I mix it up
I've seen my pushup capacity improve dramatically over the past year. I've gone from being able to do barely 8 boy pushups, to being able to do two sets of twelve boy pushups. But I still can't do every pushup perfectly, that is, down to the floor. Sometimes if I try to do that, it'll hurt my back, which is not a good thing.
But, I feel like "boy" (no knees on floor) pushups done as far as I can go are more challenging than "girl" pushups (knees on floor) done to the floor. So I usually try to do as many as I possibly can the boy style before moving to the girl style. Sometimes, though, I'll do a second half of a set of pushps that are full, complete, and girl style. So sometimes I'm pushing myself to increase capacity, sometimes I'm making sure I get the full arm workout that comes with going all the way to the ground.
I think maybe we should clarify "compromising form." I think not going so deep (close to the ground) is not necessarily compromising form. That is, you're not getting as much out of that pushup, but you're still doing it correctly. "Bad" compromises would be not keeping your body in a straight line, by lifting or dropping your head, or lifting/dropping your butt. Anything that hurts your lower back is not good either.
My suggestion would be you do one pushup without your knees on the floor (as far as you can go), then your 3-5 deep pushups with your knees on the floor, then your however many shallow, but safe, pushups with your knees on the floor. After that, take a break, and start again. Maybe you'll do three sets of this (perhaps 6-8 pushups?!) while Kathy does her two sets of twelve.
Another suggestions is varying the placement of your hands. If you do pushups with your hands right to your shoulders, and your arms bend completely vertically, you'll work your triceps more. Wider arms will work your chest a little more. Maybe this will allow you to do a few more.
Pushups take a long time to build. They're tough! But it's really one of the more perfect exercises you can do without weights, IMO.
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