Texans strength and conditioning coach Dan Riley is back for ...

stopwatch on the floor to monitor your lowering speed. Do not start counting until
you have unlocked your arms. The lowering speed should be smooth and even. If
you need more resistance have a spotter apply some manual resistance to your
upper back.
3. If you reach the point where you cannot perform another push-up (while
performing conventional push-ups) and want to perform additional reps have a
spotter assist by helping you recover to the starting position.
The next time you perform your push-up workout, get out the bathroom scale
and place both hands on the scale in the push-up position. Observe the weight
registered on the scale when you are in the push-up position. It is significantly less
than your overall bodyweight (when you stand on the scale). Your bodyweight may
not be enough to generate strength gains. It would be similar to bench-pressing 75
pounds for fifty reps. Eventually you get tired, it burns, it hurts, yet you did nothing
to build additional strength. At some point with a lighter weight, you stop increasing
your anaerobic strength and begin improving your aerobic endurance.
Your muscles will quickly adapt to whatever percentage of your bodyweight you
are using to perform push-ups. At this point you must find a way to make the pushup
harder if you want to continue to gain anaerobic strength. You cannot expect to
provide the same overload one workout after another, and expect to get stronger.
The same can be observed while performing sit-ups. The weight of your torso
does not change from workout to workout. If you want your abdominal muscles to
get stronger they will eventually need more resistance. An exercise can burn and
hurt but it does not guarantee strength gains.
You can make a bodyweight push-up more difficult by utilizing one or more of
the following techniques:
1. Take more time to raise the weight. We call them slow reps. Allow eight seconds
to raise the weight.
2. Have a spotter apply manual resistance to your upper back. A spotter can push
on your upper back while you raise and lower your weight. With a proper spot you
should reach the point where you cannot complete another push-up somewhere
between 10 and 12 reps.
3. Elevate your feet. Use the stairs in your house to elevate your feet in the pushup
position. The higher you elevate the feet the more difficult the exercise. Use your
bathroom scale to see how much more of your bodyweight you are lifting when
you begin to elevate your feet.
5. Preexhaust your triceps before performing push-ups.
a. For variety we periodically have our players perform an exercise to isolate the
triceps (triceps pushdowns) followed immediately with a set of ten push-ups (with a
spotter adding manual resistance). We manually add resistance to their upper back.
We add enough resistance to allow them to barely complete 10 reps.