Diminishing Pushups

These are great for athletes who are in-season or for anyone looking to improve strength-endurance. Here’s how Diminishing (or Depletion) Pushups work: Do… 3xAMAP – translation: 3 sets of As Many As Possible repetitions

Rest… :90 between each set

What will happen… set 1 will be a high repetition set, the second set will be approximately 50% of set 1, and set 3 will be the lowest at about 30% of set 1.

Why do them?... For athletes in-season, depletion pushups are a great way to end the training week. They are tough, but do not cause any big time fatigue or CNS drain. The big upside is that, via the total body bracing that occurs throughout, the lower body muscles will actually get stimulated and encouraged to maintain strength simply from the main working muscles. Please note that what I’m suggesting here is only appropriate for very high level athletes who are nearing the end of their competitive season. In no way am I suggesting this is an appropriate long-term way to maintain strength during the season.

For everyone else, they can be added to the end of an upper body training session to encourage upper limb conditioning, better core bracing/strength, and to achieve a pretty sick pump.