M2M — Week 1 – 100 Pushups
This month my aim is to complete the first two challenges of my M2M program. These are:
- memorise the order of a shuffled deck of playing cards in under four minutes
- complete one continuous set of 100 push ups
Introduction — Why 100 pushups?
December is not a great month for stable routines. I’m travelling between three countries (Peru, England and Spain) as well as familial commitments for Christmas and NY. Bodyweight exercises, such as pushups, offer great flexibility in terms of location and environment. To do them I just need a flat section of floor, which is available in most places…
Taking into account recent trips to South America and India lasting two and a half months, I’m aiming to improve my strength, fitness and discipline before returning to the gym properly in January.
Also, I see this challenge as the first step to establishing a morning routine that includes 15–20 minutes of fitness, independently of what else I may have going on during the day.
Benchmarking
The norm for men aged 20–29 (I’m 22) seems to be 17–29 push-ups. Aiming higher, in order to get into the BUD/S school for SEAL training, candidates need to be able to do 50 push-ups in two minutes or less. However, most SEAL candidates can perform 80–100 repetitions within the same time frame.
For the sake of this challenge, I decided to forego the two minutes time limit, but keep the upper limit of 100 push ups. Navy Seals here I come…
Ground rules
Standard pushup etiquette applies:
- Feet together
- Body off the floor at all times
- The upper arms should become parallel with the ground before pushing back up (no head bobbing)
- The body should form a straight line from the shoulders to the ankles
- Although resting between push-ups is allowed, this should be kept to a minimum.
Methodology
I’ll be taking a two-pronged approach:
- 4–5 sets of pushups on training days, progressively increasing the number of reps per set and adapting rest times between each set (1min — 2mins 30s). I’ll probably use a fitness app to automate this.
- Recording my max continuous pushups at the start of each week. This will give me an idea of whether I’m on track to complete the challenge.
01.12.19 — Day 1 — Assessing my level
Today, I recorded my starting point for this challenge. Here’s the video:
Encouragingly, I managed 52 pushups! Scraping past the Navy Seal pushup criteria… Also, this was achieved in 1 minute, which, although not part of the success metrics for this challenge, is positive. However, towards the end of the video, my form is not the best, with my head moving around too much.
As a teenager, I remember progressing from sets of 20 pushups to 35–40 rapidly. However, at that point, my progress stalled — turns out it’s much easier to improve at that pace as a beginner. Therefore, to go from 50 (an already advanced number) to 100 in the next month, I’ll need to find a program that works for me, tweak it, and push through my mental and physical limits.
That’s it for today — the hard works starts tomorrow…
02.12.19 -Day 2 — Beginning the Program
Bad timing, I seem to have tweaked my shoulder last week while learning to surf… paddling is tough! It’s not too uncomfortable so I’m hoping some good old tiger balm will sort it out.
To help with this challenge I’ve downloaded the Just 6 Weeks app. It aims to create a program (3 days/week) to allow their users to reach 100 pushups (or other bodyweight-based exercises) in 6 weeks. As I have 4 weeks, I’ll be using it as a rough guideline, compressing it to fit my schedule.
Using the app, here’s my pushup log for the day, with 1 minute 30 s of rest between each set.
- Set 1 — 25 pushups
- Set 2 — 28 pushups
- Set 3 — 26 pushups
- Set 4 — 22 pushups
- Set 5 — 17 pushups
Total: 118 pushups
The first two sets went down a breeze. From set 3 onwards, however, muscle fatigue began to kick in. The last set was painful, I needed to rest between the last few reps. However, I’m not overly worried, the first few days are usually the most difficult as the body (and mind) adapts to the new intensity.
03.12.19 — Day 3 — The Importance of Rest Days
Rest day today (no pushups)— my girlfriend and I had to get up at 3am to travel from Nicaragua to Lima over 3 flights, landing at 8pm…
This a good opportunity to mention the importance of rest days. As covered in this excellent post by Keenan Eriksson, when you exercise for the purpose of building muscle, your muscle fibres rip and tear at the cellular level — Essentially, you’re damaging your muscles.
Don’t worry though, here’s the good news: after exercise (and consequential damage), your body adjusts its hormones and makes adaptive improvements over the course of the next few days — your body improves, allowing you to build muscle and get stronger!
Don’t skip those rest days.
04.12.19 — Day 4 — Loving the app
My chest and arms are still a bit sore today but I felt ready to continue the challenge. Here’s my log for the day:
- Set 1–26 pushups
- Set 2–29 pushups
- Set 3–32 pushups
- Set 4–26 pushups
- Set 5–19 pushups
Total: 132 pushups
On a side note, I’ve really enjoyed using the Just 6 Weeks app this week. It’s very simple to use, adjusting the pushup progression each workout and incorporating an automatic “rest” timer. Best of all though is the User Experience (UX) — the interface is clean and simple. The developers have done a great job of removing all the clutter and confusing extra features often found in other fitness apps.
I’ve found that the apps I use which have the best UX often apply a Less is More approach — allowing users to complete their goal in the most effective way possible, without distracting them.
05.12.19 — Day 5— Flying Back To London
Rest day today, as I’m flying back home to London from Lima via Madrid.
This brings to an end my 6-week trip to Peru and Nicaragua. It’s been really great, packed with fresh ceviches, trekking, sightseeing, learning to surf and 25oC+ weather. Although I’ll definitely miss the warmer climates, I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed again.
06.12.19 — Day 6 — Jet-lagged
Having only managed 3 hours of sleep on the journey back to London from Lima, I decided to take another rest day. It wasn't worth risking injury to train poorly in an exhausted state.
Instead, my girlfriend and I unpacked our stuff, kept busy until the evening and caught up with our flatmate over dinner.
Back to the program tomorrow.
07.12.19 — Day 7 — Ignorance Is Bliss
Today, I experimented with a new technique while training. After my pushups, I usually use the app to work on my core. For this I perform a standard exercise: the plank. If you’re not familiar with this exercise, you can learn about it here.
When ‘holding’ the plank, I often have the timer within eyesight — so I can see how long is left. However, this time, once I had started the timer, I turned the phone upside down — relying only on the alarm at the end of the timer as a trigger to stop the exercise. Using this technique I found that:
- I completed the plank exercises more easily.
- I improved my ability to keep going past my own mental limits. Had I been able to see how long was left, these mental limits would have been reinforced.
I’ll try to incorporate this technique into my pushups training next week.
Here’s my log for today:
- Set 1–40 pushups
- Set 2–32 pushups
- Set 3–29 pushups
- Set 4–27 pushups
- Set 5–24 pushups
Total: 152 pushups
08.12.19 — Day 8— Assessing Progress
We’ve reached the end of Week 1. To celebrate I’ll be doing, you guessed it, more pushups…
I was keen to assess my progress since Day 1, so I decided to test how many continuous pushups I could now complete. Here’s the video:
I’ve improved from 52 (Day 1)to 65 (Day 8)! And that’s despite a lot of travelling and jet-lag! Now that I’m back in London where I can control my routines and day-to-day more efficiently, I’m excited to see what number I can get to. However, I suspect it will get increasingly harder to improve at the same rate. Currently, my confidence level is at 70%.
That’s it for this week. Many more pushups to come…
Next Post (Week 2)
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