Pushups or bench press?

[Master Moron]

Lately I've been doing pushups because I don't have access to a gym, though I'm considering just laying on my bed and lifting dumb bells. Anyway, I was wondering, how much weight are you actually lifting when you do a push up? I mean, I assume you're not lifting your entire body weight. So, I weight like 155, how many pounds on the bench press is that equal to?

[Jude Santos]

Lately I've been doing pushups because I don't have access to a gym, though I'm considering just laying on my bed and lifting dumb bells. Anyway, I was wondering, how much weight are you actually lifting when you do a push up? I mean, I assume you're not lifting your entire body weight. So, I weight like 155, how many pounds on the bench press is that equal to?
I'd say maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of your weight, but of course, I'm not an expert. Anyway, it's always better to start off low when you're benching and not start at a particular weight regardless of how many push ups you can do. For me at least, I use my arms more when I bench, and my chest for push ups.

...make sense?

[Punisher]

When you do pushups, I'm pretty sure you lift half you're body weight. You could lift more weight then that with a bench, but it would take longer because you can't start with a lot of weight at once. I do both, but since I don't always get to a gym I settle for pushups more often then not. And if you've done pushups for awhile, switch to diamond pushups. They help much more. After that, one handed pushups. I myself do only diamonds.

[kiddiesunshine]

What's a diamond pushup?

[SSJPabs]

What's a diamond pushup?Put your hands together so that fingers meet fingers and thumbs meet thumbs forming a diamond space between them. Basically a different position.

[Master Moron]

Put your hands together so that fingers meet fingers and thumbs meet thumbs forming a diamond space between them. Basically a different position.

And does that work a different part of the muscle or it just makes the workout more intense? I want to mainly work my pectorals, not my triceps. I remember hearing somewhere that the closer your arms are when doing chest exercises the more the weight shifts to your triceps, which is not what I want to do.

[Bubblegum Girl]

I don't like doing pushups so i would do benchpressing instead.(I've done it before and was ok with tit)

[Kagetsu]

I believe the closer your hands are together, more of the work is placed on the delts, (front shoulder). Pushups most likely won't increase the deffinition of your chest, if thats what you're looking for. it's a good exercise, but it won't increase musle mass much. your bed is not good for dumbells as it doesnt allow your elbows to drop fully.
try to work as many musle groups as possible rather than one. It's better for you.

[cross blues]

I remember hearing somewhere that the closer your arms are when doing chest exercises the more the weight shifts to your triceps, which is not what I want to do. that's exactly what happens. the same goes for BP: the closer together your hands are on the bar, the more triceps you're using. a good rule is to keep your hands about shoulder width apart. you can widen the grip to work a different area, but any closer than shoulder width will work your triceps. lots of people try to lift a lot and then end up not even doing the motion right. DON'T worry about weight. the motion is what's important, unless you're looking to be a giant without much shape or tone and some nice man boobies. (muscle bounces too if you're not flexing it)

dumbells are great (if you can use them on a weight bench) because they force you to use your abs to keep your body stable. BP is ok but not as good, push-ups are ok but most people tend to go too fast and end up using more arms than chest.

if you have access to a bench, I say do BP or dumbells. you can still do maybe 2 sets of 30 push ups at the end to finish the workout. also you could alternate doing BP one week, dumbells the next, push-ups the next. focus on using your chest to do the work. you should be able to feel if you're using too much of your triceps and adjust.

[Master Moron]

that's exactly what happens. the same goes for BP: the closer together your hands are on the bar, the more triceps you're using. a good rule is to keep your hands about shoulder width apart. you can widen the grip to work a different area, but any closer than shoulder width will work your triceps. lots of people try to lift a lot and then end up not even doing the motion right. DON'T worry about weight. the motion is what's important, unless you're looking to be a giant without much shape or tone and some nice man boobies. (muscle bounces too if you're not flexing it)


Yeah, I definitely want man boobs. I used to have man boobs, and got many compliments on my manly chest, but since I graduated college and don't have access to a gym I've been relying on pushups to keep my chest in shape. Of course, I've been dieting and doing cardio to lose my beer gut, however, in addition to losing a lot of fat I think I have also lost a lot of muscle without having those rigorous weight training regimens I used to do in college. My chest is still pretty tone, but nowhere near the size it was before, which sucks, because a smaller chest just makes my stomach look bigger, which still isn't quite flat.

dumbells are great (if you can use them on a weight bench) because they force you to use your abs to keep your body stable. BP is ok but not as good, push-ups are ok but most people tend to go too fast and end up using more arms than chest.

Yes, currently, I only have access to two 25 pound dumb bells, which is much lighter than what I used to use at college. I ordered a 40 pound and a 55 pound dumb bell from Amazon.com though. I ordered those weights because they came out closest to $50, giving me the free shipping deal. However, I got them in the mail and they only sent me one 40 and one 55. I thought they were a set of two? What the hell am I supposed to do with one dumb bell? Then when I ordered the other one for each of the sets, for some reason it no longer gave me free shipping...urgh...I'm going to give them a bad review when I get those other two weights in...

if you have access to a bench, I say do BP or dumbells. you can still do maybe 2 sets of 30 push ups at the end to finish the workout. also you could alternate doing BP one week, dumbells the next, push-ups the next. focus on using your chest to do the work. you should be able to feel if you're using too much of your triceps and adjust.

Hmmm...well, actually I do have a bench in my house, it's connected to a machine that's broken, unfortunately I am unable to use it because of the way my mom likes the house set up. Actually, there's also a barbell and several other pieces of exercise equipment in the same room as the bench, the problem is my mom insists on putting the cat's litter box in the same room as the weight equipment, making all the exercise equipment unusable. Basically if I were to use the bench I would have to inhale the fumes of cat crap the whole time and get cat litter all over my feet. Of course, I could simply move the bench, but as I mentioned before the bench is part of a bigger machine, and I would probably have a bit of trouble moving it myself. Besides, the fact that it's so big I'm not sure I could think of a good place to fit it. So, I really can't think of too many other places to do the do chest exercises other than my bed...maybe on a narrow drawer or desk somewhere?

[Emmanuel Cruz]

I do neither. I do not like exercising, and it shows. But I have been working on the weight room in school for the 3rd marking period, and I prefer doing bench presses than push ups.

-Emmanuel:bosko:

[Chris Wood]

Yeah, I definitely want man boobs.

???? I think "man boobs" refer to flabby, out-of-shape pecs, such as Billy Crystal displayed at last year's Oscars. I didn't think anyone would actually want them.

[Punisher]

???? I think "man boobs" refer to flabby, out-of-shape pecs, such as Billy Crystal displayed at last year's Oscars. I didn't think anyone would actually want them.I think he means something like pro wrestlers. You know, able to move both at different times while standing still.

[Master Moron]

???? I think "man boobs" refer to flabby, out-of-shape pecs, such as Billy Crystal displayed at last year's Oscars. I didn't think anyone would actually want them.

The first time I heard the term "man boob" was on Conan O Brian when he had Fabio as a guest. He kept on talking about Fabio's man boobs. Fabio has a muscular chest, if you aren't aware.

I think fat pecs on guys are just referred to as plain old "boobs" where "man boobs" are the more muscular variety. At least that's what I always thought.

I think he means something like pro wrestlers. You know, able to move both at different times while standing still.

Oh, yeah, I can still do that, even though my chest is a lot smaller than it was before. You actually don't have to have a huge chest in order to move your pecs. As long as you have a little bit of muscle there you should be able to move your pecs.

[cross blues]

Of course, I've been dieting and doing cardio to lose my beer gut, however, in addition to losing a lot of fat I think I have also lost a lot of muscle without having those rigorous weight training regimens I used to do in college. My chest is still pretty tone, but nowhere near the size it was before, which sucks, because a smaller chest just makes my stomach look bigger, which still isn't quite flat.
you could just try to solve the real problem, your beer gut. you're onto something when you say a bigger stomach makes your chest look smaller. so wouldn't it work in reverse then too, if you can flatten and tone your abs, your chest will look bigger? in my opinion, it's all about proportions. what attracts the ladies is that your chest and shoulders are broader than your waist and stomach area. of course being able to make your pecs jump like that is a good trick too.

[Master Moron]

you could just try to solve the real problem, your beer gut. you're onto something when you say a bigger stomach makes your chest look smaller. so wouldn't it work in reverse then too, if you can flatten and tone your abs, your chest will look bigger? in my opinion, it's all about proportions. what attracts the ladies is that your chest and shoulders are broader than your waist and stomach area. of course being able to make your pecs jump like that is a good trick too.

Well, yeah, I've been doing that for almost a year. But, it takes a loooong time to get a flat stomach. I mean, it's almost there, maybe like another inch or two. I can feel my abs, and can even see them on the top, but there's still a little bit of flab I can't get rid of. Anyway, I understand that the more muscle mass you have, the greater your metabolism is. I mean, it makes sense in theory, the more energy that gets made into muscle, the less energy available for fat. So, anyway, I've pretty much done everything I can think of to get a flat stomach, dieting, cardio, ab exercises, I think the one last thing I need to do is bulk up a little bit.