Since speaking of standards, Yu first listed the push-up standards of two authoritative sports institutions. Male friends can follow the map first, know where they are now, and see how far they are from their desired goals.
Two push-up test standards: the scoring standard of men's push-up test in the National Fitness Guide of the State Sports General Administration;
The standard number of exhaustive push-ups for ordinary adults in the National Physical Fitness Association (NSCA) Physical Fitness Test and Evaluation Guide;
"It doesn't look too difficult, but I can actually do it." Is that what you think? Well, before discussing the difficulty, ask yourself a question. Why should I do push-ups? Especially for middle-aged men, what is the purpose of doing push-ups? Lose weight, gain muscle, or be healthy?
Lose weight or gain muscle with push-ups, and you will be disappointed! Although strength training can achieve the effect of losing weight through small weight, multiple times, short intervals and large capacity groups, it is technically difficult and not suitable for beginners. Usually a normal strength training takes 1 to 1 half an hour. If you are a middle-aged man in your 40 s and 50 s, it is difficult to carry out high-quality training for such a long time without a fitness foundation. It is even more impossible to do push-ups for an hour in a row.
Push-ups cost about 480 kilocalories an hour, and running costs about 500 to 700 kilometers an hour. Even from the perspective of weight loss efficiency, you should do aerobic exercise instead of push-ups. In addition, push-ups are not very helpful to improve cardiopulmonary function.
So what is the effect of using push-ups to increase muscles? It can only be said that it is beneficial to the exercise of triceps brachii and pectoral muscles. It has a certain effect on increasing the circumference of chest muscles, but its effect is limited, and it is unlikely to achieve the effect of heavy equipment training. Because when doing push-ups, triceps brachii and pectoralis major only need to overcome part of their weight, and the upper weight limit is limited. On the other hand, muscle building training needs systematic resistance training to achieve the development and balance of the overall muscles and strength of the body, not just to exercise pectoralis major and triceps brachii.
Well, if you just want to be healthier, push-ups always help, right The question is, as a middle-aged man (40 or 50), how do you define "health"? For example, what you think of as "health" is to make your waistline smaller and lose your stomach by training push-ups. It is safe to say that push-ups are not as effective as jogging. In fact, many health problems of middle-aged men, such as obesity, physical decline and poor cardiopulmonary function, can be improved faster through aerobic exercise such as running. From the perspective of comprehensive benefits, running must be the most effective exercise to improve the health of most middle-aged men, rather than a single self-weight training like push-ups. So Dr. Cooper, the "father of aerobic exercise" in the United States, advocates long-distance running rather than strength training.
Should I practice push-ups? Yu Hangjun's remarks may confuse many people. Should I practice push-ups? Of course not! There is nothing wrong with push-ups, but there is something wrong with the training method of the exerciser. The realization of fitness goals (weight loss, muscle gain or better health) cannot be pinned on a single strength training action. It's like if you want to be healthier, just do a double-headed bend, which sounds a bit funny.
Whether seeking health or gaining muscle, exercisers should design a fitness plan that suits them, and then integrate push-ups into it instead of simple training. If you want to lose weight, I suggest that it is best to take long-term low-intensity aerobic exercise, and if you can cooperate with strength training such as push-ups, the effect will be better.
How many push-ups does a middle-aged man in his forties and fifties do at a time? There is no fixed formula or standard, stipulating that middle-aged men must do several push-ups at a time. The biggest health problems of middle-aged men are the inevitable aging trend and the deterioration of physical function compared with the peak of their twenties. Therefore, when restoring exercise and fitness, the most important thing is not how much an action or exercise can do, but what kind of exercise is suitable for you, which involves three aspects: exercise intensity, exercise amount and exercise frequency.
Exercise frequency, it is suggested to start from three times a week, which is the bottom line of exercise effect accumulation. The amount of exercise is limited to the feeling that the body can bear, and I feel a little tired after training. If you still feel tired in the next training, you can't maintain the original training volume and intensity, or improve on the basis of the last training, it means that you are overtraining and should reduce the volume and intensity.
Without the guidance of personal trainers or fitness experts, exercisers must find their own "degree" through their own exercises again and again, and the "degree" that suits them is not static, it will gradually change with the improvement of physical fitness. So after a period of time, it needs to be adjusted. To sum up in one sentence is "step by step".
Tip: But I really think push-ups are easy? Is it? Do this. During push-ups, the body is always in a straight line. When the body drops to the lowest position, the chest almost touches the ground and pauses for one second. Then push to the highest position, but don't stop, and then slowly lower your body. Speed and pause are the key, not times. This is much more difficult than the usual irregular push-ups!
Intermediate and advanced trainers can improve the difficulty of push-ups.
A reference fitness plan (1) includes middle-aged men in their forties and fifties jogging for 20-40 minutes every Monday and Wednesday, and then gradually extending it to 40-60 minutes. Jogging can improve heart and lung function and obviously lose weight. At the same time, for middle-aged people, comprehensive exercise has higher benefits and faster results.
(2) Arrange two self-weight trainings, which can be arranged on Thursday and Sunday. Each training includes three movements: belly roll, push-ups and in-situ squats. Each movement has 4 groups, each group has 8~ 12 times, which can be increased or decreased according to one's own ability. These three movements can be practiced to the chest, abdomen and legs, and the core strength and stability can also be greatly improved.
Note that this is a reference scheme, not a general scheme (there is no general scheme). Exercisers should adjust the intensity, frequency and amount of exercise according to their own situation and fitness goals.
Anyway, how many push-ups you do is not the point. It is the key to try and practice an exercise plan suitable for middle-aged men, and integrate strength training such as push-ups into it, and train step by step. In this way, abandoning middle-aged "greasy" is a good start!