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.