About a year ago before i started working out with weights i started doing push ups and could do about 40. I stopped working out or doing push ups until about a month ago and although i have got stronger i tried doing push ups the other day and could only just do 30 (not part of my workout). Is this anything to worry about?

How many push ups can you guys do and how much can you bench?

Would a guy that benches 800lb be able to do alot of push ups or is it different because he is not training for stamina? Although as you get stronger and get a heavier bench shorly you would be able to lift a lighter weight for loads of reps. For example when people see how many times they can lift 220lbs and they lift it 40 times they can bench a heavy weight, right?

This seems to be the opposite of whats happening to me but on a smaller scale.

Sorry for going on about it so much but its really bugging me

when you get up there above 20 on the reps, its more of endurance and how long your muscles can keep going strong. i find that increasing bench makes pushups easier.

in your case, you gained some strength and lost some endurance. but if your trying to get big and strong, who cares if you cant do 40 pushups?

If you stopped working out then you probaly lost some muscle. If i work out for a month and can bench 150, then take a month off you can expect to bench 150 again. Dont worry about how many pushups you can do compared to other people, just hit the compounds hard.

Strength and strength endurance are two different subjects. The do both affect eachother to some extent, but indirectly. If your goal is to do lots of push ups, the the moajority of your workouts should consist of an increasing volume of push ups over time. Then one day a week, go for a strength workout using a compound press. Bench won't help for push ups as much as another press involving more of the shoulder as well as the peck. The push up uses shoulders as well, so you pick.

I know I havn't lost muscle because I now weigh 76kg compared to 62kg when I was working out before and I know I've got taller but not alot plus people tell me that I look bigger and i'm sure i havn't got fatter (more defined if anything). Could it be that i havn't done any cardio for ages?

Well i want to get bigger so i guess i won't bother with doing the push ups and just stick to benching. If I don't do push ups will muscles get weaker? I'm doing Defrancos workout for skinny bastards if that makes any difference.

your muslces wont get weaker if you switch to benching. pushups and bench work the same muscles in general and as long as you keep increasing bench, your muscles are just getting stronger.

oh, and since you gained weight, that might also add to why you cant do 40 pushups anymore.

If you can bench press 500lbs one time, why could you do 40 pushups at 170lbs? Strength is not equal endurance. You're using completely different energy systems.

Thanks for all the help I understand it now

Just out of curiosity if I keep benching low reps will I only be able to perform low rep sets no matter how much i can bench?

E.g. for the NFL combine test where you have to see how many times you can bench 220lbs would you have to start benching higher reps?

You should train for what you will be doing. If you have to bench lots of reps at 220lbs, then you should be benching at a slightly higher weight for reps.
Like previously stated earlier, you need basic strength to perform, but strength endurance does not = strength. Once you have a general level of strength, you should be training specifically for your task > push ups or bench reps or running 10 miles... whatever it is.

I agree; at the combine when I was squatting from 135 reps I couldn't get more then 23 not because it was getting heavy but because I was running out of breath.

And if you wan't to incoporate lots of pushups in your workout look up Westside for Skinny Bastards. It has a repetition upper body workout where you can do all the pushups you wanna do.

Are you an athlete? and if so are you in season right now. I found Defrancos is better designed for athletes currently in season, that really cant handle practice everyday while maintaining a hard fullbody workout. I did defrancos for a while, but didn't find it that challenging because i wasnt in season and it wasnt enough. id recomend a fullbody if you really want a challenge