Pushups (Situps) Daily or every other day?

 I have found that I suck at pushups and situps!!

Not that I was every "good" at them but I used to not actually care, I KNEW at 355 lbs that was not something I did.

But at 222, I really feel that I should be able to "drop and give me 10" !?

I found this out at my Krav Maga class, I almost immediately have to drop to knees style pushups and for situps I have to use my arms to hook my legs and help to pull myself up.


So... I thought I was stronger than this...but.... wanted to see what others are doing?  Should I start doing them daily to build up or allow a day of rest in between?



I can do 20 incline (45 degrees) pushups, which I think is good / allows for more repetitions... build up towards doing them at lower angles until I can do them normal?

Any similar suggestions on building up for situps?

Doing them every day never hurt a Navy Seal. I still do close grip pushups on chest day by putting a bar on the bottom rung of a rack. They're easier on the wrist that way.

Here's a good book you might want to check out. I think there's a DVD too. For those that want to get better at bodyweight exercises.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Naked-Warrior-Pavel-Tsatsouline/dp/0938045555/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335405467&sr=8-1

Good luck.

Sit ups are one of the least effective exercises out there. There are tons of better things you can be doing to strenghten your core that are a better choice such as squats and lunges.

I would put a rest day between pushups and forget the situps. Planks and heavy squats and deadlifts will do so much more for your core.

 I guess the situp part comes from the fact we do them in class quite a bit in our warmup, sometimes as buddy where you bump fists for each rep OR, throw a couple punches at the top of each rep.

Will the other core builders allow you to do the above or is the "situp motion" going to be needed to be able to do this?

IOW, will squats, planks, deadlifts and such allow me to do situps easier?  I am all for a solid core and realize that is critical...

(I have to go look up what a plank is, and exactly what a deadlift looks like)

Thx for the advice folks!!  I did 2 sets of 20 reps each of incline pushups yesterday, plus another 10 or so kneeling (and 2 or so "normal")

Only about 10ish or so situps, maybe 15...

(Are "crunches" just as effective as situps?  They seem easier which makes me think they are not doing as much)