571 - (FREE TO READ) 100 pushups: Strength and conditioning for older trainees

Questions about maximising recuperation for conditioning and survival fight training.

Aug 20, 2025

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(Name removed) is a private student of mine, he is 70 and in very good shape for a man his age as you will see below. Very low body fat and follows a meat only diet.

I’m proud to have a trainee this committed to coach, one who shows up, practices, and maintains excellent physical health as a way of life for himself.

He shared the following achievement, one that has young men in the gym he attends, stopping what they’re doing to comment on never having seen someone do that many pushups:

By email :

“Just hit the 100 pushups today, I'm well pleased with that, it's been my target for a few years 🎉”

Jeth - Great work - well done! Was it straight through? In chunks as volume? Have you had a specific strategy/ protocol for getting there?

“All in one go. On fists and touching sternum on upended 8" dumbbell
with each dip. I've been working up to it for ages. I could do 75 a few months ago,
then 85, then 90 twice recently. I think it's that strategy you suggested of doing gym less often that's made the difference. It gives muscles and joints time to
repair. I was doing weights every 2 or 3 or 4 days but now cut it back
to 5 or 6 or more. I suppose that's the way to go. So long as I can
make the numbers I don't need to do any more or more often. Good
advice, thanks.”

(Name removed) provided a print out of his regular training regimen and I said I’d take a look at it with a view to pushing strength and conditioning while also looking to increase rest and recuperation and help improve energy levels which were stated as having been a bit low recently.

“Gym work: I was doing this every 2 or 3 days but backed off lately to rest:

Warm up: 5 kg light DB curls

Standing bicep curls: 10kg, 60 reps each arm in turn, sometimes max to 70+

Situps: 20 degree incline bench, 120 reps, sometimes max to 150

DB shoulder press on 20 degree bench, 10kg for 50 reps

Squats: with 10kg DB held to front for balance.

Push ups: on fists with 8” DB touching to sternum, 60 reps, max is 90

(Now, exceeded to 100 - Jeth)

Bend strong spring in the gym for chest, 30 reps max of 40.

Pool: swimming 3 or 4 times per week. 15 mins mild to moderate effort.

Just started swimming early morning most days, see how it goes.

Other stuff:

Pull up bar 10 + reps at random times at home

Heavy bag -random practice at home

walk 1.4 miles to town and back most days, sometimes twice”

Here below is a suggested possible routine for consideration to maximise rest and recuperation. I considered several methods to use, I thought I would suggest this one first to see how you get on.

I’ll list the details of resistance sections first and then add a few notes at the end. Jeth

Specifics:

Resistance sections to mostly use an approximate % of 1RM: 60 – 75%

You’ll need to play around for a while and find the max that you can handle and then work at the above percentage of it for the required reps, which are:

Rep range: 6 – 12

Sets: 2–3 sets per exercise

The exact set and rep counts can vary based on fitness level for various movements and how you customise each session, but the focus is on high intensity with fewer sets to prioritise recovery and minimise joint stress.

Performance: Like I discussed at last night’s workshop, slow, controlled reps (3–4 seconds eccentric, 1–2 seconds concentric) to maximise time-under-tension, so about 40–70 seconds per set or so. Muscles fibres also fire differently during the eccentric phase and you can take advantage of that too.

Rest: 60–90 seconds between sets to maintain muscle engagement without excessive fatigue.

Session length: aim for approximately 45 mins or so of quality practice (60 mins is the upper limit).

Frequency: 2 days per week. As you’ve mentioned energy issues previously, I’d go for a conservative 2 day, full body version of this with activity days as active rest.

Training schedule:

Conservative: 2 days per week (e.g., Monday and Thursday and a repeated full body program – exercises could be swapped around for variety if you must but the the full body is worked in both sessions).

Tues, Wed, Friday, Sat, Sun – active rest days – martial training (technical on Tuesdays and also sparring sessions worked in too), any manual jobs that need doing, swimming, activities, walking etc. Aim to do something every day and don’t worry too much about the length, just live life. If you feel tired one day, ease off.

Feel free to do random chins and bag at home as you have been.

Progress:

don’t weigh yourself– use a mirror, and general biofeedback/ energy levels, mood, improvement in martial practice ability, lessening of aches and pains and increased perception of quality of life. I tend to find that muscle gain gain be sensed immediately with increased appetite!

Ideas:

Start each session with gentle progressive mobilisation movements

warm up : jogging on spot, shadow boxing etc.

For the main section of each session, favour longevity/ autonomy oriented compound resistance movements for legs, hips and back. These will help share stress between muscle groups as you perform movements.

Try alternatives to high stress free weight movements like Deadlift, Back Squat and Bench Press that still give conditioning but without wearing the body the same way. Choose one of the following per body area each session and go for it:

Chest:

Push ups, try adding bands for resistance, a light weighted rucksack etc

cable machine?

Static holds

Back:

inverted rows from a bar or rings – use angle to increase resistance. These will help to counter balance the push up volume.

chins

back bridges

Legs:

Single leg Romanian deadlift (dumbell etc) – this move will also work lower back and hips.

Squats –

bodyweight - , add a resistance with a close-held dumbell or kettlebell, hug an object like a bag or wear a rucksack. This move will also push heart and lungs at higher reps (sets of 20 plus). I do 1 set of 55 reps every day as a morning “wake up” (I’m 55, as I age that number will increase).

Static holds for time.

Calf raises:

use sets of high reps and place at the end of the exercise session as they will impede other leg movements if tired.

Shoulders:

Presses with resistance bands

static DB holds

Full body:

carry heavy dumbells for distance or time.

Cool down with gentle stretching.

How to progress:

Every 2 -4 weeks, if a particular movement feels easier then slight increase one of the following. Focus should always be on form and quality rather than hitting higher weights!

Resistance: add a small increment to the weight. the smaller the jumps that you make, the less likely it will be for form to degrade.

Increasing Reps: If adding weight is not feasible (e.g., equipment limitations or form concerns), increase reps within the 6–12 range. For example, progressing from 6 to 8 reps per set while maintaining the same weight and tempo.

Increasing Time-Under-Tension: Slower Tempo: slow the eccentric phase further (e.g., from 3–4 seconds to 5–6 seconds) or pause briefly at the midpoint of the rep to increase muscle tension without changing weight or reps.

Improving Form and Control:Qualitative Progression: As you become stronger, focus on stricter form, fuller range of motion, or better “feel”, which increases the quality of muscle activation without changing weight or reps.

Increasing Sets is possible but should be a last resort as it will lengthen sessions and increase taxation on the nervous system thus affecting recovery.

Exercise Variation: You could swap a movement for a slightly more complicated one and increase intensity that way?

Training this way can help to lower your cortisol levels throughout the week and aid relaxation and recovery. This is especially true as the focus on slow, controlled, quality reps will encourage better breath patterns and thus leave you with less tension even after you have finished the session.

Thanks for sharing your program and for the opportunity to look at possible alternatives. Jeth

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