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.