Can you get strong by just doing chin ups and push ups?
- Thread starter JEDI
- Start date
It depends how much exercise your body is currently used to. A few years ago I went from practically zero activity, to walking about 10 miles a day (as part of my job) and I decided I'd throw in some pushups and situps. I watched magically as my I suddenly had muscles appear and definition on my neck/chest/arms. If you've already got that definition, you won't see much improvement.
When are people gonna comes to terms with the fact that you need to have a good lower body routine.
Legs to you = roots to a tree.
Legs to you = roots to a tree.
LOL that's funny.
I've been doing 20 pushups and 20 situps a day just kind of to see what happens, if anything. It's been 1.5 weeks so far and I haven't noticed any difference. I am 22, 5' 10" and 145 lbs (small,I know).
how much are you eating? I am 5'4'' and I weigh 150ish and Im not fat. Are you trying to bulk up?
iamme
Lifer
- Jul 21, 2001
- 21,058
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like most fitness related questions, i think the answer is that it depends on your current level of fitness.
if you can barely do 5 pushups and can't do 1 chinup, then yeah, you can probably gain strength by doing pushups and chinups.
if you're lifting weights regularly and strong enough to bench press more than your body weight, doing pushups might not really do much.
if you can barely do 5 pushups and can't do 1 chinup, then yeah, you can probably gain strength by doing pushups and chinups.
if you're lifting weights regularly and strong enough to bench press more than your body weight, doing pushups might not really do much.
I'm trying to gain about 15 pounds but haven't been very serious about watching what I eat and all that. I normally eat about 2,000 calories a day, sometimes (like yesterday) 3,000 or more depending on how many meals I eat out.
It's up by the time I'm done
I'll try doing 3 sets of each and see if that makes a difference. Like I said, I wasn't really serious about it, just wanted to see if it helped.
slightlyhuman
Lifer
- Oct 9, 1999
- 19,632
- 38
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Originally posted by: Fraggable
It's up by the time I'm done
you're gonna need to do alot more than just pushups and situps if youve got a high metabolism and you're trying to gain 15 pounds.
You might notice some added definition and strength, but you wont gain much, if any, muscle mass.
Originally posted by: bignateyk
Originally posted by: Fraggable
It's up by the time I'm done
you're gonna need to do alot more than just pushups and situps if youve got a high metabolism and you're trying to gain 15 pounds.
You might notice some added definition and strength, but you wont gain much, if any, muscle mass.
I'm about the same. 5'9 and 150. I do pushups, pullups, situps and bar dips 3 times a week with half to hour jobs 3 times a week. I havne't noticed much visual improvement, but the workouts are getting easier, so I figure I'm gaining some muscle mass and probably losing some fat.
Don't have weights to work with and don't have time to hit the gym. Rather just go to the garage to my tower thingy (for bar dips, pullups) or go run.
Originally posted by: Kelvrick
Originally posted by: bignateyk
Originally posted by: Fraggable
It's up by the time I'm done
you're gonna need to do alot more than just pushups and situps if youve got a high metabolism and you're trying to gain 15 pounds.
You might notice some added definition and strength, but you wont gain much, if any, muscle mass.
I'm about the same. 5'9 and 150. I do pushups, pullups, situps and bar dips 3 times a week with half to hour jobs 3 times a week. I havne't noticed much visual improvement, but the workouts are getting easier, so I figure I'm gaining some muscle mass and probably losing some fat.
Don't have weights to work with and don't have time to hit the gym. Rather just go to the garage to my tower thingy (for bar dips, pullups) or go run.
If you are looking to gain mass, doing bodyweight exercises is not going to do much of anything for you, unless you are incredibly thin and/or weak to begin with.
The key to gaining mass is your diet. If you are not gaining weight, then you are not eating enough, period. You actually need to track what you eat each day and set goals for yourself in terms of total number of calories, grams of protein, grams of fat, and grams of carbs. It doesn't matter how fast your metabolism is - I know guys on a message board I frequent (see sig) who must consume 7k cals per day to gain weight. They are obviously at the upper extreme, but the point is that anyone can out-eat their metabolism.
For building mass, you want to focus on basic free weight lifts - squat, bench, deadlift, row, pullup, dips, military press, and barbell curls are all good choices.
See the link in my sig or PM me for more information.
thats the only lifting i do. its much less stress on all your joints. but make sure you do "man ups"(basically chin ups except your palms are facing away from you instead of your palms facing you like most people do pull ups) that makes it *A LOT* harder to do them. i was 6" 160 pounds and my max bench was 125(lol i know terrible) and max number of man ups was 10. after doing 3 sets of man ups and push each week over a summer my bench went up to 185 and i could do 23 man ups. also whenever you do chinups/man ups/pushups make sure you dont start to panick and go faster, if you keep doing them at a slower pace itll be better you you. also for my legs i run 10+ miles a day but i really dont thin youd be up for that
I know Im reviving this old thread, but I did 2 sets of 20 and a set of 10 pushups last night before reaching my limit. I'm going to work on it till I can do 60 at a time without falling apart.
I'm weak, I know. It's just pitiful.
I'm weak, I know. It's just pitiful.
Mrvile
Lifer
- Oct 16, 2004
- 14,066
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You need a good crapload of pushups in order to build any kind of upper body muscle. You'll be hardpressed to see results if you're only doing 20 a day (although that does depend on how fit you are now). Do pushups until failure, and that's how many you'll have to be doing every day to get anywhere. That's the price you'll have to pay to substitute for a proper workout.
timosyy
Golden Member
- Dec 19, 2003
- 1,822
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I'm trying the 2 sets of pushups to exhaustion every other day thing. Not really to build muscle, but because I'm starting to feel rather unhealthy. Like I'll wake up and all my limbs feel sore/tired/weak... I have this image in my mind of my muscles atrophying to nothing
For the people on the first page talking about height and weight btw, I'm 5'7" and 120lb. Eat (more than) 3 meals a day, eat a lot, and don't do too much physical activity (tennis, a lot of walking, used to play soccer). gg metabolism, by all accounts I should be rather fat instead (I remember my first semester freshman year of college, I ate 3 meals a day & had a cheeseburger or two + cherry coke EACH night... didn't gain or lose a single pound. I shudder to think of how unhealthy that was now though).
For the people on the first page talking about height and weight btw, I'm 5'7" and 120lb. Eat (more than) 3 meals a day, eat a lot, and don't do too much physical activity (tennis, a lot of walking, used to play soccer). gg metabolism, by all accounts I should be rather fat instead (I remember my first semester freshman year of college, I ate 3 meals a day & had a cheeseburger or two + cherry coke EACH night... didn't gain or lose a single pound. I shudder to think of how unhealthy that was now though).
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