Friday, February 17, 2023

How to Get Muscular, Test Your Strength Now!

How to Get Muscular, Test Your Strength Now!
Hey you! How many pushups can you do?" Do you remember those days when you and your friends would brag about who could do the most pushups? Everyone knows how to do a push-up, so it's a great gauge to see how in shape you are. It's also a great way to get muscular for those of you who find you're not quite as in shape as you had hoped...

We'll give you the strength test below. But first, I want to talk about a sad truth... Most Americans have trouble cranking out a single push-up in good form! Did you know that? If your upper body strength is lagging this far behind, here are some great tips to remedy this situation quickly!

Get Muscular Tip 1 --- If you find yourself failing after 8 reps or less, then do your reps with longer rest periods in between. For example, start with 8 reps, then rest for 15 - 30 seconds to continue your set. Many find themselves failing due to being out of breath as opposed to their strength failing.

Get Muscular Tip 2 --- Pause sets are also ok. Pause at the top of a rep for a few seconds to catch your breath before the next rep. Obviously you will want to eventually push past this practice, but it's a good way to make quicker progress if you are frustrated with your progress.

Here's that chart I promised you. Why not see if you can reach the top category?

Less than 20 push-ups - out of shape

20 - 34 push-ups - Average

35 - 49 push-ups - In Shape

50 push-ups or more - Congratulations! You're in GREAT shape!

This chart I used for ranking came from Turbulence Training creator Craig Ballantyne. He recommends that a woman wanting to test her strength level to simply take the numbers above, and subtract by 60%.

Yes, this bar is set pretty high. No one achieves great results by shooting low now do they? If you are a beginner and seem to be struggling for even a few repetitions, then don't fret. You can still get going and make great progress by doing kneeling push-ups to build your strength. The great thing about push-ups is you build your strength rather quickly and can add 1 more push-up or more per workout. Once you feel comfortable with 8 - 10 kneeling push-ups, you should be ready for full push-ups. As your strength increases, you will see your core upper body get muscular and toned as well. (Depending on your goals of course)

So I ask again: How many push-ups can you do? I'm sure all of you reading this article fall in the category of "wanting to get muscular", so why not get started right now? Come on... You have to admit. If nothing else, you know you're tempted to jump down and crank out as many push-ups as you can right? You know you want to. Check out our resources below that will blast your results into over-drive!

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