Advice for kicking through the plateau/slowdown?

[Hedgewolf]

Hi there - longtime reader of Nerd Fitness, but this is the first time I've turned to the forums for help.

 

I've been working out properly for about two years now, on and off, since I was seventeen. I'm constantly broke and studying, so it's all bodyweight stuff I can do at home, basically.

 

By midway through last year, I was running on a two-day routine of upper body (pullups, pushups, dips) one day and core/legs the next (leg raises, sit ups, and squats) plus running about 4km daily after work. I was doing high-rep sets, in the 40-70 rep range, for about five sets of five different exercises daily.

 

Throughout the year I kept plateauing, or going backwards in what I could manage, which sucked. I found Nerd Fitness about halfway through last year, which gave me some good pointers, but I kept on with roughly the same routine. Basically, at a certain point, I would just cease to progress, no matter how hard I worked; couldn't go any longer or do any harder exercises.

 

I started studying again this year and switched it up - now doing a three day rotation based on Convict Conditioning, which is much lighter in load. Despite this, I've still stalled at a point - I'm aiming at doing one-armed pushups and pullups, and I haven't passed assissted one armers in either. I've been using the new routine for about two months.

 

So I'm hoping you wise folks might have some advice for me? I really can't afford a gym (broke, renting and studying/unemployed), but surely there's something wrong with my technique if this keeps happening.

[I-Jo]

are you still doing 40-70 reps?

 

can I ask what the purpose of such high reps are?  That seems REALLY excessively high.

[TheSavageBean]

On the high rep thing, bodyweight exercises can be done for crazy reps once you're proficient with them, it's more of a high intensity cardio than a strengthening thing.

 

The problem you're facing Hedgewolf is that your body has adapted to the bodyweight exercises that you're used to, and your body doesn't think it needs any more strength than what it already has. Unfortunately there's a vast gap in the strength required to go from two arms to one arm. It's the equivalent of going from an 80kg squat to 100kg squat with nothing inbetween. You need to make the exercise harder so that you can't do as many reps, but not so hard that you can't do any reps. This is otherwise called "progressive overload" if you want to google it.

 

My suggestion is to do something like pushups with something heavy on your back, or otherwise strapping weights to yourself to make the motions just a little bit harder, but not too much harder.

[Hedgewolf]

I downgraded the reps a lot and shifted to harder variations in my newer routine. I'm doing pushups with one arm on a stack of books (5x12), close pushups (5x30), etc.

High reps was, at the time, the only way I was measuring progress. I threw some harder exercises into the mix as time went on, but I think my mentality was that they were progress on top of what I was already doing. I'm aware now that building muscle requires more intensity over less time.

 

My problem is that even taking that into account, I've stalled. I had figured that lowering the stress on my muscles would allow them to start picking up again, and they haven't really - that, and I'm no longer capable of doing what I used to.

 

Thanks for the idea, SavageBean. I've been trying a few elevated one-armers against my desk, but they're just brutal.

[I-Jo]

Yeah I do NOT have time for 40-70 reps- that's seriously excessive.

 

I'm pretty damn good at push ups- but I still have variations I do that kick my ass six ways till sunday- so that's always my suggestions-

 

start adding weights to stuff

doing it on one leg

doing it elevated

doing it with a stability ball

 

then when you get that handled- do your push ups with weights elevated on one leg on the stability ball.

[TheSavageBean]

My problem is that even taking that into account, I've stalled. I had figured that lowering the stress on my muscles would allow them to start picking up again, and they haven't really - that, and I'm no longer capable of doing what I used to.

 

Thanks for the idea, SavageBean. I've been trying a few elevated one-armers against my desk, but they're just brutal.

 

You don't get stronger by skipping in a field of roses. Brutality's what you want.

 

The other thing to consider is diet, your body can't get stronger without fuel, and if you've been losing weight then eventually you'll just hit an upper limit of your body's strength because your nervous system is literally doing everything it can. The only progress that you can expect from bodyweight exercises in this case is the progress of having a lighter body (and thus less weight.)

 

 

 

Yeah I do NOT have time for 40-70 reps- that's seriously excessive.

 

If you do pyramid sets: 10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 you end up knocking out 55 without really thinking about it. One of the conditioning drills we're told to do is pushups/burpees/situps/starjumps in a 10-1 pyramid. It takes about 30 minutes. You DO go to hell and back though.

 

It's a good progression for pushups that you posted.

[Irish Oisin]

Stick a 10kg weight on your back while doing push-ups or while doing push ups, hold on to some dumb bells...do your push-up and then lift the dumb bells one at a time (Of course). I think it's called a push-up row. I added them to my routine recently and they're fantastic!

[I-Jo]

You don't get stronger by skipping in a field of roses. Brutality's what you want.

 

f you do pyramid sets: 10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 you end up knocking out 55 without really thinking about it. One of the conditioning drills we're told to do is pushups/burpees/situps/starjumps in a 10-1 pyramid. It takes about 30 minutes. You DO go to hell and back though.

 

It's a good progression for pushups that you posted.

well yes- but I was thinking more of doing them as a SET of 40 reps- in which case in my mind = out to be like 80 or 120 since I do my workouts 2-3 sometimes even more- I have one workout that's got 100 reps of everything- it's 10 exercises- 10 times through- with 10 reps.  Brutal- but awesome. All body weight- I love it.

 

yeah I definitely read that as 40-70 reps in a set.  not all total.  

thank you- I'm a push up junkie. 

 

Stick a 10kg weight on your back while doing push-ups or while doing push ups, hold on to some dumb bells...do your push-up and then lift the dumb bells one at a time (Of course). I think it's called a push-up row. I added them to my routine recently and they're fantastic!

really focus on not twisting you core when you do the plank row- keep your hip SUPER STILL.  (actually it's best to have someone HOLD your two hip bones while you get a feel for it so you know exaxtly how you are doing- or not doing it) it's a wildly overused exercise that people get into- and the miss the fundamental beneft of doing it that way- I've seen guys sawing away at 40+lb dumbbells...

 

and they are twisting twisting twisting- I put a 10 lb weight- or NO weight in their hand- and hold their hips and say NOW lift your hand to your arm pit as if you were rowing- and they topple.  it's amazing.

 

It can be done elevated- and it can be done on a stability ball... it's wicked hard that way- but it's CRAZY for your core.  Someone walked up to me and said you know there is an easier way to do that.  I was like- wait what???? that's why I'm doing it this way!!!! 

 

But yeah- plank rows are the tits- they are my most favorite exercise right now- I probably do them 2-3 times a week with 20 lbs weights. 

[Irish Oisin]

I was using a wide foot base for stability, should I be using a narrow stance? I can't see the wide stance being detrimental

[Hedgewolf]

Heh... I was doing 40-70 a set. For about five sets an exercise. The routine was 45/55/45/40/70 then the next exercise most days. I had a lot of time on my hands.

 

Will give plank rows a go, thanks for the advice. When I say the elevated one-armers are brutal, I meant 'undoable' not 'hard'. Hard I'm happy with, as long as I can do it - that's progress.

[I-Jo]

 no- I tend to go with a slightly wider stance- you don't want to go excessively wide- I would say somewhere between hip and shoulder- maybe a little wider if you need the stability.  

Obviously (or maybe not so obviously???) the more narrow the harder it will be. 

 

 

 

As far as one arms- either do do them on your knees (least recommended) one knee down- one leg straight (better) or do them elevated with your hands on a riser/stair/coffee table.  Same as doing regular push ups- start with your upper body elevated but still in a nice straight body line- same with any variation- to include one arms.

[Pyth]

Have you considered going to a longer time under tension instead of high reps? Check out some of the bar brothers vids on youtube to get an idea of it. They do some insane body weight stuff, and they're incredibly strong.

[Waldo]

While there are good points, convict conditioning by and large sucks.

 

You may be running into its laughably bad parts with the pushups.  Are your legs apart (2x shoulder width or so) or together?  If you are trying to do them feet together only, you can pretty much forget about ever doing one via that progression.  If you can do 12 reps with your hand elevated, surely you can do one on the floor with wide legs.  Try to twist your hand away from you (clockwise for your right arm) to lock your triceps into your lats, it'll make the last 3" or so possible.  Legs together are way, way, way, way harder than legs apart, and only possible to do by progressing to them through legs apart.

 

Start working on the front lever and its variations and/or 1 armed inverted rowing.  Ignore the 1 arm pullup exists for now.  It is at the edge of human possibility, you need to be at a near ideal muscle:bodyweight ratio and ridiculously strong before even bothering to begin training for it.  As a general rule of thumb, you should be able to bang out 5 good chinup reps with half your bodyweight strapped to you before you are strong enough to begin training for it, even then expect it to take many months/years before you actually get it.

 

If you want to get strong primarily, never do more than 8 reps unless you just can't quite get the next exercise in the progression.  You should begin working on the next exercise by 5 reps or so (will often take a while to get the harder stuff).