Final Post - Read Me First

This blog documents my efforts to complete the hundredpushups.com workout program. If your not doing the program it might just classify as "the most boring blog in the world".

However, if you want to do The Hundred, or if your in the middle of the program, please look around. Post a comment if you have any questions and I'll try to respond.

It's a good program that really works. I've been wanting to do 100 consecutive pushups for some time, and this is the first program I've found that's gotten me there.

Some key points & posts to read;

• Starting out
• My Initial Trial
• Question: Can I do one hundred pushups?
• Finally: Completing the hundred
• What's next

Enjoy the posts and provide feedback and comments. While I don't intend to continue posting here, I will likely respond to any comments.

One last comment

I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the support of Steve and the rest of the people that have posted comments. It's really been helpful to know people have been reading the blog and encouraging my workouts. The positive feedback and and support have been appreciated. Key blogs;

• RunBulldogRun.com


• Hundredpushups.com (obviously)


• onehundredpushups.blogspot.com


• bmcclain.blogspot.com


• tiedtogetherwithasmile.wordpress.com
  

I decided to start another fitness blog, and after looking around I joined JustFinish.Com. I love running, cycling, and other general fitness and endurance activities. So please join me at my profile page. There's a new blog going, daily updates on my workouts, and a whole new set of friends for encouragement and motivation.

http://www.justfinish.com/profile/JoeScherb

Enjoy,
Joe Scherb

What's Next

The programs been great, but it's time to do something else and move on. But what is the next step after completing the hundred?


More push ups? - Likely
I've completed the hundred and built up my chest and tricepts nicely. If I stop doing push ups it would be disappointing to lose it. So I need to keep going. I've considered extending the program to chase two hundred consecutive programs.. At a minimum it's probably a good idea to repeat weeks 5 & 6 until I figure out what else to do.

Pull ups or Chin ups? - Likely
The push ups gave me great tricepts. It'd be nice to develope some good bicepts to match. A few weeks back I acually tried and was able to complete one. Yep, one. There's a lot of potential there. Any workout program suggestions?

Sit ups? - Possibly
Keeping with the "ups" family, sit ups would help me a lot. I've never done the best with abdominal workouts, and I hear tightening up my abs will help my back problems. Sounds like a good idea. Is this the way to go; http://60situpschallenge.blogspot.com/?

Get running? - Doubtful
I used to love running. Over the years it's been on again, off again. It might be nice to get in better shape running again. I've found that I normally need to have a good reason to dedicate the time and focus to keep running. Other than "general fitness" I'm not sure I'll have the drive to head out into the winter darkness every day. Maybe I'll shoot for a 5K ??

If you have any suggestions on program ideas or other workouts please post a comment below.

Week 6 Trial - Completed the challenge

The deed is done. It feels sort of anti-climatic but I did it. It probably just needs a few minutes to sync in. I've been able to complete 100 consecutive push up.

Daily Total: 100
Overall Total: 7271

To prep for this, I gave myself an extra day of rest, and drank a big glass of water one hour before the attempt. I also got myself psyched up and stretched a bit just before the attempt.

As I knocked out the first 30 pushups it felt harder than expected. That was a bit discouraging, but I reminded myself that the first 50 were "just a warm up".

Approaching 70 they got alot tougher and I paused at 80. Taking a second I shook out each arm. That's something I never do, but it seemed needed.

I managed the next 10 and then started pushing them one at a time. It was sooo hard and very painfull.

But I did it! :-)
It feels great that I've completed the hundred.

Thanks to all of you who have followed and posted words of encouragement.

Week 6 Day 3 - Repeat 3

Good news. I knocked through this workout without much problem. That officially completes week 6.

Program: 27,27,23,23,23,23,20,20, max (at least 56)
Actual: 27,27,23,23,23,23,20,20,60
Daily Total: 246
Overall Total: 7171

Broke 7000 pushups today too. Jeez that's a lot. Assuming 5 seconds per pushup, that's roughly 10 hours of push'n.

I moved through this workout pretty well. That time (or lack of) between sets is really tough. I took a minute before the last set just to get a glass of water. And because I just mentally wasn't into pumping out that last set without catching my breath.

That's room for improvement if I have to repeat this week again (hell would have to freeze over first.)

Tomorrow I'm going to beat the hundred push up challenge. I've got a good attitude and it's been a couple weeks since I broke 90 so I should be able to do it.

Week 6 Day 2 - Repeat 3

I went into this workout with a pretty good mindset. I've completed this one before, so I knew it'd fall today.

Program: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22, max (at least 56)
Actual: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22,58
Daily Total: 262
Overall Total: 6925

I knocked through the individual sets with no real problems. The last set of 22 was a little tough, but barely worth noting.

For the final set I didn't match the 60 from last week. Around my 40th pushup I started thinking about how freak'n hard that is. From there I got to 58 before the pain in my shoulders got the best of me.

Another workout down anyway... Still looking forward to killing the hundred this weekend.

Week 6 Day 1 - Repeat 3

I'm thinking there might have been too many hot dogs in my recent past... It felt like I was lifting a ton of lead off the ground today.

Program: 56,45,42,40, max (at least 56)
Actual: 56,45,42,40,56
Daily Total: 239
Overall Total: 6663

I huffed and puffed quite a bit, but overall the pushups went down easier than last week. Don't get me wrong, it definitely wasn't easy. Just easier.

That last set was tough.

For this workout I went out to Songza.com and pumped James Brown;

• I feel Good.
• Living in America.
• Get up Offa That Thing.

Last time through week 6

Week 6 Day 3 - Repeat 2

Ummm.... er... ok. I kind of forgot to do the pushups on Friday.

I normally do them right before dinner & I took the kids trick-or-treating. After which we did a nice campfire and ate hot dogs. At some point, late in the evening, I realized that the push ups never happened.

Disappointing, but it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

I considered shooting for the hundred on Saturday, but I wasn't really that confident. So I figured I could repeat this week one last time to get a bit stronger and then kill the hundred.

Week 6 Day 2 - Repeat 2

OMG. Ouch. That workout hurt.

Program: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22, max (at least 56)
Actual: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22,60
Daily Total: 264
Overall Total: 6424

I've really tried to maximize this week's workouts to get a final boost before shooting for the hundred this weekend.

So I made sure that every pushup was really good form, and I've really been trying to max out that last set.

The first two sets of thirty were no problem.
The next couple of sets hurt a bit, but I told myself "no problem" with those too.
The 3rd set of 25 was a little tougher, and I had to pause at number 20 on the fourth set of 25.
I managed the next couple sets (of 22) but paused around 17 or 18.

For the final set I let myself rest a full minute. That last set is a lot of pushups you know.

I got to 20 and paused, and thought let's do them in sets of 20 then. Pushed out another 20 and started on a final set of 20. Only made it to 10 before pausing again. Ok sets of 10 then... paused again 5 later, and then finished the final 5.

So, gasping for air with my head throbbing but I completed the final 60.

My heart's still thumping.

Week 6 Day 1 - Repeat 2

I'm kind of hoping this is my last time through week 6.

Program: 56,45,42,40, max (at least 56)
Actual: 56,45,42,40,56
Daily Total: 239
Overall Total: 6161

I managed my way through this workout.

The first set was not easy, or it was harder than I remembered anyway.
The next two sets were challeging by I got through.
The set of 40 was tough, and the last 5 were done one by one.

After thinking I needed to beat last weeks 43 on the last set, I realized that I could actually complete the workout successfully if I knocked out the full 56. I suppose it's a reminder that you need to keep focused on the right goal.

Part way through the 56 I caught myself being lazy and not doing good enough quality pushups. So I improved my form and finished the 56 (not easy BTW). Maybe I finished the workout, but it wasn't all top quality :-(

I'll count it, but I need to focus on that going forward.

Week 6 Trial

Good news... I cranked out 90 consecutive pushups today. 90! Holy cow!

That puts the finish line really close within reach.

Daily Total: 90
Overall Total: 5922

So heading into it, I thought the first 50 will be a warm up. After all, I've been doing 56 in the first set of W6D1. And sure enough, the first 50 fell without too much trouble.

Now it all ways seemed that if I got to 90 I'd be able to make it to 100. I mean, it's only 10 pushups away. I don't care if my arms are broken, I'd be able to complete 10 more to hit my goal, right?

Good concept, but it didn't turn out that way. I really struggled past the 70's and used everything to get through the 80's. By the time I hit 90 I was done.

I was really huffing and puffing by the time I was done too. Running or some other good cardio program would definitely help this effort. I started one in week 3 but it didn't last too long.

I'll enjoy another set of week 6 workouts and get psyched up for next week.

BTW. Cranking the NFL theme song definitely helped ;-)

Week 6 Day 3 - Repeat 1

Last week I thought I'd be able to complete this workout without too much trouble. And after cranking out 262 pushups on Day 2, it was pretty much guaranteed. Other than the rest time Day 3 is easier than Day 2.

Program: 27,27,23,23,23,23,20,20, max (at least 56)
Actual: 27,27,23,23,23,23,20,20,34
Daily Total: 220
Overall Total: 5832

Or it should have been easier than Day 2. This one hurt and I only did a feeble 220 pushups. Three less than last week. I'm sure it was partly a poor attitude, and partly a general fatigue.

On the second set of 27 I felt a bit of pain in my arm, and the next three sets were a little tough. Last week I blew through them with no problem. The rest of the sets were not easy.

Finally, for the last set, I only got to 20 before pausing. I gutted through the next 14 pushups two to three at a time before abandoning the workout. There just wasn't much in there today.

BTW, here's the updated graph showing a couple of passes into week 6... You can see I plateaued a bit in week five and week 6 was a definite step up.

The progress keeps going though. That's good.

Week 6 Day 2 - Repeat 1

Looks like I got a little lazy with my blogging... Actually, I kind of forgot to do a couple posts, so I'm catching up.

W6D2R1 went really well. I did them outside while grilling dinner. Italian sausage. Nothing like getting a good workout in with the smell of seared meat.

Program: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22, max (at least 56)
Actual: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22,58
Daily Total: 262
Overall Total: 5612

Awesome workout... Unfortunately, I don't remember too much of the workout. That's the problem with delayed blogging. However, I do remember getting through each set without any issues, and then cranked on the last set. I pushed myself to get beyond the 56 required.

Quite happy with this one...

Week 6 Day 1 - Repeat 1

Well, I impressed myself with this one too.

Program: 56,45,42,40, max (at least 56)
Actual: 56,45,42,40,43
Daily Total: 226
Overall Total: 5350

While it didn't tie my max, it was a healthy step up from last week.

The 56 I treated as a warm up to get the blood flowing (that was all the mental attitude thing)
The next 45 were a little tough, but not too bad.
The following 42 hurt. Ouch! But I knocked them out.
On the set of 40 I completed the last ten 1-by-1.

I took an extra 20 sec of rest and set out to do the last set. Made it to about 30 before pausing and hit the last 8 one-by-one. Ouuchhh! Arg! Yooow!

Good workout, though. My arms and chest where all pumped up.

Oh yeah, I also cranked the NFL theme song while I did these.
If you want to test it out, crank your speakers up really loud.



Probably helped. ;-)

Week 6 Trial

I wasn't in the best position, or frame of mind, to do the trial this weekend. I did the push ups in my brother-in-law's basement just before a birthday party for his kid.

It was either then, or they wouldn't get done.

Daily Total: 70
Overall Total: 5124

Only 70. A bit disappointing, but I really didn't push myself as much as I could have had I been at home.

Whatever...

Week 6 Day 3

Well, the days of incrementally jumping up by 30 push ups had to end at some point.

Program: 27,27,23,23,23,23,20,20, max (at least 56)
Actual: 27,27,23,23,23,23,20,20,37
Daily Total: 223
Overall Total: 5054

Still, I managed 223 and broke 5000 for my overall total. Not too shabby.

Overall, this workout went down fairly easily. The second set of 27 got a little tough at the end, and so did the 4th set of 23. Really though, each set fell without too much trouble.

I also got a nice effort in for the last set. I made it to about 30 before having to count them out 1 by 1. My arms were pretty much tapped at that point. Ouch.

I'm thinking that next week I'll be able to complete this workout.

Shameless Plug
In case you missed his comment on the last workout, Steve over at Hundredpushups.com came up with a pocket mod for the program. Very cool. I travel a bit and this would be helpful. Besides, it beats carrying around the stack of six pages that I've been working from.
(hey, he gave me arm and chest muscles it's the least I can do ;-)

Which reminds me, last time he went through the program he avoided repeating week 6 by actually completing the hundred consecutive pushups. If I can hit the goal, I won't have to do week 6 again ;-) I'm going to try that tomorrow.

Week 6 Day 2

Another good workout today... a lot better than expected.

Program: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22, max (at least 56)
Actual: 30,30,25,25,25,25,22,22,30
Daily Total: 234
Overall Total: 4831

So I didn't total all the sets together before doing the workout. I just dropped down and started doing the 30, and then the 25, and so on... So it was impressive to tally them up after the workout. I never would have guessed 234.

The first 30 were effortless, but the next thirty were not. It wasn't hard, but not effortless.
The next 2 sets of 25 were a little tough, and then it acutally seemed easier for the 3rd set of 25.
The fourth set hurt my arms quite a bit, but I knocked it out.
The two sets of 22 were not too bad.

As I went into the push up position for the last set of 56 I thought to myself "it's five sets of 10 + 6 more". Then I quickly thought "I probably won't get to the 6 so I won't have to worry about it". Then I caught myself and knew I couldn't possibly expect to complete the workout if I wrote it off before even starting. Gotta keep the bad mojo away.

I got to 20 and then started doing 1 by 1 up to 30.

That last 56 is going to continue to be a challenge. It's hard to do 56 pushups after wiping out my arms with the earlier sets.

Also, I've taken to considering the first set (30-40 pushups) as a warm up. Mentally that puts me ahead going into the workout.

BTW I just though about this: During the first initial trial I completed 30 push ups. These days thats a warm up. Nice.

Week 6 Day 1

It so nice to be into week 6...

Surprisingly this workout went down a lot easier than expected.

Program: 56,45,42,40, max (at least 56)
Actual: 56,45,42,30,27
Daily Total: 200
Overall Total: 4597

So you'll notice this is still the old program. There didn't seem to be much point switching to the new one in mid-stream. I printed the old one off some time ago.

The first two sets were fairly straight forward. During the third set I paused around number thirty and finished the last 5 one-by-one.

The last two sets were just the best attempt.

While I didn't complete the workout, I'm pleased that I broke 200 and I'm looking forward to completing this week.

BTW. At some point during week 5 I ran a linear regression and it showed I'd be repeating week 6 for 10 weeks to complete it. Averaging 200 per workout that would put me around 10,000 pushups to complete the whole program. Pretty funny.

That was before pumping out eighty during the last trial and 200 today. I'm hoping I'll complete the hundred long before successfully completing week 6.

Week 5 Trial

I did the week 5 trail today to see where I'd end up for week six, and to check progress since the last trial 3 weeks ago.

Daily Total: 80
Overall Total: 4397

That's quite a nice jump since last time and it sets a new personal best. It also shows the programs still working ;-)

I think the first 50 fell fairly easily and then things became more challenging. The last 10 were one by one. It was nice thinking "I'm only 20 away" from completing the one hundred, but it just wasn't going to happen this time.

Here looking forward to week 6.

Week 5 Day 3 - Repeat 5

Thus completes week 5...

Program: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,max (at least 40)
Actual: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,40
Daily Total: 148
Overall Total: 4317

I knocked out this workout without too much trouble. I was a bit surprised that the last three sets were more difficult than expected.

Likewise, the last 40 should have been a slam dunk, but I started struggling after 20.

In general, my intent was to do better this week, but I struggled to complete each workout.

Well, next week will be a step up. I'll do the trial tomorrow and see how it goes.

Week 5 Day 2 - Repeat 5

Brief post today...

Program: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,max (at least 40)
Actual: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,40
Daily Total: 160
Overall Total: 4169

No problems with this workout. Each set went down without issue.

I targeted to max out for the last set, and actually think I lost count and screwed up. Somewhere around 20 or 30 my attention drifted. I think, not sure, but think, that I did 50 not 40. I really struggled to get the last ten of the set done and collapsed trying for number 41. Forty pushups wouldn't have been that hard.

Week 5 Day 1 - Repeat 5

OMG! Now that was a workout.

...but I did it! What choice did I have? I really didn't want to repeat week 5 again. What's the phrase, "Fifth time is charm"?

Program: 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40)
Actual: 40,32,30,25, 40
Daily Total: 167
Overall Total: 4009

LOL... 4,009 pushups... Wow. Do you think we'll see 10,000 before the hundred is complete? Ladies and gents place your bets*

So the first set went down pretty easily. The next two sets were not effort free, but but I was able to knock them out without stopping.

Around number eighteen of the set of 25 I had to stop and then gutted of the rest.

Big psych up after that;
"I can do this."
"No way I'm going to repeat this week again."
"5 sets of 10, that's all." <= goal stretching

After dropping and pumping out 20 something I had to pause. That was frightening as it was so far from the 40.

By thirty it was going one by one... still pretty far off.

My left arm started cramping at 32 and I worried I'd just collapse.

"No way I'm going to repeat this week again."

So I completed the forty, but not one more. Ouch. My arm still hurts.

IMHO This is the hardest workout of week 5. So now the focus will shift toward blowing away the other workouts and maxing out the number for each day.

* Joe Scherb, J&R Scherb, Inc. and 1cpushups.blogspot.com in no way encourage gambling or drinking games associated with the number of pushups. (but if you really want to, I'm giving odds)

Week 5 Day 3 - Repeat 4

It happened again. I completely forgot to workout until I was three beers into a social gathering in the evening. I'm really surprised and unclear on why I've been missing the workout. So instead of doing it on Friday, and a trial on the Saturday, I completed the workout today (sat morning).

While I've been enjoying the workouts, and the many ways I've made progress, it might be that I'm getting a little burned out on the workouts. I'll double down and fix this (and set a reminder too).

Program: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,max (at least 40)
Actual: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,40
Daily Total: 148
Overall Total: 3842

I knocked through the workout with out much trouble. I set a goal to complete 170 pushups which meant I'd need to do 62 for the last set. Mentally, I had no intention of doing that, and then started thinking bad things as I worked through the set. You can't succeed with that type of attitude.

I had to pause at thirty and then just stopped at 40 (completing the minimum).

So I've been making pretty good progress, and really think I can complete Monday's workout if I get psyched up for it.

I need to keep strong PMA and get aggressive though. Once I complete W5D1 successfully I should be ok to get through the rest of the week and on to week 6. Finally.

Here's what I noticed however. Week 6 Day 1 totals 239 pushups. That's a bit of a step up from where I'm at now (bouncing around 160). So I need to take it up a notch.

That will be my focus for my last time through week 5. I'm thinking to start shooting for 200 as a goal (vs. 160 or 170). Let's see how the attitude helps.

BTW, I also noticed that I am using the work I alot and I know that's bad writing form so I need to fix that. I'm not going to rewrite today's post, but I'll work on that.

Week 5 Day 2 - Repeat 4

Good one! I crushed this workout and did better than last week.

Program: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,max (at least 40)
Actual: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,48
Daily Total: 168
Overall Total: 3694

Before starting, I set my mindset toward completing 170 pushups. That would have been 50 for the final set. I also convinced myself that "this workout is easy" based on the fact that I started with 40 during the last workout.

So I knocked out the first 20 with no problem. In fact, all of the other sets dropped the same way. No problem. Truthfully, I may have slowed down slightly during the last two sets (15 & 14), but not worth noting. I just knocked them out.

So the last set, shooting for 50, was only 5 sets of 10...

I got to 30 before having to pause, and I worked up to 40 by groups of 3 or so. The last 8 came one by one.

So the good news is I cranked out 168 pushups today. That's more than I'd need to complete W5D1. Next time around that bitch is mine.

Week 5 Day 1 - Repeat 4

I didn't do the trail/stress test this weekend. Even though I know it would be good to do routinely, I just didn't make myself do it.

Loving week 5... Let's do it again!
I almost completely forgot to do the workout. The day was hectic and I realized just before bed that I didn't do the pushups. Oops. Needless to say I wasn't highly motivated at that point.

Program: 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40)
Actual: 40,32,30,20, 18
Daily Total: 140
Overall Total: 3526

I should have crushed this workout, but didn't mostly because I had a poor mindset going into it.

The first two sets fell without much hassle. The next two sets each ended with me doing pushups one by one to grit them out. Ouch.
I did the final 18 before just bailing on the workout. Had I been more motivated I probably could have push out 5 more.

Whatever. Not a stellar workout, so I get to do week 5 a couple more times.

BTW. I broke 3500 total pushups. Think about it. That's alot.

Week 5 Day 3 - Repeat 3

Good workout tonight. Did it while watching "Invincible" staring Mark Wahlberg. Not that it helped much with pushups, but its a decent movie.

Program: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,max (at least 40)
Actual: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,41
Daily Total: 149
Overall Total: 3386

Going into this workout I had very little doubt that I'd complete it. After doing it three times I recalled that it was only 148 pushups. I've been crushing that. I keep my mind off the push ups and just knocked them out one set at a time.

I didn't even pause going through any of the individual sets.

The last 40 where definately a challenge. I got through the first 20 without pausing, but came to a halt at 25. I managed the next 5 and then worked one-by-one up to 41. Not easy, but I can't complain ;-) Not at all.

I haven't decided if I want to do another trial tomorrow, or just head straight into week 5 again. I'm really thinking it's going to be my last time through week 5. Hooray!

Week 5 Day 2 - Repeat 3

Another good workout. This is the first time I've actually completed one of the week 5 workouts. I'm hoping next week will be my last time through week 5. I just need to keep making progress!

Program: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,max (at least 40)
Actual: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,41
Daily Total: 161
Overall Total: 3237

This whole workout went down fairly easily. Once I got through the first four sets without slowing down my confidence went up considerably.

I slowed during the second set of 15. While I hurt a bit during the set of 14, it wasn't too bad. Only 14 after all.

Finally, I had to psych myself up for the final 40. I just thought, "only 4 sets of 10". Unfortunately, I started feeling it somewhere around 15, and had to pause in my twenties.

The final 10 I counted out one by one, but at that point there was "no way" I wasn't going to finish the workout.

And then, of course, I threw in one more for good measure.

161 pushups, my best workout yet!

Week 5 Day 1 - Repeat 3

So I've eaten pizza and cheese cake for two days in a row and have the gut to prove it (my kids bday). I wasn't feeling really well today, but managed to keep a good PMA.

Program: 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40)
Actual: 40,32,30,20, 28
Daily Total: 150
Overall Total: 3076

I cranked out a pretty good work out.

Like last week, I started slowing during the last ten of the1st set. However, this week I did a decent job knocking out the next 32. It went down a lot easier than last time, and that helped to keep me positive. I just didn't think about it too much and pushed them out.

The next 30 were tough. I ended up pushing them 1 by 1, and could only manage 20 on the next set.

I took a bit of extra rest for the final set, but only about 20 seconds extra. I'm always surprised at how much that matters. I knocked out 2 sets of 10 and then counted them out one at a time.

BTW, somewhere after the 2nd set my chest and arms got pumped full of blood and I looked huge. (or at least felt that way ;-)

I finally completed 150 in this workout. I'd been shooting to complete that many for a couple of weeks. It's nice to hit an interim goal.

Today I completed 36 more pushups than last week at this time, so it shows there's still a mental aspect to this whole thing. I'll shoot for 160 on the next workout.

I also crested over 3000 total pushups since I started this fit of insanity. Cool.

Week 5 Trial

Ouch. Good one. It might be good to do that more often.

Today: 65
Overall Total: 2926

So I knocked out 65. I moved through them fairly quickly, counting by 10's. The last five or 6 were counted one by one.

Just to point it out, this is 15 more pushups than I did in the week 4 trial in August. Just as noteworthy, it also ties the most pushups I've ever done. Had than been noted during the workout I would have likely pressed myself for at least one more. Several years back when I was working out routinely I did 65. So this is a decent accomplishment for an older, fatter me ;-)

Part of why it might be a good idea to do a trial more often is that it would get me "used to" doing long sets of continuous pushups. The whole thing, rythm, breathing, counting. It's all good practice for the hundred.

I've been trying change from counting by sets of five to sets of 10. It's part of getting my head in order to think bigger numbers. When the goal is to complete 20 pushups it's ok to think "it's only four sets of 5." It's a different story when your shooting for 60-80, or 100. "It's only 12 sets of 5" doesn't work as well for me.

Think of it like this;

1. Aiming for 150 pushups each day
2. Counting by 10's instead of 5's
3. Consciously focusing on cardio and continuous, rythmic breathing

These are all things I'm doing to try to mentally set myself up for doing more pushups. Of course the muscle development has to get there.

Week 5 Day 3 - Repeat 2

I really hammered this one out. I just kept looking at the number of pushups in each set and individually they're not that much. Mindset; It should be easy.

Program: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,max (at least 40)
Actual: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,30
Daily Total: 138
Overall Total: 2861

I burned through the entire workout a lot easier today than last week.

The first four sets were a slam dunk, although I did feel it a little in the last set of 16.
From there I just had to knock out 14, 14, and 12. No problem. I did slow a bit during the last set of 14, and the final 12 were a bit tougher.

After that, I needed to psych myself up for 40. I've been approaching each workout this week with the goal of hitting 150. To complete the full final 40 would bring me to 148. Also, I did 141 yesterday right? All of that PMA only got me to 30 pushups for the final set.

But that was a 9 push up increase from last week. The last two workouts this week (day 2 & 3) have been pretty good (141 & 138). I'm fairly pleased with that. They're two of the top 4 workouts I've accomplished. I was feeling that I started leveling off, which is not good.

I think I will do a push up to failure trail tomorrow. I haven't done one since completing week 4 at the end of August, so it'll be nice to see where I end up. I did fifty in August, so I should be able to do at least 60 (90% confident). I'm shooting for 70. We'll see. That's a lot of pushups.

Week 5 Day 2 - Repeat 2

I've been traveling for the last two days, so I'm really wiped out. For some reason that seems to translate into a pretty good workout. Who knows...

Program: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,max (at least 40)
Actual: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,21
Daily Total: 141
Overall Total: 2723

I didn't get the 150 I was shooting for, but I'm please with the 141. I thought I was going to get there, but my arms were zapped with the last 21.

Everything else was pretty straight forward. I knocked down the 4 sets without to much trouble, and grunted out the rest.

I've already determined that this has got to be the most boring blog ever. Particularly if you're not doing pushups. I'm contemplating writing another. "Watching grass grow; a day by day account."

Obviously I'm really tired, that's why I'm typing all this stupid stuff. G'night.

Week 5 Day 1 - Repeat 2

The frustration is definitely there. A few weeks ago I managed 150 pushups during one workout. So I set my mind to doing it again today. I'd hit the 150 mark again.

I did this as a way of trying to get "break through" improvement instead of one to two pushups better.

Didn't help.

Program: 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40)
Actual: 40,32,15,21, 16
Daily Total: 124

Only two pushups more than last week. Arg. While I had hoped to get through week 5 this week, I'm not even close to finishing this workout. Oh well, I'll shoot for 150 tomorrow.

The run down;

• The first 40 fell fairly quickly, but again this week I started slowing down on the last 10. I also felt the stress (slight pain) in my right shoulder.
• The next 32 were really tough, and I ended the set by counting them out one-by-one.
• My arms were burnt out at this point, so I did a wimpy 15 pushups.
• I rested a bit more between sets and managed 21 on the third. This saved me from having a really low count for the day.
• Only managed 16 on the last set before my arms just gave out (face plant).

So, again, it's kind of sad that I didn't make much progress since last week.

I'll blame part of it on this cold. I'm not completely out of it, but I'm much better. It'll serve as my excuse anyway; "I'm sure the cold is sapping huge amounts of energy from my pushup capabilities."

I'll wait a couple of weeks, but I'm already thinking that I'll need to supplement the program if I don't start making a couple of good breakthrough workouts.

This one hurt my arms enough that I should get some benefit out of it. Ouch.

Week 5 Day 3 - Repeat

Forget all that other stuff I typed, I quit. This sucks. (Just kidding...)

So I came down with a cold last night and feel like crap today. I decided to ignore it and do the pushups anyway.

Program: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,max (at least 40)
Actual: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,21
Daily Total: 129
Overall Total: 2458

That 30 seconds of rest really makes this workout tough. It gets the heart pounding.

It also cleared my nose momentarily. In case you didn't know it, cardio workouts create some sort of natural decongestant. Freak'n cold. :-(

The workout started pretty good and I burned through the first three sets without much effort, and the forth set was a bit tougher but still not too bad. All of this really got my heart rate up.

I had to pause to complete each set of fourteen and the set of 12 was really tough. Ouch.

So going through all that just left me with that big 'ole whopping 40 set to do. It's really tough to hit that 40 after getting wiped out by the first part of the work out.

After working my way through ten I ended up counting them out 1 by 1. It really hurt, but I was determined to at least match last week's workout. Then I forced myself to do 1 more pushup today just to beat it.

BTW. I was right. Between knocking out the pushups, and the brief rest between sets, the entire workout took less than 10 minutes. Can't beat that.

...I'm going to go lay down on the couch with a tissue box and a blanket and watch football all weekend. (that's NFL Steve, different ball & with armor - Go Bears).

Week 5 Day 2 - Repeat

Ok workout today. Nothing too special. I didn't match the 150 from last week, but I cranked out 140. That's not to shabby.

Program: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,max (at least 40)
Actual: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,20
Daily Total: 140
Overall Total: 2329

• The first three sets(20,20,18) fell without much difficulty, but it made me think about my breathing again.
• The next three sets(18,15,15) were more challenging and a little tough, but not too bad. I did have to pause during the first set of 15.
• After nine pushups into the set of 14 I ended up counting them out 1 by 1.
• The last twenty were really painful, but it felt good to get to 20.

That last set of 40 is going to be a challenge throughout all of the week 5 workouts.

think of it this way...

The Pain Train is coming! Woo! Woo!


Just having fun...

Can I do one hundred pushups?

Is this all really worth it? I'm 8 weeks into a 6 week program and have only done 50 so far.

I started typing a simple response to a couple of comments and thought that it's a big enough topic that it needs to be addressed with a full post.

So, here's my take on it. I understood a lot of this going into it. (ref: Starting Out)

1. Did I really think I could do it?
I did a bootcamp style workout a couple years ago for 6 months. During that time I ran around and did a lot of push ups, sit ups, dips, squat thrusts, and so on. It was a really strong workout program that probably put me in the best shape of my live since college. After six months I managed 65 consecutive pushups.

Well short of 100 pushups. Did I really expect to get to 100 after only 6 weeks? NFW.

2. Achieving a goal
But, as I mentioned, being able to do one hundred pushups has been a goal of mine for a long time. Seriously, I got the idea in mind my head some time ago (like 10-15 years ago). I thought I'd get there with bootcamp, but I ended up stopping that program for a number of reasons.

After going through week 5 once I'm certain I could get up to 60 consecutive and I'm still doing better each workout.

3. Other Considerations
Here are a couple of other more simple points;

• Time: It's a pretty good workout for the time required. I'm not sure if it takes even 30 minutes. Probably more like 15 or 20.
• No Equipment: It's simple. Just drop and give me 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40).
• No health club: I did some of week 3 in Mexico City, and Kansas City hotel rooms.
• Why not?: What else do I have to do? It's only a few minutes of pushups. Why not keep going.

4. Boredom & Frustration
Am I getting bored? Not really. I was getting really frustrated in week 3 after repeating it a number of times, but I get it now. It just took the workout program up a notch, and my abilities up as well.

Look at that W3D1 workout. It was such a challenge for me back then but I could do it easily now. That's a feel good.

So I'm going through the same thing for week 5. It may take a while, but eventually I'll be able to knock out the 167 pushups required for W5D1. I'm still improving with almost every workout. With documented visibility to that kind of improvement it's not at all boring.

5. Tenacity
Sooo... What happens if I complete week 6 and still can only do 90 pushups? What happens if I level off and stop improving? Well, if I get to that point I'll figure out how to add more pushups into the program. Either do the program twice a day, or pile on extra sets, or something. I intend to keep making it harder until I hit that 100.

The main key to this, in my perspective, is tenacity. I've briefly mentioned it in a couple of posts (ref; initial trial, Week 2 Trial). If I can't do it, I'll change tactics and figure out how to do it. It's kind of a psychotic fixation with achieving my goal.

A friend once called me a pitbull because I tend to grab a hold of a problem and not stop trying different tactics until I've licked it. (or maybe he was just saying I'm ugly;-)

6. The Best Benefit
Not everyone really cares so much about doing the push ups. Maybe they get a few weeks out of it and move on to something else. I get that and it's ok.

I noted early that very few of the blogs went past week 2, and fewer still passed week 5. It's a hard program in a few different ways.

I've developed some nice relationships from the readers of this blog and I suspect others have too. That's been a really cool part of all this.

Me, I'm going to keep at it and I hope they'll stop by and read my blog when I hit the hundred. Even if it is three years from now after I finally complete W5D1 successfully.

Week 5 Day 1 - Repeat

Look's like I could be in stuck in week 5 for sometime... Imagine a blog post entitled "Week 5 Day 1 - Repeat 17". Could happen.

Program: 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40)
Actual: 40,32,17,16, 17
Daily Total: 122
Overall Total: 2189

Ok, I did better this week than last, but it progressed pretty much the same way.

• The first forty went ok, but I slowed down around number 30.
• The next 32; Ouch! Really tough.
• The next 30 just wasn't going to happen. I face planted at seventeen. Literally. It kind of hurt.
• The next set; 16 "ouch, ouch, ouch"
• and ditto for the final 17.

Overall I did seven more pushups than last week. A bit disappointing but it's still an improvement. I need to do 167 to complete the workout. So if I'm improving at a rate of 7 pushups per week, I should only need (167-122=45/7=6.5) seven more weeks.

Hmm... might be best not to over think these things.

BTW. I went jogging 3 times last week. It's pretty short distance, just loping around, but I figure that it'll help if I can get my cardio-endurance up and my fat gut down. I'm going to keep this blog focused on the push ups only.

Week 5 Day 3

Holy cow. Good freak'n workout... I'm winded and tired. While I didn't quite complete the schedule, at least I didn't screw up the workout today:-).

Program: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,max (at least 40)
Actual: 18,18,16,16,14,14,12,20
Daily Total: 128
Overall Total: 2067

Today was really tough, so I'm wondering how I did 150 yesterday. Maybe I screwed something up, or maybe I was just so awesome yesterday that I rocked! I'm going with option 2.

So looking at this workout, I first noticed it was actually less then yesterday's requirements. That felt good, but i was quick to learn that the 30 sec break really matters. We used to get 120 seconds (those were the good old days).

After doing the first three sets(18,18,16), I had to pause on the second set of 16. The first set of 14 was tough, and I had to pause there too.

The next two sets (14 & 12) were really hard. I ended up having to count them one by one, after about half way through. Almost didn't finish the last of the 12. (come on, it's only 12 right?)

I took a little bit longer than the 30 seconds to rest before attempting the 40 and managed to get half of them. Ouch were my arms screaming.

You know what I struggle with? Breathing. I know. It shouldn't be that complicated with the "breath in" and "breath out" thing. But I have a heck of a time not holding my breath, and I struggle with a rhythm. Generally I breath out going down and in pushing up, but it's not a comfortable paced breathing. (gasping for air)

I think that in order to do a hundred pushups, breathing comfortably is something I've got to get better at. Today's workout helped. The lack of rest introduced a cardio aspect to the workout. Give me a few more weeks repeating week 5 and maybe I'll figure it out.

Suggestions welcome.

Week 5 Day 2

I was right. The change in frequency/pace of this workout made it interesting. So did the fact that I did it outdoors, on my deck, while I grilled chicken. You'd be surprised at all of the little things that have fallen through the slats of my deck. ;-)

Program: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,max (at least 40)
Actual: 20,20,18,18,15,15,14,14,16
Daily Total: 150
Overall Total: 1939

I got through the first three sets fairly unscathed, although I slowed a bit at the end of the 1st set of 18.

I had to pause during the second set of 18 and again during the first set of 15. Then things got really tough. I had to really grit out the next set of 15.

I managed to get through the next two sets by telling myself "it's only 14". It was still hard. And in case you haven't noticed; I'm such a dork. I did two sets of 14 instead of only the one required.

There was no confidence in heading into the final set of 40, for good reason. I was wiped out. Sure, now I realize it might have been because of the extra set. I only managed 16.

But overall it was a really good workout. I completed a lot of pushups today, and blew away my previous best. Hopefully I can keep that up on Friday and again as I try for W5 repeat.

Week 5 Day 1

Yeah, well... umm... I gave it a good shot anyway.

Program: 40,32,30,25, max (at least 40)
Actual: 40,32,11,15, 17
Daily Total: 115
Overall Total: 1789

I went through the first set of 40 fairly easily. It was tough, but not too bad.
The set of 32 I really had to grunt out. Particularly the last two.
And, as you can see, I completely bombed my third set. Only 11 pushups.
I finished the remainder of the workout as best as I was able.

The good news is that it was an excellent workout. I was sweating up a storm and my arms and chest are zapped. I'm sure this will help me in the future.

I also think I probably let this work out get the best of me. That set of 11 is really surprising and disappointing based on everything else I've accomplished.

The total for today falls in line with expectations. It was the third highest I've ever completed. Unfortunately I was hoping to reach a peak.

The next couple of days should be interesting. The lower sets with reduced rest times change the game a bit. I'm looking forward to it.

Week 4 Trial

I did the trial this morning with ok results (not great/not bad).

Daily Total: 50
Overall Total: 1674

I was counting by 10's instead of counting in sets of five like I normally do. When I finished my 5th set, I was done. I probably could have done a few more, but not much. Maybe 3-5 more if I really pushed it, but I didn't see much point.

I've come a long way, and completed 50 pushups today. That sounds pretty good, but it well short of 100. Technically I only have week's 5&6 to complete, but it seems doubtful that I'll complete them in two weeks.

So... Let's say it take four or six weeks. Will I be able to complete another 50 pushups and get to my hundred by then? Seems doubtful to me. I've improved from 30 to 50, but it's a long way to get to 100. We'll see where the next few weeks take me, but I could be repeating weeks 5&6 a long time.

Well, if so... I'm game. I don't really have anything better to do anyway.

Week 4 Day 3

Week 4 completed without incident! Yay. Which brings me another week closer to my ultimate goal.

Program: 30,22,22,20, max (at least 29)
Actual: 30,22,22,20, 32
Daily Total: 126
Overall Total: 1624

The first two sets fell quickly. I paused during the 3rd set and struggled with the set of 20. The max of 29 really concerned me at that point.

I just got my self pumped up, focused on finishing 30, and managed to complete 32. The last ones were really (really really) hard. But it's done.

I'll try the test some time tomorrow morning. Over the last 4 weeks I think I've gained a lot of strength and my total number of push ups per day has gone up nicely (graph).

So I think I can complete 50, I'd like to do 60 (or better yet 100 :-) We'll know tomorrow.

BTW. I looked at week 5 and thought "OMG" when I saw Day 1. If I complete 40 push ups in my next test, I'll have to do that again twice on Monday. WTF is Steve thinking putting that in there. I could be repeating week 5 for a long time.

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Week 4 Day 2

Looking over today's workout I expected it to be easy. Unfortunately I ran into some complications. (I did finished the workout though.)

Program: 27,21,21,18, max (at least 25)
Actual: 27,21,21,18, 25
Daily Total: 112
Overall Total: 1498

Ok here's the scoop. I got through the 1st two sets fairly easily. Somewhere around the 3rd set my wife started yelling at one of the kids (broken lamp).

So I'm not sure but I may have done; 27,21,21,21,18, 25
I wasn't sure if I did an extra set of 21, so I just did the set of 18 anyway and moved on.

After 13 pushups into my last set, I realized it seemed way too hard. I anticipated doing thirty, but barely managed to get the 25 complete. It was really tough. So I think I did an extra 21.

Another workout down, and a reminder that you have to pay attention to even the "easy" workouts.

BTW. I don't really care for the lamp either, but let's not tell her that.

Week 4 Day 1

Ok, this one was a bit tough, but I pulled it off.

Program: 27,20,20,17, max (at least 27)
Actual: 27,20,20,17,28
Daily Total: 112
Overall Total: 1386

First set 27 no problem, the next twenty started slowing down, and I had to paused around number 15 of the third set. So it just started getting tougher like that.

I made it through the set of 17 ("It's only 17 after all"), but I did have to pause and grunt out a couple of them.

The last set was mostly psychology. I looked at how many I did today, and compared that to last Friday's workout. This quickly showed that I did less today, so I should be able to complete the last 27. That put my head in the right place and I finished them out. It wasn't easy though.

I've been starting to think about what to do next. Not that I'm anywhere close to hitting the hundred pushups, but I've been thinking about it. I think a pull up program might be good to help balance these extraordinary muscles I've developed doing pushups. Or at least it would give me cool looking arms ;-)

Also, I need to burn this gut, so I'm thinking about getting out and doing some running.

Your right, I should probably just focus on completing week 4 (and 5, and 6, and 100 push ups)

Week 3 Day 3 - Repeat 2

Woo hoo!
After repeating the week twice, I was not going to do it again.

Program: 30,22,22,20, max (at least 27)
Actual: 30,22,22,20,28
Daily Total: 122
Overall Total: 1274

I knocked out the set of 30 fairly quickly, but noticed the first set of 22 was a bit tough at the end. That was worrisome. Sure enough I didn't get through the second set of 22 without pausing.

I really had to grunt through the last 10 pushups of the 20 set. It was tough. All that being said, I really psyched myself up for the last 27.

"There's no way I'm going to repeat this week."
"It's only 6 sets of 5."
"It's only 6 sets of 5."
"I can do this."

One key thing I did was focus on 30 pushups NOT 27.

I made it through the first 10 consecutive without stopping. The next ten were tough. For the last 10 I gave up on the "sets of 5" mentality and just started counting them out. One by miserable, grueling, painful one. When I hit #9 I did a face plant. My left arm hurt sooooo much, there was no way I could even try to haul my gut off the ground again. Had to roll sideways to get off the floor.

... but that all totaled 28, and 122 for the day. Yippee!!!

BTW. I think that breaking cleanly through the 100 pushup mark was a mental ceiling for me. I was stuck at 94-99 for a while. The last two workouts were great.

*&$^!. My shoulders still hurt. At least I get a couple rest days to work it out.

Week 3 Day 2 - Repeat 2

I spent all day on a flight back from Mexico, so I'm wiped out. I was thinking it would be hard to get through this workout successfully because I'm so tired. And then, I realized my poor attitude would doom me.

So I got things together...

Program: 27,19,19,15, max (at least 25)
Actual: 27,19,19,15, 30
Daily Total: 110
Overall Total: 1152

Yep, I crushed it today. I treated it like consecutive sets of five; one, two, three, four, five... two, two, three, four, five... You get it.

So for the last set I set my goal to do 6 sets of 5. This made sure I didn't stay focused on only doing the min 25. But I really had to push to get those last pushups out.

Overall I'm very pleased with this workout. I just blew through each set without too much difficulty. Not sure why this was so easy, but I think it all goes back to having a good attitude.

We'll keep positive about completing Friday and week 3 (finally).

Week 3 Day 1 - Repeat 2

This would be the 3rd time I've attemped the W3D1 workout. It's getting easier every time.

Program: 25,17,17,15, max (at least 25)
Actual: 25,17,17,15,25
Daily Total: 99
Overall Total: 1042

I blew through the 1st couple of sets with no problem, but started to get concerned when completing the second set of 17. It was tough, and I started doubting my last 25. But I caught my self, grit my teeth, and push through them 5 at a time.

The last time this workout was successfully completed I barely managed to get the last pushup done. This time it went more smoothly.

I got in the habit of just trying to complete the last 25, so that's all I did today. It's a shame as I could have probably squeeked out 1 or 2 more, but I was focused on 25. It would have been nice to break 1oo pushups today. Oh, well. I'll plan for that on Wednesday. ;-)

Yes, the other big milestone; I've completed over one thousand pushups. That's a lot anyway you cut it.

As you can see, my attitude is much better than my last post, and I'm looking forward to the next workout. Catch you then!

Week 3 Day 3 - Repeat

Ok. Feeling a bit frustrated today. My wife was messing with me while I was doing pushups. It kind of shows you there's more obstacles than expected when trying to do this program.

I'm just not happy with this week's workouts compared to last week. I expected to get stronger and do better, but I really didn't. Ugh!

Program: 30,22,22,20, max (at least 27)
Actual: 30,22,22,16, 17
Daily Total: 107
Overall Total: 943

As I tallied the numbers right now, I was actually surprised to see it add up to 107. ?? It really makes me wonder why I struggled with 94 two days ago. Must be something about how the workouts are structured.

I just have to make it through week 3 next week. It'll be sooooo depressing if I can't. If nothing else, Monday I should break 1000 pushups since I started this insanity.

Stay tuned for next week when I attempt week 3 (AGAIN!!!!).

Week 3 Day 2 - Repeat

umm... ...well, get ready for week 3 repeat 2 :-(

I fell 11 pushups short today. It just wasn't going to happen. I think it's because I've been working a lot this week, and not getting the pushups in until it's already late and I'm already tired.

It really stinks.

Program: 27,19,19,15, max (at least 25)
Actual: 27,19,19,15, 14
Daily Total: 94
Overall Total: 836

So I'm still wondering how I knocked out 106 pushups last Friday. ??

I'm really disappointed that I'm going to have to repeat this week again. Drats.

But let's try to focus on the good news. About the only silver lining I can find is that I did 7 more pushups than my last attempt at W3D2. That and maybe the fact that I think my chest, shoulders, and triceps are looking bigger. (That's my story & I'm sticking to it)

The daily totals have been hovering in the 90's for the last couple of days. I'm not too worried. The overall trend still looks pretty good; 49, 57, 65, 55, 69, 74, 81, 87, 106, 99, and 94 (see graph). I really just think I'm exhausted and it's holding me back. Whatever... we'll get there.

If I really do plateau, I've got a plan to get over the hump. Basically it amounts to doing double workout sets (am & pm), but I'm not ready to radically deviate from the hundredpushups plan just yet.

Like I said, we'll get there... Maybe I'll crush out another 100+ pushups this Friday too.

"The stuff that dreams are made of."

- Samuel Spade

Week 3 Day 1 - Repeat

Ok, good news & bad news...

The good news is that I completed the Week3 Day1 workout. Whoo Hoo!

Program: 25,17,17,15, max (at least 25)
Actual: 25,17,17,15,25
Daily Total: 99
Overall Total: 742

But I'm not getting too excited; here's the bad news. I barely managed to get the last 25 pushups out. I mean, I barely managed. I grunted out the last 10 one at a time with my arms shaking. It was brutal. If I didn't know that I'd have to repeat the whole week, there's no way I would have been able to do it. I also suspect that I simply wouldn't have been able to push my gut off the floor one more time either. I was spent.

but I did it ;-)

Let's hope that I have more workouts like my last one and fewer like today. Ouch.

Week 3 Day 3

Yazzzz....

While, I still didn't complete this workout 100% I cranked on my pushups today.

Program: 30,22,22,20, max (at least 27)
Actual: 30,22,22,17, 15
Daily Total: 106
Overall Total: 643

First off, W3D3 is a lot of push ups. That's why I don't mind whiffing so badly on the last two sets. Plus there are a couple of milestones to point out;

1. During the first set of pushups today I equaled the number I did during my initial trial.
2. Also, my total for the day crested over 100 pushups. That's the first day I've broken one hundred.

There's really not too much real significance with either of these, but they felt really good. It shows strong improvement.

Truthfully, I'm not sure how I got a bug up my butt to blow out that many push ups. It's 19 more than I did last time. ?? Must have been the Wheaties.

The first two sets went pretty well, with only the last couple of push ups hurting. The third set was a real struggle but I completed the 22. Obviously I just burned out during the 4th set only managing 17 of the required 20. I actually surprised myself by pumping out the last 15 push ups. I was afraid I'd end up with only 7 again or something, but I cranked through the first 10 fairly well.

Anyway, it was a good day that makes repeating W3D1 seem a lot less daunting. The last 25 of the workout still concerns me. I guess we'll all know how that goes on Monday.

Week 3 Day 2

My short term goal is to focus on crushing w3d1 when I repeat this week.

Program: 27,19,19,15, max (at least 25)
Actual: 27,19,19,15, 7
Daily Total: 87
Overall Total: 537

As you can see I managed through each set pretty well, but wasn't even close on the last 25.

Here's the thing, if you look at the number of pushups I did for each day it's increasing nicely. I did 87 pushups today. Not too bad.

From a total perspective it's gone like this; 49, 57, 65, 55, 69, 74, 81, and 87. So, in order to complete W3D1 when I repeat the week, I just need to keep increasing to 99. It's entirely possible. I've been going up by 5-7 per workout, so Friday could be 94, and the repeat could get me to 99.

That's my plan & my focus anyway.

Thanks again to Steve and everyone else for the words of encouragement.

Week 3 Day 1

ARRRGGGG!!!!

I got my self all fired up. No way I'd miss, but I did! Arrrggg!!! I'm so ummm... ANGRY!!! (that wasn't the first word I chose)

Program: 25,17,17,15, max (at least 25)
Actual: 25,17,17,15, 7
Daily Total: 81
Overall Total: 450

Ok, so I'm calmed down now. A bit anyway... Now I'm just annoyed. I really thought I'd get through this. Got through the 1st 25 & 17 unscathed, and the next 17 was a bit challenging but I made it. The last 15 was really tough, and by the time I got to the third push up of the last set, I was counting them out one by one. There was just nothing left. Darn.

Now I have to figure out what to do next. Looking over the program all it says is if you can't complete a workout you need to repeat the week you struggled with.

So I'm going to continue on with week 3 doing my best to complete the workouts. When I'm done, I'll repeat week 3 again. This really sucks.

I really thought I'd get through it. Darn.

BTW. I've completed 450 pushups since starting the program <= That's my silver lining.

Week 2 Trial

We'll, I was surprised and disappointed to only do forty pushups for the 2nd trial. I really expected I'd blow away the 30 I did in the initial trial. I guess the two weeks of pushups didn't help me as much as I expected. Bummer.

Daily Total: 40
Overall Total: 409

Sooo.... I looked at week 3. That's one of the weeks that the blogs I've read indicate people tend miss. Looking over W3D1 it does look really scary. The first set starts off with 25 push ups. The workouts are getting pretty serious.

Here's how I plan to deal with it;

1. Keep a good "I can do this" attitude. Mean and aggressive. As I've already written, attitude is huge.
2. IF I miss, I'll finish out the week as best I can and then repeat it. Eventually I should be able to get through it.
3. If I just can't get through week 3, I may back up and redo week 2, just to help with the attitude.
4. Regardless of what happens, I'll just keep trying. No quitting. Tenacity.
   

While I may have been a bit disappointed with the 40 pushups I pumped out during this trial, it should be a heck of a lot better next time, after I survive week 3.

BTW. I'm 80% sure I'll make it through week 3. Just got to get tough.

Week 2 Day 3

In case you missed it, at the end of my last post I invented a new word. We'll explore that subject is a few minutes. Meanwhile...

Week 2 successfully completed. Woo Hoo!

Today's workout was "a bit strenuous", but I got tough and knocked it out.

Program: 15,15,12,12, max (at least 15)
Actual: 15,15,12,12, 20
Daily Total: 74
Overall Total: 369

I'm not sure how I pulled off the last 20, but I squeaked them out. Thinking about that, I'm looking forward to tomorrow trial. My initial test was thirty so I ought to be able to blow that away. (we'll see, won't we?)

My word from yesterday, and a few more;

• Pushuper: Noun. One who does pushups (a lot of pushups)
• Pushuping: Verb. The act of doing push ups.
• Centepushuparian: Noun. One who's completed the hundredpushups challenge. (or is it a pro-noun).
• Pushupifacationismist: ????. Something George Bush would say.

If you have any others to add, just drop them in a comment.

Another one down... 74 push ups today... Not to bad.

Week 2 Day 2

Ok, got a lot to cover today, so buckle up....

I went into today with a really good attitude, and determined I'd crush the push-ups. I did.

Program: 16,13,11,11, max (at least 15)
Actual: 16,13,11,11, 20
Daily Total: 69
Overall Total: 295

No problem. Just blew through them. Attitude helps so much. Truthfully it was a bit concerning starting out with 16 push up. I thought that might suck the life out of my arms, but I shook that out of my head and got started.

Halfway through the set 13 I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. Never felt that before while doing push ups. ?? I started having all sorts of thoughts about how my last blog entry would be about a hernia or something. Bad mojo. I felt it through the rest of the sets, but didn't let it stop me.

A personal "thank you" to the people who have left comments and traded emails. I keep thinking I can't let you see me fail. It's a good motivator. I'm going with the attitude that I'll just keep getting stronger and never miss a beat through the entire program (psst... don't look at weeks 5 & 6. Scary!).

Anyway, thanks to Tara, Jenny, and of course, Steve for your support. So far it's working :-)
Anyone else who wants to chime in is more than welcome.

Ok, here's over thinking a situation;
Various blogs have suggested week three is tough. We're also supposed to do another trial at the end of week 2. The last trial made me sore for a week. So if we put it all together it could go something like this;

• Complete week 2 - Yea!
• Do the second trial & complete 50 push ups (or some other wonderful number) - Yea!
• Realize at the start of week 3 that I'm too sore to complete day 1. - Boo!

Like I said, probably over thinking the situation, but it might be something to watch out for. It might be a good idea to do W2D3 on Friday morning and the 2nd trial Saturday morning (instead of PM). Get 12 hrs of extra time to rest & heal.

Of course when you're an awesome pushuper like me, you probably don't need to worry about it.

Ouch, my stomach still hurts...

Week 2 Day 1

I blew through today's workout without much trouble, so it appears the weekend rest helped.

Program: 12,12,9,7, max (at least 10)
Actual: 12,12,9,7, 15
Daily Total: 55
Overall Total: 226

I knew it wouldn't be a problem to complete the workout even before I started. After the 1st set my arms got pumped full of blood, and I just tore through each set.

Looking over the next couple of workouts, it doesn't look like it's going to be so easy. While I'm sure each day will be a challenge, by keeping my head in the right place, I should be able to get through week 2.

Week 1 Day 3

This brings us to the finish of week 1! The good news is that the overall soreness went away before having to start this workout.

There was a big reason to freak out, however. The requirement for the last rep was to do the maximum possible, but at least 15. In W1D2 I maxed out at only 13 push ups. During this workout not only was the max requirement more, but the total number of pushups is more too. Gack!

This raised a real challenge. After putting my head mentally around this I started to knock out the push ups. The last seven really had to be grunted out, but I did it.

Program: 15,13,10,10, max (at least 15)
Actual: 15,13,10,10, 17
Daily Total: 65
Overall Total: 171

There was NO FREAK'N WAY, I wasn't going to make it through Week 1.

Kind of highlights the importance of a good attitude & perspective. Even if everyone else is putting you down, or telling you "no, you can't do that!", it's really up to your own attitude.

That completes Week1. It was tougher than expected, but I was really out of shape. Now I'm lean, fit, tough, ripped, and have giant "guns".

I've looked over Week2 and it doesn't look too bad, so let's think happy thoughts.

Remember go to hundredpushups.com for the entire program.

Joe

Week1 Day 1 & Day 2

I'm going to combine two workouts in this update. I'm behind and it's probably not necessary to have two separate posts.

Day 1
I started week 1 on Monday.

Program: 10, 10, 8, 6, max (at least 7)
Actual: 10, 10, 8, 6, 15
Daily Total: 49
Overall Total: 49

I looked over week 1 and overall it looks pretty easy. There's no requirement for anything over 15 push-ups.

Wrong. I struggled with Week1 Day1 (W1D1 for short). It probably isn't really a statement of my own physical conditioning. Rather it simply reflects the way gravity changes immediately under anyone who tries to do a push up. Gravity goes up by like 4x due to the reduced proximity to the earth. Anyone buying any of this?

Anyway got through the first day.

Day 2
This catches us up to today.

Program: 12,12,10,10, max (at least 10)
Actual: 12,12,10,10, 13
Daily Total: 57
Overall Total: 106

I'm still sore, but not too bad, so it's a good thing. You can just hear those muscle fibers calling for their friends. I've got another day to rest and the next work out is on Friday. Figuring if I get through that one I'll have Saturday and Sunday to heal up. (Yea!)

Let's not get that far ahead. L8R.

The Initial Trial

I actually did the initial trial on 7/19, but there not much point in back dating.

30. Yep that's what I did. Thirty push ups for my initial trial.

OUCH!!

It's a decent amount of push ups, but left me damaged for a couple of days. I was quite sore on Sunday and still not completely over it by Monday.

Here's the thing about this workout schedule; it doesn't look too bad up front. The first couple of weeks have 10-15 push ups per set. Toward the end of the schedule the number required becomes jacked up BIG TIME.

So, they instruct you to "go back and redo earlier weeks". Ok, makes sense. But then it doesn't take 6 weeks to complete the schedule. It could go on for quite some time.

That's ok with me. I'm going to rely on tenacity. I've been know to bang my head on a wall until I finally figure out how to win, so I'm planning on doing that here too. I'll keep repeating week 4 (or whatever) until I can finally make it to week five.

One other note, I've searched the web and haven't found anyone who's said; "Yippee! I've completed the HundredPushup challenge!" Most blogs mention week 1 or 2, maybe a couple make it to week 5. Doesn't bode well. We'll see if this blog ends up dead after week 2. (think tenacity, remember?).

If you're that extra special person who's actually completed the program, or if you've ever done 100 consecutive pushups, let us know how it went for you.

Starting Out

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a site called: HundredPushups.com. It's essentially a workout program focused on accomplishing 100 push ups within 6 weeks.

From the site;

If you're serious about increasing your strength, follow this six week training program and you'll soon be on your way to completing 100 consecutive push ups!

Think there's no way you could do this? I think you can! All you need is a good plan, plenty of discipline and about 30 minutes a week to achive this goal!

No doubt some of you can already do 50 consecutive push ups, but let's face it, you're in a big minority. Most of you reading this won't even be able to manage 20 pushups. Actually, I'm sure many of you can't even do 10.

However, it really doesn't matter which group you fall into. If you follow the progressive push ups training program, I'm positive you'll soon be able to do 100 push ups!

Go to the site to learn more: Hundredpushups.com

Now, being able to do 100 push ups has been a goal of mine for some time, so that means I know it's not easy to do. A few years back I did a bootcamp style workout program that put me in pretty good shape. That only got me to 65 pushups. Respectable, but not 100.

So this blog will document my attempt to complete the program and hit my goal.

BTW. I'm blogging this as motivation for myself and anyone else who wants to join in. With that in mind, please post comments. Your comments would be appreciated.

Joe