100 pushup challenge: update 1
As you recall, along with zillions of J.D.-fearing minions, I recently challenged myself to doing 100 pushups in 6 weeks, which would be somewhere at the end of July for me. In my original post I didn't go so far as to scoff at the challenge, because I knew it would be tough! But I did suggest that the comparison between doing 100 pushups and running a marathon was not quite the right comparison, because while 100 pushups will be hard, running a marathon is freaking harder, OK? Even seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong said that running the New York Marathon in 2006 "was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done". (Of course Lance finished in under 3 hours, while my marathon took me 4:28. But I ride my bike only ~600 miles a year.) So all I was saying was, pushups and marathons aren't the same.
But I must say, I'm having a hard time. First off, my biggest problem is my ab muscles. I went into this challenge with both my pushup muscles and my core muscles being way out of condition. I am not familiar with a way to do pushups without tightening my core muscles, and so the result of my very first day of pushups was several days of sore abs.
Week 1 recap:
So the first day of the challenge I performed according to schedule, and did 5 sets of the following numbers of pushups: 2-2-2-2-3. The next two days of the pushup challenge I could not do a single regular pushup due to ab pain, so instead I modified my schedule and performed increased repetitions of modified (knee) pushups. So instead of performing 4-3-2-2-4 and 5-4-4-3-5 on days 2 and 3, I performed more like 12-12-12-12-12 and 15-15-15-15-15 modified pushups. In the past, completing huge messes of knee pushups really helped my regular pushups improve, so I'm going with that theory this time, as well.
Week 2 recap:
A similar thing happened during the second week. I performed according to schedule on day 1 (4-4-3-3-5) and day 2 (6-5-3-3-6), but on day 3 my abs were holding me back from performing my pushups in acceptable form so instead I did something like 5 regular pushups followed by 15-20-20-15 knee pushups.
I really think I can hit the goal of 100 pushups, but I'm not sure I can do so according to the schedule at one hundred pushups. When I previously reached 50 pushups within 4 weeks I was doing pushups 5 days per week, and more repetitions. So, will I be "cheating" if I do extra? Can I say I'm participating in the same challenge if I modify my schedule? I think the challenge is just to complete 100 pushups, and not necessarily do so according to any particular plan, right?
That's what I'm going to go with. Because we're already 1/3 finished with the challenge and I can't even do 10 regular pushups. I need to pick up the pace.
But I must say, I'm having a hard time. First off, my biggest problem is my ab muscles. I went into this challenge with both my pushup muscles and my core muscles being way out of condition. I am not familiar with a way to do pushups without tightening my core muscles, and so the result of my very first day of pushups was several days of sore abs.
Week 1 recap:
So the first day of the challenge I performed according to schedule, and did 5 sets of the following numbers of pushups: 2-2-2-2-3. The next two days of the pushup challenge I could not do a single regular pushup due to ab pain, so instead I modified my schedule and performed increased repetitions of modified (knee) pushups. So instead of performing 4-3-2-2-4 and 5-4-4-3-5 on days 2 and 3, I performed more like 12-12-12-12-12 and 15-15-15-15-15 modified pushups. In the past, completing huge messes of knee pushups really helped my regular pushups improve, so I'm going with that theory this time, as well.
Week 2 recap:
A similar thing happened during the second week. I performed according to schedule on day 1 (4-4-3-3-5) and day 2 (6-5-3-3-6), but on day 3 my abs were holding me back from performing my pushups in acceptable form so instead I did something like 5 regular pushups followed by 15-20-20-15 knee pushups.
I really think I can hit the goal of 100 pushups, but I'm not sure I can do so according to the schedule at one hundred pushups. When I previously reached 50 pushups within 4 weeks I was doing pushups 5 days per week, and more repetitions. So, will I be "cheating" if I do extra? Can I say I'm participating in the same challenge if I modify my schedule? I think the challenge is just to complete 100 pushups, and not necessarily do so according to any particular plan, right?
That's what I'm going to go with. Because we're already 1/3 finished with the challenge and I can't even do 10 regular pushups. I need to pick up the pace.
posted by Jen S. at
12:38 PM
|
0 Comments
