100 Push Ups

djh · Post by **djh** » June 17th, 2009, 10:17 pm

So, yes I'll be cheating a little, but that's the best I'm going to be able to do. I hope you all will accept my enrollment.

Yoda

May the Force be with you, Yoda

Rhubarbarian · Post by **Rhubarbarian** » June 18th, 2009, 3:26 am

djh wrote:
So, yes I'll be cheating a little, but that's the best I'm going to be able to do. I hope you all will accept my enrollment.

Yoda
May the Force be with you, Yoda

I think you're participation is true to the spirit of the challenge. Take yourself from where you are now to where you can get to be at the end of the challenge.

Good for you for taking on the task.

yoda · Post by **yoda** » June 22nd, 2009, 10:34 am

I've added an additional exercise that I believe will help with rowing strength. It's called an inverted horizontal row. In other words, it's like doing a lying bench row, but you are facing upward, hanging from a bar, with your feet flat on the ground. Your body is in a horizontal position with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.

What I've found over the years of training is that most people have about 60-70 percent of the pulling strength with their pushing strength. So, if you take that percentage of your starting pushup strength, you'll be able to determine your starting percentage for the "inverted horizontal row"

I've already incorporated it in my program and it seems to be working just as well as the pushup routine.

Yoda

TabbRows · Post by **TabbRows** » June 22nd, 2009, 12:06 pm

So, yes I'll be cheating a little, but that's the best I'm going to be able to do. I hope you all will accept my enrollment.

Not really...the write up on the site mentions knee pushups and wall pushups as alternatives, nothing wrong with using a bar.

Re your inverted row. Ripptoe program offers this as an alternative (correct me if I'm wrong here BadDoctor), except your feet are on a bench, your body straight, bar set at a the height where your arms are straight but shoulders not touching the floor, lower yourself til your arms are straight, then pull yourself to touch the bar. Keep your pelvis aligned with your shoulders just like in a pushup. Butt should not be touching the floor.

yoda · Post by **yoda** » June 22nd, 2009, 4:30 pm

Yup, you got it, but I seem to get more out of doing my way. Doing them with your heels on a bench and the body straight doesn't allow me to focus on the parts I'm trying to work. Actually, if you get right down to it, I'm cheating on this on too.

Some of the exercises that would have been a walk in the park for me just a few years ago are now pretty difficult to do. With titanium in my back and in both shoulders and a steel plate in my right wrist I'm constantly having to make adjustments in the exercises I do. If the original body parts continue to break down as they have, it won't be long and I'll be a full blown bionic human.

Yoda

djh · Post by **djh** » June 22nd, 2009, 9:28 pm

yoda wrote:I've added an additional exercise that I believe will help with rowing strength. It's called an inverted horizontal row. In other words, it's like doing a lying bench row, but you are facing upward, hanging from a bar, with your feet flat on the ground. Your body is in a horizontal position with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.

Yoda

I'm always amazed at how much interest there is in doing push-ups, even though the arm stroke of rowing is closer to a pull-up or chin-up. This is what I do using my "Perfect Pullup" apparatus:

http://www.perfectpullup.com/Workouts/A ... Pullup.php

As Yoda points out, this is a bit like rowing, arm-wise. (I'm sure one could improvise using other equipment. You don't need the Perfect Pullup to do this.)

KevJGK · Post by **KevJGK** » June 25th, 2009, 5:32 am

djh wrote: I'm always amazed at how much interest there is in doing push-ups, even though the arm stroke of rowing is closer to a pull-up or chin-up.

The upper body usage in rowing is predominantly a "pulling" stroke as opposed to the "pushing" used in a push up. As such the 2 exercises nicely compliment each other for overall upper body fitness.

ccwenk · Post by **ccwenk** » June 25th, 2009, 11:15 am

I started this plan about 2.5 weeks ago. I did 21 pushups on my initial test and started at week 1 in column 3. After 2 successful weeks of workouts, I tested again at 30 pushups, putting me in column 3 for week 3.

Week 3 is crazy! I did the second workout last night and didn't even come close to doing the required 25 for the 5th set. The 3rd workout has a set of 30 and a final set of 28. Is there really anyone out there who managed 26 pushups on Saturday or Sunday, then by the following Friday can do two sets of 28 or greater in a workout?

Big Chris, what has your experience been at this point? I was skeptical going in about the 6-week timeline, and now I am even more so. I wonder if there is anyone who actually has gone from 20 to 100 in the 6 weeks. I guess that I will be repeating week 3 at least one more time.

KevJGK · Post by **KevJGK** » June 25th, 2009, 11:48 am

I have a similar experience to ccwenk.

The first 2 weeks were tough but doable, then all of a sudden at the start of week 3 you are looking at 14, 18, 14, 14, 20+ which is pretty hard if the previous workouts were anything but comfortable; and of course they just get tougher from there.

I have started treating each workout as a target in itself which I repeat every other day until I crack it. I am currently on week 4 day 1 which calls for 21, 25, 21, 21, 32+ with only 60 seconds rest. I have failed this 3 times so far although I managed 21, 25, 21, 21, and 16 today so it is possible.

The final target before attempting the 100 straight off is 26, 26, 33, 33, 26, 26, 22, 22, and 60+ with just 45 seconds rest? That will take some doing!

TabbRows · Post by **TabbRows** » June 25th, 2009, 11:50 am

Wait'll you hit Week 4!!!

What a big jump on every level. I had to drop down to knees to finish Week4 Day2 Module 1! And for Situps!!! GAWD!! Target 48 max on final set for Module 3!!! My gut hurt like hell trying to row 20 minutes after that one! Week 3 was challenging enough all the way around but at least I felt like I was improving. Week 4 just stepped it to a level I wasn't even prepped for.

ccwenk · Post by **ccwenk** » June 25th, 2009, 4:29 pm

KevJGK wrote:I have started treating each workout as a target in itself which I repeat every other day until I crack it. I am currently on week 4 day 1 which calls for 21, 25, 21, 21, 32+ with only 60 seconds rest. I have failed this 3 times so far although I managed 21, 25, 21, 21, and 16 today so it is possible.

I am glad that I am not the only one thinking the step up from week 2-3 is ridiculous. I appreciate that this challenge got me back into doing some strength work, but I think that the path to 100 consecutive pushups may be closer to 12 weeks than 6 when all is said and done.

Anyone finish the challenge yet??

ThatMoos3Guy · Post by **ThatMoos3Guy** » June 25th, 2009, 7:55 pm

Just took the preliminary test, got 58. Not sure which week to start in, I guess I'll try week 4. I don't want to jump in too far over my head, but I also want to push myself. We'll see how it goes when i start next week.

ccwenk · Post by **ccwenk** » June 29th, 2009, 2:52 pm

If you can do 58 pushups right off the bat, week 4 is the earliest you should start. Waiting to see how quickly you get to 100!

ThatMoos3Guy · Post by **ThatMoos3Guy** » June 29th, 2009, 8:39 pm

ccwenk wrote:If you can do 58 pushups right off the bat, week 4 is the earliest you should start. Waiting to see how quickly you get to 100!

Starting tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

yoda · Post by **yoda** » July 3rd, 2009, 8:05 pm

I just finished my third week today. Doing pretty good so far except for the inverted horizontal rows. I've had to really slow down on the progress with them. I have a question, though. When are you taking your weekend test? Is it on the last day of each week or are you resting a day before taking the test? I haven't taken a single test yet and I'm wondering when would be the best time.

Hey, hang in there everyone, we're gonna do this!!!

Yoda