing Resistance Tube Chest Press". You just need some resistance tubing and a place to anchor it, like a door.

Anchor the tube and stand facing away from the tubes with your hands at your sides at chest height. You then press your arms straight out in front of you so you are essentially doing a push-up in the standing position. It's very important to keep your abs braced and tight throughout the movement. If you don't, you'll wobble all over the place like a flower in the wind.

Once you've mastered that movement, and are doing it perfectly, give the push-ups a try again. If at that point you can do at least 5 push-ups, you're good to go.

Now that you can do a few push-ups, but can't do the recommended number a workout calls for, you just need to tweak a few things.

Let's say you can do 5 push-ups and the workout calls for 3 sets of 10.

I want you to perform 3 sets of 4 push-ups. By only doing 4, rather than your maximum of 5, you ensure you won't completely tire yourself out, yet in total you'll do 12 push-ups, which is pretty good progress in my book.

Then each week, try and do more push-ups than the last. Pretty soon you'll be a push-up master and will be able to move on and do more difficult versions.

If you can do regular push-ups and want to step it up a notch and do some more difficult ones, check out these 2 videos I made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CuvTYGxazc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsF3uyWBZNw

Have a good day!

Ed

P.S. - I love push-ups, and for good reason. They are an excellent upper body exercise and strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps (back of your arms), upper back, abs, low back and glutes (butt). They are a fantastic fat burning move and they're one exercise that you can perform endless variations of. If you want to learn how to integrate push-ups into your fat burning workout, check out my Fat Loss To Go program now at www.fatlosstogo.com

Why Do You Want To Lose Fat?

I like to talk about my daughter and family life quite a bit in my newsletters.

I don't do it to brag...well maybe I do.

But one of the main reasons I fill you in on my family life is because it is very, very important to me.

It's the reason I work so hard.

It's the reason I put in a lot of 12 hour days.

I want to work very hard now and build something so that sometime soon I won't have to work as hard and can spend more time doing the things I really love like taking my daughter to the pool, zoo or children's museum. Or just get to take her to the park more often when the weather's nice, which is kind of rare here in Nebraska.

It's also a reason I work hard when I do my own workouts.

I want to have as much energy as humanly possible so that I can keep up with her. I couldn't possibly see myself as one of those dads who gets worn out because he's too out of shape to play with his kids.

I also have my vanity reasons for working out so often (who doesn't want to look better?), but a big reason is for health.

What's your reason?

Why do you want to get in better shape and lose fat, or stay at your current fitness level?

Do you have a reason?

If not, you better get one figured out because it's very important.

Your success may hinge on it.

If you don't have a strong reason, a strong "why" for wanting to get lose fat, get healthier, then what's going to stop you from having seconds at the buffet line? What's going to motivate you?

You need a "why". You need a very strong "why".

Is it your kids?

Maybe your doctor told you that you're pre-diabetic and that you need to get your weight under control before it becomes full blown diabetes.

Maybe you someone in your family died of a heart attack and you don't want to succumb to the same fate.

Or maybe you just want to look as good as possible with or without your clothes on.

That's fine. That's one of my reasons. I think that's probably one of yours too, if you were totally honest.

That's your assignment for today.

Figure out your "why". I'd actually like you to tell me what your "why" is. I want to know.

Plus it helps to tell someone you can trust to help hold you accountable. I may not be able to stop you from eating the french fries or drinking your third (or sixth) beer, but I can check in on you from time to time and make sure you're on track.

Have a good day!

Ed

Push-up variations

I love push-ups. I do them in every single workout and I try to include them in as many of my clients' workouts as possible.

Plus my boot camps do A LOT of push-ups on a weekly basis.

There really is no better upper body movement than the push-up. It works virtually every muscle in your upper body including your chest, shoulders, upper back, triceps (back of your arms) and last but not least your abs/core.

That's right! Push-ups are a core exercise. If your core wasn't working, your stomach would sag like an old horse...and if your stomach sags like an old horse while doing push-ups, keep your stomach and glutes tight. It'll make the exercise much more effective.

The problem with push-ups, though is that they can get a little easy after a while and you need to change it up a little bit.

So I made a video to show you a few "intermediate" push-up variations. I want you to give these a try the next time you do push-ups.

Check the video out below.





Have a good day!

Ed Scow

The Absolute Worst Phrase in Your Fitness Vocabulary Is...

This last Sunday night I came downstairs after helping my wife put our baby to bed and I was exhausted. I was exhausted emotionally and mentally.

The problem was I had a couple things I needed to get done. Plus, I was hungry. I’m sure that many of you have been in that same situation. Tired, with things needing to be done and hungry.

That is a very bad combination.

My first reaction was to say “I’ll do it tomorrow”, to the things that needed to get done and head for the fridge to find something sweet to eat. I crave sweets and peanut butter cups when I’m hungry.

As I was headed over to the fridge that stupid little voice came busting into my head.
“Weren’t you going to write a newsletter about this very subject?” That’s what the little voice said to me. They say you’re only crazy if you answer the little voices…so I said “yes, I was going to write a newsletter about this”.

Stupid little voice. I had my heart set on ice cream.

My inner voice was right. I was planning on writing a newsletter on that evil little phrase of “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Or the other one is, “I’ll start tomorrow.”

That phrase is so easy to say, yet it is the absolute worst thing you can possibly tell yourself if you want to start living a fit and healthy lifestyle.

How many times have you told yourself that you were going to start eating better and exercising, but that you were going to start after this one last meal, or this one last weekend? Then that’s it, all bets are off and you’re living the straight and narrow. If you’re like me, or the millions of others out there you’ve said it countless times.

But was it true? Did you really “start tomorrow”? Or did something else get in the way that impeded your new fitness lifestyle? Or maybe you lasted a couple days, then fell back on your old ways only to start the process all over again within a few weeks or months.

But why?

What’s so special about tomorrow that you have to wait? Is tomorrow some special, magical day that serves some special purpose?

The truth is there is no better time than right now. If you make the decision to start eating better, exercising, stopping smoking, or whatever, there is no better time than right this very instant.

Put down the cookie you’re eating while reading this. Put the bowl of ice cream in the sink. Shut the refrigerator. Do some squats and push-ups. It doesn’t matter, just start right now. It doesn’t have to be something major.

You’ve already made the decision to start, just start right now rather than tomorrow. If you do things right, living a healthy and fit lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of the treats you love. You just have to partake in those treats less often.

So stop telling yourself that you’re going to start tomorrow. You’ve said that enough times, now just buck up and start right now.

I mean it.

Start this very instant.

As soon as you’re done reading this, do something that takes a step in the right direction rather than something that takes you a few steps back.

Eat an apple. Eat a handful of almonds. Make a smoothie. Get some rest. Go workout. Go for a walk, or jump on the treadmill if it’s too cold where you are. Clean all the junk out of your cupboards.

Do something, anything. Just don’t start tomorrow. Start NOW!

Have a good week!

P.S. – If you need help getting started, let me know and I can help. Or you can buy my Fat Loss To Go eBook by clicking here.