Why We Do Pushups • Hacker News Board

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#131

Post by roundsquare » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 7:48 AM UTC

tsotha wrote: post #84

sixtofour wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people unconsciously see the stairs as a fallback method to the elevator. Stairs in a commercial building are usually minimally decorated. They're "the fire escape."

In a lot of local buildings where I live the doors are locked from the stairwell side on every floor and locked from the outside at ground level. So you can use them to go down during a fire, but you can't use them to go up.

Yeah. Having been locked in stairwells before (luckily not for too long) I don't usually take the stairs unless they are out in the open.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#132

Post by roundsquare » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 7:59 AM UTC

akronim wrote: post #81

Evgeny wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a person who starts sweating easily, so there's a high chance I'd feel at least some discomfort after. On the other hand, if the exercise is mild enough not to make me sweat, it's probably next to useless for me.

I don't think you're supposed to get fit, the benefit is more that it stops you sitting in your chair for 8 hours straight.

Nah. I think the real benefit is that they have a "victory" every few hours to keep them going.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#133

Post by StavrosK » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 8:21 AM UTC

finnomenon wrote: post #78

ehsanu1 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're strength training. In which case, you may not care to climb the stairs as they don't really further your goals.

If you are squatting heavy, as you should be doing if you are training with the goal to increase your overall strength, walking up a couple floors shouldn't be too hard of a task and I am pretty sure there are more benefits to it than it would hurt your other goals.

I can attest to the fact that stairs are a breeze to climb if you're squatting heavy, and I'm not even squatting that heavy.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#134

Post by tjogin » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 11:26 AM UTC

jcc80 wrote: post #98

brosephius wrote: post #11

we’re a tech co - meatheads are nowhere to be found so programmers can't be athletic? I'm sure that's not what he meant, but that's how it comes across. also, the idea of group pushups as a "team building" activity - seriously? that just sounds awkward and weird. not to mention that pushups are not remotely sufficient as exercise if that's all you're doing. you want to help your employees stay in shape? commit to mak…

Athletic != Meathead. I think by meathead he meant that the cast of Jersey Shore isn't coding for them.

Working hard for years to build muscle doesn't make you stupid. It makes you determined.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#135

Post by tjogin » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 11:29 AM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #130

joelrunyon wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're kidding, right?

Not at all. Look up kyphosis and upper cross syndrome. Any time you're doing strength training, you want to balance your movements. If you're doing push (presses, push-ups), do pulls (rows, pull-ups, inverted pull-ups). Work your legs and your upper body. Do bilateral and unilateral movements (single arm or leg). Do strength and cardio. Mind your exercise and your diet. Oh: and rest and recovery are also key. For man…

That might have been a risk if the team were doing bench presses, but pushups is not going to build any significant amount of muscle.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#136

Post by roel_v » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 1:17 PM UTC

checker wrote: post #109

dkarl wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Push-ups are, at-best, a difficult exercise to get right This is surprisingly true. On Monday, I tested my one-rep max on shoulder presses, which involved a couple of balls-out failures with a weight I couldn't lift. Two days later, I feel fine. The last time I tried to find out how many pushups I could do in a row, I hurt my shoulder and didn't feel right again for two weeks. I'm pretty sure on any given day I could…

I found out that doing flat-handed pushups can cause wrist pain. Pushups on bars or knuckles are much safer for the tendons!

Funnily enough, this seems to be common knowledge amongst gym instructors. Yet many of the people who routinely do pushups as part of the conditioning or warmup for indoor sports don't seem to know, even if people have been doing it for decades.

Even worse, in the cases that I'm experienced with (for various martial arts) these pushups are done on mats that make it even worse because the wrist is even more over-stretched (because the ball of the hand sinks into the soft mat, while the fingers do so less); and doing push-ups on the knuckles is considered something 'for the hard core'.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#137

Post by roel_v » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 1:19 PM UTC

cuchoperl wrote: post #23

joe_the_user wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, this approach seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Push-ups are, at-best, a difficult exercise to get right (see http://thetoptwoinches.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/100/ ). Do them in bad form and you can injure yourself. Is the team leader going to be both an expert at management AND an expert at physical education? Does the company want the lawsuits if an employee is injured exercising at the direction of th…

Are you kidding or is it true? You can get a lawsuit for this? (I don't live in the US)

I don't know where you live, but employers can be sued over many things outside of the US as well; including this, I can imagine.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#138

Post by roel_v » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 1:24 PM UTC

cema wrote: post #46

byrneseyeview wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arranged marriages are remarkably successful. People are really good at falling in love given the right context clues. Similarly, team-building exercises can be stunningly effective. The military takes a couple months to make you willing to sacrifice your life for a group of what were recently strangers.

The military takes a couple months to make you willing to sacrifice your life for a group of what were recently strangers. My experience is completely opposite. Perhaps I was in a wrong military (I was: USSR, mid-1980s), mandatory conscription, culture clash. Mandatory conscription is similar to arranged marriages, but not to how jobs are staffed, so the analogy may not hold here. In case my management decides to do…

Conscripts are not at all like 'proper' soldiers. Conscripts are just there to sit out their time. You can't compare that to training professional, actual combat-ready soldiers (i.e., not truck drivers and radio operators - although of course they all go through the same basic training.

The amount of time that is put into taking away individual identify and replacing it with a group mentality in combat troops like e.g. US Marines or Foreign Legion legionnaires is huge (from what I know of reading books and watching TV - it's not like really know anything about this).

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#139

Post by joelrunyon » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 2:07 PM UTC

dredmorbius wrote: post #130

joelrunyon wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're kidding, right?

Not at all. Look up kyphosis and upper cross syndrome. Any time you're doing strength training, you want to balance your movements. If you're doing push (presses, push-ups), do pulls (rows, pull-ups, inverted pull-ups). Work your legs and your upper body. Do bilateral and unilateral movements (single arm or leg). Do strength and cardio. Mind your exercise and your diet. Oh: and rest and recovery are also key. For man…

So you're saying balanced workouts are better than just pushups alone. I agree. But, in lieu of being able to do a full body workout at your desk, I think pushups are a good alternative to keep the blood flowing. Just be conscious to stretch occasionally.

Re: Why We Do Pushups

#140

Post by eru » Thu, Jul 21, 2011, 2:43 PM UTC

StavrosK wrote: post #133

finnomenon wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are squatting heavy, as you should be doing if you are training with the goal to increase your overall strength, walking up a couple floors shouldn't be too hard of a task and I am pretty sure there are more benefits to it than it would hurt your other goals.

I can attest to the fact that stairs are a breeze to climb if you're squatting heavy, and I'm not even squatting that heavy.

Stairs are a breeze to climb if you are even moderately fit. (Even climbing stairs will make you fit enough to climb stairs.)