Being told my form is improper no matter how hard I try, really zapping my confidence

[MikeyTheGreat]

Hey, I grew up not doing any sports or any physical activity my entire life. I have a physical disability, and I feel that no matter how hard I try and force my body to get into correct exercise form, I will never succeed. I grew up not believing in the whole "practice makes perfect" thing. It seems that whenever I'm doing a pushup in front of somebody, I'm told "you are doing it all wrong" and no matter how hard I try to correct my body, I am still doing it wrong. Is it possible that I just have the physical inability to gain any muscle?

Also, whenever I have tried any dumbbell work before, the dumbbells are extremely wobbily, like I'm going to hurt somebody. I feel like I'm about to give up any type of exercise. What is the point of being strong and healthy for me, all efforts seem worthless.

I would really like some insight and suggestions. I hope I don't get teased because I know some people on here get picked on for being "different".

[WolfRose7]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/index.php check out the dumbell routine here, if you can access a gym check out the full body novice one.

Start as light as you need too in order to do the movement properly. if that means doing incline pushups (hands on a bench) to reduce difficulty that's fine.
Building muscle will take time consistency and a decent diet. good routine helps a lot too.

And don't believe anyone who says you can't do it, including yourself . it might/ will be hard, you might have to spend some time getting the basics before adding weight, but you can get wherever you want to mate

[tylerfresh]

Sometimes your form will be off as well because of an injury or something else. I have a buddy of mine who competes, and he's huge but he's been having a lot of elbow pain lately so any type of heavy press really hurts him so he winds up doing a lot of half reps so that he can still get the work in. Don't worry about what anyone else says. It's hard to have perfect form and as long as you're working on it you're fine.

[vampborn]

Hey, I grew up not doing any sports or any physical activity my entire life. I have a physical disability, and I feel that no matter how hard I try and force my body to get into correct exercise form, I will never succeed. I grew up not believing in the whole "practice makes perfect" thing. It seems that whenever I'm doing a pushup in front of somebody, I'm told "you are doing it all wrong" and no matter how hard I try to correct my body, I am still doing it wrong. Is it possible that I just have the physical inability to gain any muscle?

Also, whenever I have tried any dumbbell work before, the dumbbells are extremely wobbily, like I'm going to hurt somebody. I feel like I'm about to give up any type of exercise. What is the point of being strong and healthy for me, all efforts seem worthless.

I would really like some insight and suggestions. I hope I don't get teased because I know some people on here get picked on for being "different".

I actually started lifting and doing push-ups at around age 24 as well. When I used to watch my older brother lift weights - he always had better form than me, and it did make me want to give up and not try. Perseverance, consistency, and integrity can be your tools to make you the supreme mother****er. I used to read for hours on this very forum to absorb the bodybuilding and powerlifting knowledge to build myself a good body. It comes down to your physical activity, exercise, and attention to nutrition on a daily basis. And as far as 'perfect form' - there is none. It's like chasing the concept of happiness in life. We all have different limb proportions, torso sizes, hip sizes, etc. Thus when I squad, bench press, deadlift, push-ups, or pull-up it's going to look different than someone elses. You can improve your form by lifting for years. When you get injured - avoid the thing you did that got you injured. It's like research and development.

And you may have tiny fragile wrists (as I do). But lifting is about going around any obstacles. I tape the **** out of my wrists and have sleeves and wraps, etc. Generally all joint point can be taken care of with athletic tape.

Your first push-up will be ugly. Number 5,000 might be ugly too, but once you've done half a million push-ups, you'll know how every part of the body should feel. I do pull-ups with added weight of 25lb-70lb, and your average person struggles with pull-ups. It's because they can't use their lats correctly. So a good part of understanding lifting and form for me, is learning anatomy, and where each muscle is strongest and weakest. The words passive insufficiency is something that occurs when you're at a poor angle.

So for sure read some books - study anatomy - be consistent with lifting. Please do not play your 'disabled' card. And do not be ****ing stupid, for **** sake. Don't ever think, "Is it possible that I just have the physical inability to gain any muscle?" ****ing google it because the answer is no. Stop failing, and start trying.

[okayest]

I have several dysfunctions from a pretty bad accident. It was very hard getting in shape in the beginning. Being able to simply do exercises with good from and no weight was a long struggle itself. It took about 8 months to get my squat good enough to add the bar and over a year to finally perfect that. Be prepared to be extremely patient and determined. And when something isn't working for you and is leading to frustration learn to back off and try a different approach. Force is not a good approach. Maybe get help from a medically trained physical therapist.

[Bettabez]

My suggestion is you improve your defeatist attitude before you worry about improving your push-up form.

[TJP33]

Really think your problem is in strength and coordination..
train bodyweight explosive movements- look for plyometrics athletes use, all of which can be adjusted to fit your physical abilities.

this takes time and consistency- a poor attitude will be a breaker. 24 years old you need to mentally toughen up.
think the anti bully cry got a bit exaggerated- those conflicts when young taught us to toughen up and how to deal with things life will handle.

[ChristianMR]

From the sound of your dumbbell "wobbling," your stabilizers are weak. Keep at it, and you'll improve. It's that simple. Your push-up form will also improve with practice.

[tlshilling]

You won't be picked on for being different. If anything you'll get "picked on" for your piss poor attitude. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and put in the work to improve. No one can do it for you.

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From the sound of your dumbbell "wobbling," your stabilizers are weak. Keep at it, and you'll improve. It's that simple. Your push-up form will also improve with practice.

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[GhandiGains]

Mikey -

Search for Athlean-X on Youtube. The guy is a physical therapist, personal trainer, and is very smart. He can teach you about the function of each muscle, how to best contract it, and ultimately how best to grow it. Go get your learn on.

[Nubygaines]

Have you looked at YouTube? What is your disability? Thing about push-ups is ya ask 5 diff people they'll often all be wrong