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[Heron TSG]

Body fat really depends on who you are. If you're a woman, that's probably too low to be healthy. Considering your username though, it still depends on your body type. I personally have less than 1% (according to a couple tests), but my friend who is equally fit had about 15%. I'm not a doctor and have never met you, so all I can say is "maybe".

[justinlee999]

I have fairly small legs, wide hips and weists.

my arms are also like twigs, while I have a nice belly bulging out

[Seriyu]

Hello people that know what they're doing.

I've been looking at working out lately, because I can't do a single real push up and I want to at least get to THAT point because seriously that's terrible. Aside from being a scrawny nerd boy and being sliiiiiiiightly (nowhere near dangerously) underweight I have no major health issues.

However I don't have a weight set. I have two weights, with 4 ten pound weights (20 pounds for each weight, in other words.), a couple of tiny non adjustable 5 pound weights. Does anyone have any advice for advancement?

I've heard doing "diagonal pushups" is a good start, is that true, or did I just stumble on some fitness related nonsense?

[Heron TSG]

Well, to do a pushup you have to be able to lift roughly the weight of your torso. You might try doing curls with the weights you have for a little bit, but I am by and large not an expert on strength building.

I'm setting a goal. By the end of this next week, I will run a 5:15 mile after a run of 3 miles at a moderate pace. Endurance training, woo!

[SalmonGod]

I'm not sure curls would help, since it works different muscles.

In my very non-expert opinion, just do what you can.  If diagonal push-ups are what you can do, then do them until you can do a standard push-up.

[Caz]

Hell yea O_o I want to lift 50lbs per hand by March (i'm weaksauce). Let's do training!

Edit: (actually adding content to post)

If you're lifting, compound exercises are the best bang for buck. Squats, deadlifts, benching, shoulder press, bent over rows. With even those 5 you can probably get some good gains providing you're lifting heavy, progressing with weight, all while getting enough rest (Don't do more than 4 sessions per week, preferably a day rest inbetween or do split days etc), and EAT! If you're trying to gain muscle and eat nothing, nothing will happen. Though if you're trying to lose fat while retaining the muscle you have, then eat less.

This was probably all said already, and this is all I know. Woop. *runs out of thread zoidberg-style*

[Mictlantecuhtli]

However I don't have a weight set. I have two weights, with 4 ten pound weights (20 pounds for each weight, in other words.), a couple of tiny non adjustable 5 pound weights. Does anyone have any advice for advancement?

I've heard doing "diagonal pushups" is a good start, is that true, or did I just stumble on some fitness related nonsense?

If you can't do a pushup, then your best bet is to work your chest and triceps before attempting to do them. Unless you CAN do them, with enough effort, yet cannot muster it.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to do pushups once you get the right technique down. I go to bed on a set of 30, and I don't consider myself very strong (only bench about 260 these days, it was 300 in school :[).

But if you really can't, then your best choice is to use the light weights and do Chest Presses and plenty of Benching until you build the strength to do so. I bet you can do atleast one if you do it correct, though. It's basic human anatomy, unless you're severely overweight (like I used to be, until I was about 16). Curls CAN help, but my pushups don't utilize the bicep since I do them so close, so I think that's more of a glamour thing. Triceps are what really help you pop off the ground if you're getting exhausted.

Once you can do pushups yourself, then all it takes it some effort and time to boost your ability to do them. Do as many as you can in one setting, even if you max out at ~3 or so, it's still worth it if you feel it in your arms and muscles. Not everyone is a bodybuilder, so don't expect to become superman in a couple weeks. Just keep doing a few sets of pushups a day and you'll see improvement, slowly but surely. Then you can ramp up your intensity.

I typically try to do as many as I can before my right arm gives out on me, since it's my weaker arm. At the end of the day it's all about what makes you feel comfortable.

[Seriyu]

Yeah, I flat out can't do them the "right way" anyway. I can do them if I push off the front of my body and then the back end of my body. If not I sit there straining until I give up and roll over. I only weigh 150 or so pounds at 5'11 or so, so weight isn't an issue.

At any rate, good to know. I'll look into curls and everything else people mentioned, thanks everyone!

EDIT: Although I may technically be underweight, but the majority of it is actual fat, so I still can't do a pushup. Hmm. Time to start jogging again I think.

[MaximumZero]

Yeah, I flat out can't do them the "right way" anyway. I can do them if I push off the front of my body and then the back end of my body. If not I sit there straining until I give up and roll over. I only weigh 150 or so pounds at 5'11 or so, so weight isn't an issue.

At any rate, good to know. I'll look into curls and everything else people mentioned, thanks everyone!

EDIT: Although I may technically be underweight, but the majority of it is actual fat, so I still can't do a pushup. Hmm. Time to start jogging again I think.

Try increasing the space between your hands. They should each be between 3-5 inches outside your shoulders, depending on height (I'd say try three inches and move out from there at 5'11".) If you're trying to push up with your arms "tucked in" against your body, you won't generate enough leverage to do the pushup. Another common error is that your hands are too far out in front of your body. They should be chest level, not shoulder level.

And now I want to do pushups. ^_^

[Heron TSG]

Yeah, I think they call the ones with tucked-in arms 'Navy pushups', and they are hellish.

[SalmonGod]

Yeah, I think they call the ones with tucked-in arms 'Navy pushups', and they are hellish.

I can do like 10 of them with hands right next to each other before it gets extremely uncomfortable.

[RedWarrior0]

I know a guy who can flagpole. In which he grabs a vertical piece of metal (such as a flagpole) and hangs on horizontally (like a flag in a wind)

It's crazy.

[Montague]

Try doing push-ups balanced on your knees instead of your toes. Just keep your back straight.

Putting your hands directly under your shoulders with your elbows close to your body is the "proper" form for a push-up, but you can widen out your hand placement if it makes it easier.

[MaximumZero]

Try doing push-ups balanced on your knees instead of your toes. Just keep your back straight.

Putting your hands directly under your shoulders with your elbows close to your body is the "proper" form for a push-up, but you can widen out your hand placement if it makes it easier.

I've always been told that that form is wrong. Football, wrestling, muay thai, you name it. I've always been told to take a "wider and shorter" stance. Then again, it could be because I'm wider and shorter than your average person.

[Seriyu]

Oh man I meant to try out the "wider out hands" technique last night but I forgot. I'll get to it tonight for sure, along with a lot of the other suggestions. Thanks again, everyone!