Push Ups!

That was really weird/ bad advice from your OB. "Girl" pushups are easier but don't really do anything for you. Regular push-ups are much harder and tone more areas of your body (abs, lower back, arms, upper back). If you can't do regular pushups yet, start by doing as many of them as you can, then go to your knees and continue doing pushups until you cannot anymore. The next time you do pushups you will find that you can do more and so on. You can also elevate your hands/arms on a bench or something similar while you are doing pushups and that will make it easier. You can lessen the incline as you get stronger and eventually when regular pushups get too easy you can start elevating your feet:) I was in the Army for five years and have done more pushups than I care to think about and my uterus is just fine:)

I'm no gym rat, but I've never heard of any PHYSICAL reason for women to do the knee push ups, if they're in good shape, you know, not recovering from anything. I thought it was strictly an upper body strength thing. If you are just getting back to the gym (first of all, congrats, way to go, it's tough to get back into it, keep it up) I'd tell ANYBODY, male or female to start with the knee pushups until they become too easy. It depends on what you want too - toning or building muscle. I'd expect you to say toning. More repetitions lower weights for toning, less reps more weight to build muscle. I weigh 206 (down from 224 thank you) and am 6'2" tall. So, when I do push ups, I'm basically bench pressing 200 pounds. That's a lot, and a lot of stress on your wrists, hands, fingers, etc. If the knee pushups feel good, stay with them. When you are ready, go to regular. Just take it slow, have good form, and don't hurt yourself.

FYI - I had two surgeries, and started with the knee pushups, just because it was less strain, and torque on my knees.

Best of luck,
Richard

As a certified perinatal trainer, I have never heard this...it is like telling you not to lift anything over your head when pregnant b/c the cord will wrap around the baby's neck. Many women cannot do regular push-ups because they are not strong enough, for example, keeping the chin up (many look down), keeping the core tight to support the back (most often the back sinks in due to lack of support in the core) and keeping the shoulder blades down and the shoulder away from the ears is important too for proper spinal alignment. Ask your instructor or trainer to show you how to do a proper push-up, it is the quality not the quantity. Do some regular, when you fatigue finish up on the knees. It is empowering to do regular push-ups!

Regular pushups are fine if you can do them and keep your back straight. If you start to let your back sag, you should modify until you're strong enough. They're actually a great way to tone your abs. Start with knee pushups if you have trouble doing the full ones. Get your arms and shoulder strong and then move to the full ones. You can also do them on a raised surface, which helps build the strength gradually.

Hi K.,
I was actually just at a self-defense presentation last week and the presenter said that the "women's" push ups don't really do us any good in terms of chest strength and being able to have upper body strength (and thus being able to properly defend ourselves).

I have not heard of any reason for women not to do "regular" push ups. Sure the ones on your knees are easier, but for strength purposes we should really be doing them like the men!

B. :-)

K....please, please, please push-up away! If there is anything we should all be doing on a regular basis (and there is no additional cost associated with it), is both push-up and sit-ups. Not only is a push-up an all over strength building as highlighted in other responses, it opens up your heart chakra and empowers you. You will feel differently the next day.

If you are unable to do full push-ups, I would try standing against a wall at a slight incline. But, please even if you can only do one on the floor, DO IT. Then the next day, do two. As women we tend not to use our bodies in that form so push-ups seem hard. But each day you can increase by one. Try it and watch what happens. By the end of a month you will can be at 30 or close to it!

Good Luck! Let us know how it goes. Congratulations on all the joys in your life. Namaste.