OK, so this challenge is kicking my ass (oh dear, I've gone native, I mean arse, or actually maybe arms). I'm sure I'm not alone, so this post is to rally the rest of the gang who may be feeling a little feeble as some of our team mates apparently hurtle towards 100 straight.
I tested out at 12 at the beginning of this, and have been iterating on week 2's workouts not quite getting them nailed, but getting closer. I'm trying the suggestion of repeating each workout several times for a week to get progress.
I see a lot of other names on the spreadsheet who haven't made updates recently either. Who else is going to join me on the way to the getting to the 20 or 25 straight milestone? Let's get some mojo going!
Neil, hang in there. The 20 milestone is a huge boost. One thing I found out the first time around was that doing them "quick" (but still good form) really made them more achievable.
I am one that is doing the work and have not updated the spreadsheet. I'll get around to it this week. Did not feel like testing this weekend. So I just went from Week 4 column 3 to week 5 column 2. Still found it hard.
I'm repeating the same place I was last week...and really focusing on getting the pushups as deep as I can...figuring the same numbers but almost exaggeratedly deep will also be a new adaptation/challenge.
As much progress as I made, no way I'm getting to 100 by the end of this week, so this is one of my ways to ensure that i'm not "cheating" in trying to get there. :-)
Great idea William. I took Nemo's advice and tried to do the reps faster while keeping good form. I think it did help. I still could not finish all the recommended reps but I'm determined to see this challenge through.
I keep chugging along, every other day, doing the same day 3x/week, building and building. I'm hitting all my targets, but I'll be doing this LONG after y'all are done with your 100!!!
@ Scott - nothing wrong with deliberate progress. Heck, you may even come out of this better than most by racking up the volume.
Thought I would try to stick it out on the regular protocol and I did get today done. Hit my sets for 140 total. Only I needed extra time between the last 2 sets. Feels like I'm going full speed into a brick wall again. It will surprise me if I can get [W4, D3, C3] done without extra time or splitting the last set on Friday. Worst case scenaio is repeat [W4] like I did for [W3].
I don't think there is a wrong way to work through the process of increasing the number of push ups you can achieve.
My rest interval between sets is whatever is recommended. EXCEPT- between the last regular set and the MAX set, I always take a 2 minute rest. I also windmill my arms before starting and between sets. Keeping the blood flowing helps.
We'll see Sat or Sun whether the week of extra deep ones paid off. Didn't get the 55 long set today..but did get to 50, then a very quick rest and 10 to top off and get to the 250 overall.
@ William - that's awesome. Seems like such a huge number.....
I thought I posted about my results earlier today... but I don't see my entry... hmmmm.... maybe I was delierious from the the pushups....
Anyway, I managed to grunt out W4-C3-D3 today at lunch, 160 total. The only questionable thing was I needed a few extra minutes between sets 4 & 5. The rest were all done with the normal rest period. So, unless the pushup police card me, I will be moveing on to W5-C3 on Monday. Wahhhooooeeeee!
Opps, I guess I cross posted the other entry on the 'other' pushup page...... too confusing....
Tested today before my sunday run. Grunted out 46 then collapsed to the floor and didn't get up for almost 5 minutes. W5-D1-C3 beginning tomorrow at lunch.
Congrats to all for the great progess made this week. We are on our way!
Jane- you are being smart by taking it easy on the shoulder. Welcome to the challenge!
I'm actually going to step back a week. I tried doing day 1 of week 5 and again struggled with the big numbers. Lots of Sets of 20 seem to be just fine, but bigger sets and I struggle. So I'm going back to week 4 and will build up again. I've learned the hard way that if I push through this too hard I just end up too sore to complete the next workout.
I did an aborted test on Sunday and it was clear I was just too tired or a little sick or something...Just wasn't there. Tried to get back on board for today's workout and it was the same. Just dead arms (etc). I just did the right number of sets and let the numbers fall where they did instead of trying to get to the right final numbers this time. Hoping another couple days (until Wednesday's next regular try) will give me a bit of mojo back.
I was all psyched about starting W5-C3 but it kicked my a$$.... First set was OK, second just barely finished, third set nearly quit at 26 - 4 short but managed to finish in slow motion. Set 4.... I couldn't even start! I collapsed on the way down for #1. Tried again and managed to lower myself safely but was completely incapable of doing the pushup! What the h@ll happened? Ten minutes later I tried again and could only get to 7 before fatigue stopped me again.
Maybe there was something in the water, or it was an alergic reaction to the carpet...... [crawl away with tail between legs...whimpering and beaten...]
Week 1, Day 2. 10/12/8/8/13 for a total of 51. Man, I'm just hanging in there. My arms still ache from Monday, but it was just possible to ignore it. Really looking forward to the weekend off.
Repeat W5-C3-D1. Took 30 minutes between sets but I finished 36-40-30-24-40. I think I need to adopt Scott's idea of taking a week to do each day.
Monday I did the normal rest and couldnt finish. Today I took all the time I needed so I could finish. Friday I will try it again with the normal rest periods and see if I can move on to D2.
Pushups are tough afterr you reach that fatigue point.....
Comments
OK, so this challenge is kicking my ass (oh dear, I've gone native, I mean arse, or actually maybe arms). I'm sure I'm not alone, so this post is to rally the rest of the gang who may be feeling a little feeble as some of our team mates apparently hurtle towards 100 straight.
I tested out at 12 at the beginning of this, and have been iterating on week 2's workouts not quite getting them nailed, but getting closer. I'm trying the suggestion of repeating each workout several times for a week to get progress.
I see a lot of other names on the spreadsheet who haven't made updates recently either. Who else is going to join me on the way to the getting to the 20 or 25 straight milestone? Let's get some mojo going!
Neil
I made 60 today, slightly disappointing. But even if i had done some perfect test, it wasn't like I was going to catch Carly I don't think. :-)
Did not feel like testing this weekend. So I just went from Week 4 column 3 to week 5 column 2. Still found it hard.
As much progress as I made, no way I'm getting to 100 by the end of this week, so this is one of my ways to ensure that i'm not "cheating" in trying to get there. :-)
@ Scott - nothing wrong with deliberate progress. Heck, you may even come out of this better than most by racking up the volume.
Thought I would try to stick it out on the regular protocol and I did get today done. Hit my sets for 140 total. Only I needed extra time between the last 2 sets. Feels like I'm going full speed into a brick wall again. It will surprise me if I can get [W4, D3, C3] done without extra time or splitting the last set on Friday. Worst case scenaio is repeat [W4] like I did for [W3].
My rest interval between sets is whatever is recommended. EXCEPT- between the last regular set and the MAX set, I always take a 2 minute rest. I also windmill my arms before starting and between sets. Keeping the blood flowing helps.
I can't believe I did 250 pushups today. Oy!
We'll see Sat or Sun whether the week of extra deep ones paid off. Didn't get the 55 long set today..but did get to 50, then a very quick rest and 10 to top off and get to the 250 overall.
I thought I posted about my results earlier today... but I don't see my entry... hmmmm.... maybe I was delierious from the the pushups....
Anyway, I managed to grunt out W4-C3-D3 today at lunch, 160 total. The only questionable thing was I needed a few extra minutes between sets 4 & 5. The rest were all done with the normal rest period. So, unless the pushup police card me, I will be moveing on to W5-C3 on Monday. Wahhhooooeeeee!
Opps, I guess I cross posted the other entry on the 'other' pushup page...... too confusing....
@Nemo --- thanks for the tips. Going a bit faster while still maintaining good form makes all the difference.
Neil
Congrats to all for the great progess made this week. We are on our way!
@ Jane - I'd be cautious about that shoulder.... some things you can push thru, others you can't.
I'm actually going to step back a week. I tried doing day 1 of week 5 and again struggled with the big numbers. Lots of Sets of 20 seem to be just fine, but bigger sets and I struggle. So I'm going back to week 4 and will build up again. I've learned the hard way that if I push through this too hard I just end up too sore to complete the next workout.
I did an aborted test on Sunday and it was clear I was just too tired or a little sick or something...Just wasn't there. Tried to get back on board for today's workout and it was the same. Just dead arms (etc). I just did the right number of sets and let the numbers fall where they did instead of trying to get to the right final numbers this time. Hoping another couple days (until Wednesday's next regular try) will give me a bit of mojo back.
I was all psyched about starting W5-C3 but it kicked my a$$.... First set was OK, second just barely finished, third set nearly quit at 26 - 4 short but managed to finish in slow motion. Set 4.... I couldn't even start! I collapsed on the way down for #1. Tried again and managed to lower myself safely but was completely incapable of doing the pushup! What the h@ll happened? Ten minutes later I tried again and could only get to 7 before fatigue stopped me again.
Maybe there was something in the water, or it was an alergic reaction to the carpet...... [crawl away with tail between legs...whimpering and beaten...]
Repeat W5-C3-D1. Took 30 minutes between sets but I finished 36-40-30-24-40. I think I need to adopt Scott's idea of taking a week to do each day.
Monday I did the normal rest and couldnt finish. Today I took all the time I needed so I could finish. Friday I will try it again with the normal rest periods and see if I can move on to D2.
Pushups are tough afterr you reach that fatigue point.....