Ok my goal is to work up to 150 sit ups/push ups in the morning and before bed. Would it be more beneficial to do 3 sets of 50, alternating push ups and sit ups, or do the 150 straight through?
Actually, it would be a lot easier for me to three of 50 push-ups. But that's just my body. It's a lot easier for me to do sit-ups than push-ups, so if you could, try to do 150 straight sit-ups. I've never done 150 straight, but I think I could.
I'd do three sets of 50 with a 1-3 minute break in between sets. If you try to do it straight through then you run the risk of over working your muscles which will do a hell of a lot more bad then good! I CAN do 150 straight sit-ups, BUT i don't because you'll get a better end result breaking it down into sets. DO not workout right before bed. Your body needs that time to wind down. Working out at that time will only get your adrenaline flowing to the point where when you do want to fall asleep , you can't. At the latest i'd say 3 hours before bed. And if your going to workout first thing in the morning be sure to do A LOT of stretching weather you feel like you need it or not. Because when your asleep, your muscles are not in use for the entire duration of your sleep. So when you wake up in the morning, you need to wake your muscles up aswell.
I have to do sit ups and push ups for each test in my kung fu class. 50 per belt level. We can't stop and put our knees down while doing them. Once you work up to 150 without stoping you will definitely have some very well toned muscles. Same for the sit ups.
i'd say if you want to work up to 150 each in a row, then go for it. but i found that for me, doing timed sets works better. start at 2min, then take away 10-15 seconds after each set until you get down to 1min, then go back up to 2min. and mix it up, pushups then situps or vice versa. this way your working towards muslce failure, which is god, but then you gotta get protein in your body or else your workout won't do anything. for workign out at night before bed, i always did 100 situps right before i went to bed. i never had trouble falling asleep, so try it out if you want and don't work as hard as you did in the morning. but i never had a problem falling asleep at night after working out. but it might be person-to-person on this one. also, stretching is very important. and always do a little cardio before you actually start working out, like jumping jacks - it gets your blood flowing into your main arteries, which measn you can work out better. and after your work out in the morning, get some protein.
Hi, Can I ask why you want to do the 'sit-ups'? If you are trying to lose weight in your abs doing sit ups isn't going to do it. You have to do cardio to burn the fat, then do an ab work out to build the muscle. As far as how to do them, first of all don't! Don't do sit-ups they put too much strain on the back. You should do crunches, or work on ab machines. There are so many different kinds of cruches too, those for obliques (which run diagnally down the sides of your abs) and those for the abdominal muscle (which is one long muscle that runs from under your chest you below your belly button). While doing crunches use a mat on the floor and make sure that your back is not arched at all. That means push the bottom part of your back down and you should be holding your belly button in to make sure you have good form. Then you slowly come off the ground. Also make sure you keep good form going back down as well, don't just plop down. The closer your feet are to your body, the harder your ab muscles will work, but remember no arching your back. You should start with either timed reps, or doing 3 sets of 15 with a rest between sets. If you feel this is too easy for you, then invest in a medicine ball and do them holding that. If you are doing 150 sit ups, that is not working your abs, if you are doing them correctly, your abs should feel it well before 50. You could also try the reverse crunch which is similar but you keep your back on the ground and you lift your bottom half up to reach toward your chest. This will work the lower section of your abdominal muscle. You can work your obliques by twisting to the opposite side when you come up. After you have done these for a while, you will notice a big difference. You might also try using a physioball which makes it more difficult because you have to remain steady and do the exercise at the same time. You might also consider pilates which works the core muscles (abs and butt) and will help keep you flexible.(don't laugh I have men in my class) Also, for your abs, watch your posture. Sitting up straight forces your abs to do their job. Now as for the push ups. Which muscles are you trying to work here? I imagine it is your pecs. While push ups are great for working your pecs, there are other exercises that might help you out and will give you some variety, and because you have a bunch of little muscles which help the larger muscles. A weight bench is something you might consider getting (or go to a gym) they are fairly inexpensive, or I use my coffee table because it is somewhat narrow. You could also get some dumbells to perform these exercises or find things around the house, or use your own body weight as resistance. Try doing some push ups against a wall at an incline. Also, be careful when working your chest because over working it can lead to shoulder injuries, so be sure to work the shoulders too. This is why I recommend doing a full body workout, rather than concentrate on a few muscle groups. Check out www.menshealth.com for some more exercises that you can do. Or I really suggest looking for a personal trainer some will give you a free consultation. That way they can show you the correct form to use. (It is hard to understand when reading). Good Luck!
