All athletes are divided into two categories: those who practice to set a new record and outdo their rivals, and people who do not need to prove anything to anyone, because sport for them is just a hobby. This time we will look at the first category of athletes, namely athletes who work with their own weight. Some of them set a record for push-ups on the floor in one set without stopping, another did push-ups for 24 hours on his fists. One way or another, they all have one thing in common - an incredible passion for victory and phenomenal endurance.
It is noteworthy that the history of sports knows many types of push-ups, some of which we could not even imagine. That is why there are a large number of records in the world that will remain insurmountable for a long time.
You will find out everything yourself now, but first we will tell you what rules all the athletes followed so that their achievements were officially recorded.
How to do push-ups correctly to set a record?
For those who want to set a record for the most number of push-ups, it is necessary to follow the most basic rules in order for the repetitions to count. When performing push-ups, your palms should be shoulder-width apart, and your body and knees should remain straight.
For a full repetition, the torso must be lowered to a position where the angle at the elbow reaches 90 degrees, and then rise to the starting position and straighten your arms. This is the real push-up.
Using the same principle, you can do push-ups on one hand, on your fingertips, or even on one finger. It all depends on the abilities and intentions of the athlete.
Correct technique
Starting position - plank with outstretched arms.
Shoulders pressed to the body, shoulder blades slightly retracted, chest facing forward, gaze down, neck in a neutral position. The body seems to be elongated in a straight line, the toes and tailbone stretch back. Do not lift your pelvis too high and do not lower it too low. As you inhale, slowly lower yourself down (but without touching the floor). Try to feel the muscles of your chest and arms working. Hold for one to two seconds at the bottom, tensing your abdominal muscles. Make sure to keep your back straight and your body in a straight line.
As you exhale, push your hands off the floor and slowly (in 2-5 seconds) lift your body up as much as possible, returning to the starting position. During this phase you should also feel your triceps, shoulders and upper back working.
Technology errors
When doing push-ups, it is important to monitor the position of your shoulders - placing your arms too wide without the ability to tense the muscles of the shoulder girdle will create a dangerous load on the shoulder joint, which can cause injury. Beginners are recommended to do push-ups with a narrow arm position, pressing their elbows to the body.
Another common mistake is incorrect distribution of the load on the palm - the weight should be distributed evenly over its entire surface, and not just on the wrist. This is especially important for those who work a lot at the computer - overuse of the wrists can cause pain.
World record for push-ups in one set
So, let's move on to the records, many of which simply boggle the mind.
The first world record for the number of push-ups without stopping was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records on October 5, 1965. Its author was an American named Charles Linster, who managed to do 6006 repetitions in one approach. Due to the fact that he became the first person to set a record of this kind, he was nicknamed the Godfather of push-ups.
However, Linster's record was broken a decade later - on February 5, 1976. Its author was an American named Robert Lewis Knecht, who managed to make 7026 repetitions.
However, the very next year this result was surpassed by another dedicated American, Henry Marshall, who did 7,650 non-stop push-ups.
The last person to achieve the highest number of push-ups in one approach was the Japanese Minoru Yoshida. In 1980, he completed 10,507 reps without stopping. It's quite hard to believe, but that's how it happened.
It is worth noting that after the above results, the Guinness Book of Records stopped recording records for the number of push-ups at a time. This category was changed to the highest number of repetitions in 24 hours, allowing athletes to take breaks during this time.
The new rules have made the process of setting records safer, but many athletes believe that the most terrible achievement is still the number of repetitions in one approach.
By the way, among women there is also a record for the number of push-ups at a time. Its author is Mia Hepburn, who managed to do 808 repetitions in one approach on January 27, 2017 at the Canadian Golden Tiger kung fu school.
Deck of Pain
Take a regular deck of 52 cards. Assign one exercise (or variation thereof) to each of the four suits. For example:
- clubs - push-ups;
- peaks - pull-ups;
- tambourines - squats;
- worms - straight leg lift.
Draw cards from the deck. Suit - type of exercise, value - number of repetitions. Jack, queen, king - 10 repetitions, ace - 11. Don't stop until the deck runs out.
Finish with 10 repetitions of burpees.
World record for most push-ups in 24 hours
So, let's move on to another category of push-ups, which is given a whole 24 hours. The record in this area was set by the American Charles Servicio, who performed 46,001 repetitions in April 1993. By the way, it took him 21 hours and 6 minutes.
Photo @TheOfficialPushUpHallOfFame, facebook
Juarez Valley Method
They say that prisoners in the Mexican Juarez Valley prison (one of the most dangerous prisons in the world) used this exercise scheme.
Choose an exercise. During each cycle you will do only one exercise. Let's say push-ups.
The cycle consists of 20 sets. The repetition scheme looks like this:
- set 1 - 20 repetitions;
- set 2 - 1 repetition;
- set 3 - 19 repetitions;
- set 4 - 2 repetitions;
- set 5 - 18 repetitions;
- set 19 - 11 repetitions;
- set 20 - 10 repetitions.
That is, for the first odd number you give 20 repetitions and with each new odd number you reduce the number of repetitions by 1. With even numbers it’s the other way around: you start with 1 repetition and with each new number you increase their number. A total of 210 repetitions.
Between sets, take 5-10 steps to rest, then return to the exercises. The goal is to complete the cycle as early as possible.
World record for most push-ups in an hour
The record holder in this category was Indian Bijender Singh. In 1988, he managed to do 3,877 push-ups, but this figure was recorded only in the Limca Book of Records - this is the Indian version of the Guinness Book of Records.
By the way, according to her version, the record holder is the doorman Roman Dosenbach, who did 2,393 push-ups on November 29, 2016. This, of course, is significantly less than Singh’s, but also quite a lot.
Among women in this category, the record belongs to American Alicia Weber, who in August 2011 did 1020 push-ups in an hour. She also holds the record for the largest number of push-ups in 30 minutes - 829 times and in 10 minutes - 450 times.
However, the record for the most push-ups in three minutes among women was set not by Weber, but by an athlete from the Czech Republic, Renata Hamplova, who managed to do 190 repetitions in 1995.
Military push-ups[edit | edit code]
Push-ups are an integral part of physical training in the military, and in many armies around the world, soldiers are forced to perform this classic exercise on a daily basis. In the military, push-ups are part of the standard military fitness assessment program.
There may be no better indicator of upper body strength than the ability to do push-ups, which is probably why special forces proudly use advanced variations of push-ups to test their strength.
Other records and record holders
One of the main push-up record holders is Canadian Doug Pruden, who at one time managed to set 13 Canadian national records and nine world records. For example, he once did 1,382 push-ups in 30 minutes on one arm, as well as 546 push-ups on one arm in ten minutes.
In 2008, Doug did 1,025 push-ups in one hour on the back of one hand, 5,557 push-ups in 3 hours and 2 minutes, and 1,000 push-ups in 18 minutes.
There are also records that were set using one finger. One of its authors is the British Paul Lynch, who back in April 1992 did 124 continuous push-ups on only one finger.
But even this is not the end of the push-up records. Some of them are so unusual that they are truly hard to believe. For example, once an Austrian named Johann Schneider was able to do 112 push-ups while leaning on raw chicken eggs. It is not entirely clear how this is even possible, but the fact is a fact.
A similar record belongs to a Canadian named Darryl Leary. In 2012, he went on a British morning show and did eight push-ups on one arm while leaning on a raw egg.
The Chechen boy Rakhim Kuriev deserves special attention in the world of push-ups, who at the age of five was able to set several world records in his age group.
He did 3,202 push-ups in two and a half hours, 2,559 push-ups in two hours, 2,000 push-ups in an hour and a half, 1,419 in an hour, 1,000 in 40 minutes and 3,000 in 2 hours and 22 minutes.
It is also impossible to ignore the record set by Georgian soldier Temur Dadiani, who lost both legs during a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
Dadiani managed to complete 37 push-ups in 38.25 seconds using only his hands, keeping his body horizontal without support. This exercise is called planche.
As a result, Temur became the first person to set such a record, because the planche is a very rare and complex gymnastic element that only a few can perform.
To get into the Guinness Book of Records, he had to do at least 10 push-ups, but he did a whopping 37 repetitions.
What is a push-up[edit | edit code]
Push-ups
Are you haunted by memories of how your school physical education teacher ordered you to lie on the floor and “do another ten”? Push-ups don't have to be an unpleasant chore and, to be honest, they can be a lot of fun and extremely rewarding. This is probably why the humble push-up has remained an indispensable basic exercise in strength training for so many years, especially in the physical training of military personnel. Push-ups not only develop the upper and middle parts of the body as a whole, but also provide an effective workout for the heart.
The push-up is a compound strength exercise in which a person, in a horizontal, face-down position, lifts and lowers the body using the arms. This versatile exercise allows you to simultaneously work out several muscle groups and involves rotational movements of two or more joints. Most compound exercises are designed to build the core strength needed to perform everyday activities, and push-ups are no exception. Moreover, this is the most elementary, but at the same time the most effective type of exercise.
A quick search on the Internet will reveal literally dozens of varieties of push-ups. For the sake of simplicity, this program focuses on the traditional technique where you assume a straight arms position with only your palms and feet touching the floor. More complex variations can be performed to work specific muscle groups and increase the load.
Note. If you are currently unable to do standard push-ups, check out the prep program to find some of the lighter alternatives. Completing these exercises will allow you to achieve a baseline level of fitness so you can move on to a seven-week training plan.
And one more point worthy of attention. The basic push-up technique requires no equipment other than your hands, a solid surface to lean on, and your own body weight. Push-ups can be performed anywhere there is a hard surface, making them a great exercise for building overall upper body strength. There are many variations of push-ups to suit a variety of specific needs.
On May 18, 1986, Chong Kwan of China performed 2,750 atomic handstand push-ups. On July 6, 2006, another Chinese man, six-year-old Lu Di, managed to complete 10 thousand push-ups in 3 hours and 20 minutes.
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I also want to set a record, what should I do?
Push-ups are one of the most competitive exercises in the history of sports. Only pull-ups can be compared to them, but the difficulty of performing them lies in the fact that not everywhere there is a horizontal bar.
In order to do a push-up, you just need to lower yourself to the floor, take a lying position and start. If you want to improve your push-up skill, we have a detailed guide on how to do 100 push-ups in one set in six weeks. Believe me, this will help you.
- Fitness 100 push-ups in 6 weeks: a program that will get you in shape
- Author: Dmitry Petrosyants
What happened in the beginning[edit | edit code]
The history of the origin of push-ups is not entirely clear, although some well-known variations of this exercise have been used since time immemorial. According to one version, push-ups as we know them today were the result of combining two yoga poses: Downward Dog and Upward Dog. The history of yoga goes back more than 3 thousand years.
Early examples of this exercise can be found in Indian culture, where many hundreds of repetitions of Indian push-ups, or dandas, are part of the training program for wrestlers. Dandas allow athletes to build enormous power in the upper body, develop endurance, and have been used in the national Indian wrestling Kushti for a long time. It is said that the legendary Pahlavan, the Great Gama, the most famous champion in the history of kushti wrestling, performed 2 thousand dandas every morning.
Tyson squats
Tyson followed this program while he was in prison.
- Place 10 cards face down in a row on the floor so that the distance between them is approximately 10 cm.
- Stand near the first card, crouch down and pick it up.
- Hold the first card, take a step towards the second card. Sit down and place the card you just picked up on top of the second card. Now you don’t have a single card left in your hands, and two cards are lying on top of each other.
- Sit down and take the top card.
- Sit down again and take the second card.
- Take a step towards the third card, sit down and place one of the cards on the card on the floor. Now sit down again and place the second card on top of them.
- Sit down several times and pick up three cards, one at a time.
- Take a step to the fourth card and repeat these steps until you reach the end of the row.
