Author, fitness model, and trainer Kirk Charles, NASM-CPT CES, knows that as you get older, life can get more complicated. But that shouldn’t prevent you from being on top of your game. He’ll help to answer the tough training questions that come with age so you too can be Fit Beyond 40.
One of my clients is extremely competitive, and at 49 years old, besting his 20-year-old son is his main motivation. His son is athletic and the splitting image of him when he was 20, so my client has a constant reminder of his prime living with him.
His son challenges “the old man” to pushup contests every week or so. My client has not won that battle in the last four years and his son is widening the gap, but my client says he closes the gap every couple of weeks. He credits his greater endurance and strength to including resistance band pushups in our training sessions. By adding the bands, he’s challenged even more, thanks to accommodating resistance—when you press off the ground, the tension from the band’s stretch makes your muscles work even harder. You get a chance to make the bodyweight pushup even tougher to max out your chest without overtaxing your joints.
Before you start adding resistance bands to your own pushups, it’s best to perfect your form. To start, get into a plank position with your hands directly underneath your shoulders, screwed into the ground in a slightly externally rotated position. Look straight down at the floor to maintain proper spinal alignment, not upward and ahead of you, which could cause your spine and hips to dip down. From this plank position, squeeze your shoulder blades together to stabilize your shoulders and protect your rotator cuffs. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to stabilize your core. This is your starting position.
As you bend your arms to lower down to the floor, make sure your elbows don’t flare out more than 45 degrees. Descend to just above the ground, then push all the way back up, fully extending your elbows. Keep your shoulder blades, glutes, and abs squeezed throughout for stability.
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Add the band once you’re able to knock out 10 to 15 perfect reps without breaking a sweat. To start, get into a kneeling position and grab your band at its ends with both hands in front of you. Flip the band over your head across your back, positioned at the bottom of your shoulder blades. With the band securely in place, extend your arms out and get into the plank position, exactly as you did without using the band and go from there.
You’ll notice the pushup feels normal as you descend to the floor. However, as you push up to the top position, the resistance increases so at peak contraction you’re fighting against the band (that’s the accommodating resistance). Make sure that you don’t sacrifice your position to get out of the hole—if you find your form flagging, use a lighter band or drop it entirely.
I switch between regular and resistance bands during my own workouts. I suggest trying 5 to 10 reps with the resistance band, then immediately jumping into standard pushups and max out. Try four sets that way, three times per week, then maybe you’ll be ready to take on the young blood the next time you get challenged.
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