Push ups or Bench Press ? Which are better

imfocused · Post by **imfocused** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:50 am

I am a big guy (326 lbs was 340 6'3 ) so its hard for me to do push ups i can only get about 5 then i have to switch to my knees. I was told that because of my size I should just do push-ups instead of the bench that i would get stronger faster. Any advise would be great im currently doing thing Abs diet and i love it just trying to get my chest workout down.

Post by **TimD** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:19 am

Well, they are similar, but not the same. You can get a much greater ROM with bench pressing, and can adjust weight. Why not do both? Do one of them in one session, and another in another, or maybe combine them in the same session.
Tim

skinnyman · Post by **skinnyman** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:28 am

the A.C.S.M. guidlines for 2005 say

There is no evidence that any one exercise is better than any other exercise for a specific muscle group. There is no evidence that performing an exercise a specific way such as on a stability ball produces better outcomes for strength or endurance than if the exercise is performed in another way. The exercises are simply different.

So why not do one when you get tired of the other? here is a link to where i found this info. http://ageless-athletes.com/acsm_new_stand.shtml

DJDaddyK · Post by **DJDaddyK** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 3:40 pm

Well the main difference is that pushups will really work your whole body (including core muscles), whereas bench press and the like are more focused on chest, shoulders and arms. So it sort of depends what you are going for. As others have said, they are different, no reason not to do both...
Steve

imfocused · Post by **imfocused** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 3:57 pm

Thanks for the feed back. im trying to lose weight and get rid of these man breast so i figured the more muscle i build in that area the more fat i will lose. plus im not that strong on the weight bench about 185 max so i figured i was told i'll be lifting more in body weight making me stronger. Right now im just doing the bench and after that doing as many push ups as i can normally and then when i cant get any more switching to my knees.

Matt Z · Post by **Matt Z** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:37 am

Sounds like a good plan. That way you can warm up with less than bodyweight before moving on to pushups. I'm actually thinking of trying something similar with Incline Bench Presses and Parallel Bar Dips.

DJDaddyK · Post by **DJDaddyK** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:18 pm

imfocused wrote: im trying to lose weight and get rid of these man breasts ...

Yeah screw that Abs Diet what we need is a Man Breast Diet lol...
Steve :-)

Post by **Ironman** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 8:53 am

Amen to that. When I was at my most fat (about 48%), I was at least a C cup. Now at 14%, I still have a little squish there. I'm going to have to shave a couple more points off to get rid of the boobs all together. I hate having fat there more then anywhere else.