Is there a point where passing a certain rep range actually becomes detrimental?

[AdamW]

Got suckered into doing this Crossfit WOD yesterday....

20 Pushups - 1 Sit up
19 Pushups - 2 Sit ups
18 Pushups - 3 Sit ups
...
3 Pushups - 18 Sit ups
2 Pushups - 19 Sit ups
1 Pushup - 20 Sit ups

It's an insane volume of work, 210 pushups and 210 situps. By the third set of pushups, pretty much anyone on earth is trying to break the sets down into smaller groups because you're at the edge of failure, and then you have to rock out another 140 pushups after that.

Besides the fact that this is the dumbest and most poorly designed workout I've ever done (I've always thought if you're going to do some sort of "conditioning" circuit like this that you should at least try to keep a balance between the muscle groups being used, and muscular failure should not be what forces you to take breaks) is there actually any benefit at all to doing something this stupid? I'm actually concerned that this is going to hurt my progress on lifts that matter.

To me this almost compares to a long distance run except on your chest on triceps. Is there a point when using a light enough weight that after a certain amount of reps you are actually causing catabolic damage to your muscles vs. doing something productive? I really regret doing this dumbass workout, I can't believe any fucking "coach" would ever prescribe programming like this for any goal, it seems like a complete waste of time and like it does more harm than good.

[exter]

There is a pretty similar bodyweight program that has you do many sets of dips , decline push ups and incline push ups with 25 seconds of rest , that is PROVEN to work.
The problem here is that the workout doesn't take into account each one's capacities.

[Evan: Now With Food]

There is a pretty similar bodyweight program that has you do many sets of dips , decline push ups and incline push ups with 25 seconds of rest , that is PROVEN to work.
The problem here is that the workout doesn't take into account each one's capacities.

Agreed. If you're doing a running workout, you will never have a blanket recommendation of something like "3k at slow pace and 1 60m shuttle, followed by a 2k at slow pace and 2 60m shuttle..." It seems like anything else; if you're trained for it, it won't be a problem, but telling someone to do a high endurance workout sight unseen is retarded and will only get people injured.

[The Brute]

If you think it's so stupid, then why did you do it?

Anyway my response is that if you're too fragile to do some pushups(even if its 200) how are you going to get strong? I don't mean that to be offensive, just want you to step back and consider that. LOTS of guys for thousands of years have been cranking out pushups without a doubt and I don't think their arms fell off or anything. I find a good pushup workout(I like sets of ten on the minute up to 100- I know its less than 210 but I'm just saying) very refreshing once in a while. Would doing this too often hurt your recovery for barbell training? Probably. Of course you need rest for the muscles you're going to train. I just think that your body is a tough fucking machine that can handle cranking out a few pushups without "excessive catabolism". Don't sweat it so much, and if you don't like the workout, don't do it!

[wes]

210 push ups/sit ups really isn't an insane amount. I wouldn't recommend jumping straight into it, but still, there are lots of really strong people doing way more than that on a daily basis. It seems to be working pretty well for guys in prison.

[AdamW]

I guess ultimately my question is this:

After recovering from something like this, would you expect your strength for a set of 5 on the bench to improve or would it be worse?

I don't know if I've ever met anyone who could crank out a set of 200 pushups nor seen one online that wasn't a skinny endurance athlete. My bench isn't mindblowing but my max is around 335 and a set of 40 pushups is about the limit for me. After that every single set reached failure and I had to stop and rest and go to failure again a few times within that same set to reach the required numbers.

It didn't seem as bad on paper, if I had realized how stupid it actually was I wouldn't have done it. I will accept all blame for being a moron! I still hit my overhead press 3x5 at 162.5 the following day though, even though I can still barely wash myself in the shower, hah...

[Bryan Kemper]

I'm sorry, but I really don't see what the issue was with this workout. Yes, you had to do 210 push-ups in one workout. You did not have to do 210 push-ups in one set without a break. With each round you were doing fewer and fewer push-ups interspersed with more and more situps.

Bottom line, if it is not within your training goals, then don't do it. If you don't like it, don't do it.

[FKYT]

It might affect your recovery a little, but keep in mind it's just one workout. I'd be surprised if you lost much strength, if any.

[AdamW]

I'm sorry, but I really don't see what the issue was with this workout. Yes, you had to do 210 push-ups in one workout. You did not have to do 210 push-ups in one set without a break. With each round you were doing fewer and fewer push-ups interspersed with more and more situps.

Bottom line, if it is not within your training goals, then don't do it. If you don't like it, don't do it.

You are doing 20 pushups, then about 3 seconds rest, 19 pushups, then about 4 seconds rest, 18 pushups and then about 4-5 seconds rest, etc. That's already 57 pushups with basically no rest, and there is rest in the third set just out of necessity because my muscles reached failure. So after that you are pushing yourself to do 60 sets or more to failure again because all the other sets have to get broken up mid set as well due to fatigue.

Is doing 60+ sets to failure on any exercise within a 20 minute time frame actually productive for ANY goal is another way of asking my question I suppose. This thread isn't meant to be about my training goals or situation, just a general question with an example.

[tfarny]

You are doing 20 pushups, then about 3 seconds rest, 19 pushups, then about 4 seconds rest, 18 pushups and then about 4-5 seconds rest, etc. That's already 57 pushups with basically no rest, and there is rest in the third set just out of necessity because my muscles reached failure. So after that you are pushing yourself to do 60 sets or more to failure again because all the other sets have to get broken up mid set as well due to fatigue.

Is doing 60+ sets to failure on any exercise within a 20 minute time frame actually productive for ANY goal is another way of asking my question I suppose. This thread isn't meant to be about my training goals or situation, just a general question with an example.

You should have rested more between sets? They tell you to leave reps in the tank at crossfit. Sounds like a crappy workout to pay $ for that you could have done in a prison cell, but beyond that I don't get the negativity. My worst cfit workout was 40 hang snatches and 40 double unders for time, just after we had barely learned both movements. I forget the sets and rep scheme, but it was a lot dumber than a bunch of calisthenics.