Weighted pushups; also, approach to workouts

[nisora33]

Got a couple of questions for you.

One concerns the weighted pushup, which I?ve been doing because I like that it works the whole body more and because the bench press has always bothered my shoulders (yes, even doing them as you describe in SS). Since it involves me working against my bodyweight?albeit to a lesser degree than the chinup-- rapid weight gain will affect my ability to go up in weight or even stay at the same amount of weight in plates, right? Granted, I?m also biasing my workouts more toward the development of the Press, instead of alternating them with the pushup, doing the Press twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, and the pushup only on Wednesdays.

Second, I?ve noticed that making jumps?take the squat, for example?are sometimes easier or more difficult depending on the workout. I can go up twenty or thirty pounds over a couple of weeks without feeling like I?m struggling any more than normal, when, suddenly, the next jump will feel EXTREMELY difficult, and my form will suffer a little. The approach I?ve taken in the past is to just repeat that workout the next session, then attempt to go up again. Am I obsessing too much, should I just plow forward without missing a beat?

Many thanks.
-Stacey

P.S. Signed up for the Amelia Island barbell certification in November. Looking forward to it!

[Mark Rippetoe]

I don't see a question in your pushup discussion. It looks like a reasonable approach. And your judgement about an increase between workouts will always be based on the way the workout goes that day. If in your opinion there is a good reason to stay at a weight, stay there.

[nisora33]

Sorry, I haven't been making progress on my pushups for a while, and it didn't dawn on me that my weight might have something to do with it until the other day, when I was doing pushups and my bellyfat was flopping against the floor a little (have almost hit 200 lbs at 5' 9 1/2"). Now I think that I should just be patient, I'm making progress even if the weight on my back isn't going up.