Don't spend a dollar until you can do 100 push ups

morticia

At my athletic peak I could only do 60.  I need to get to where I can do 100.  I would feel really good about myself.  My upper body strength is super pathetic. 

CaptVere

I've been working out for about 5 months now and I've been doing this since the start.  I try and start most mornings doing some push ups before I get in the shower.  I just like doing it to start off the day.  I have felt the burn in my chest for sure.

I've since moved up to a more structured work out.  I swim 5 times a week and work out 3 times a week doing mostly body weight exercises and rowing.  I know it's a lot of cardio and such, but I am developing a passion for swimming now and looking at sprint swimmers I wouldn't mind my body looking like that.  I want more of an athletic build as opposed to bulky.  My goal is to do several sets of pull ups and chins up without using the pull up machine to remove some weight.  I still need some assistance on these.  Then I'll move on to adding some weight I hope.

x1134x

I just finally got so sick of the add a plate dumbbell set ... I just spent $100 on a set of 2-15lbs, 2-20lbs, 2-25lbs dumbbells. I really need a shorty standard circumference barbell. hoping to find one on Craigslist.

Yeah I figured this out quick, I use my olympic dumbells for the heavy ones, I can make up to 75LB use-ables with the 5lbs plates I have, but use the neoprene set I have 3,5,8,10,12,15,and 20s for the light ones.  My wife uses the little guys.  Bought a rack and put casters on it so they move easy.

alphabrew

I strongly recommend the book "Convict Conditioning". It's written by a guy who did a few decades in the slammer, without the benefit of fancy gym equipment. It's sort of pricey for a book (about $30 or so) but I think it's well worth it and you don't need any equipment.. All the exercises use your own body weight (most advanced is one armed pushups/one armed pull ups). It's a very red pill view of doing what works vs. buying into the modern fitness scam that is so popular today.

excess

This is great advice. I'm on week 3 of the 100 push ups program (http://hundredpushups.com/) and my chest and arms are already noticeably larger. It's perfect because I'm having trouble finding time to go to the gym but I can close the door and bang out a set of pushups in my office at work.

Chimpy

Joskin_Nodd said:

I did 8 push ups this morning, then another set of 5, then another set of 4. 

That's about all I could take. Will keep at it, though.

But thats the beauty of exercising. You can measure absolutely what your progress is and its real. When you do 9 6 5 thats measurably better than what 8 5 4 is. No one can shit you that you ain't making a difference cos the numbers don't lie. Plus you can set targets real easy. Theres no perceived this or relative that. Whether its pressups or weights or running or whatever what you do is a hard number. You know your getting better and you can measure it!

Get down and give me fifty (OK, a dozen then lol!)

Forlorn

I don't know.  I decided to do StrongLifts 5x5, and invested about $1000 in equipment for my home gym.  I'm glad that I did.  Knowing that I made that financial investment motivates me to use that equipment.  Plus, I enjoy the measurability and gradual progression that a set of weights affords me.  I guess you can count the number of push-ups that you can do to get the same effect, but I like to know that I am able to lift more today than I could just a few days ago.  It is so encouraging.

Plus, I think that when my wife sees me lifting heavy objects, it produces a different sensation in her than if she were to see me on the ground doing push-ups.  I think that when she sees all those plates on the bar, and me moving them, it gives her a little bit of a gina tingle.

excess

@Forlorn I do think that having an investment works in some cases. The problem is a lot of people plop down $1000, go for 2 or 3 weeks and then it slowly fades out. In the past I've gone to very expensive gyms, paid for trainers, and gotten into excellent shape. The problem is that stopped working for me. I stopped working out after I went through a bad break up and was writing my dissertation. I gained 40 pounds and felt like crap about myself. Now that I have a good job and money to spend I tried joining a gym and doing training but it didn't take this time for some reason. The push ups did. It's corny, but the right type of exercise is the exercise you'll do.

I do think it's nice to have an activity outside of training where you can see your fitness. I surf a lot and since I started the 100 push ups program I'm catching 2-3 times as many waves and have a faster pop up (to be expected, push ups are particularly well suited for surfing). That feels great and keeps me going.

fredless

I know that I can't do 100 pushups without a break--but I'm fairly certain I can knock them out in 2-3 minutes, tops.  The next time I do a deload week, I think I'm going to give it a try.

Hamster_Free

Great thing about rolling out of bed to do pushups..you're still pretty much horizontal to begin with!  LOL

 

Monkeys_Uncle

@Forlorn

I don't have any kind of problem with people making a financial investment in their fitness, and over the long term I think that is pretty much inevitable if you are serious, but I think a whole lot of people fall into the trap of thinking, "If I drop money on it, that will motivate me to follow through."   

The 100 Push-Ups Challenge is simply a test of your resolve.  This is a commitment of 10-15 minutes per day, and it's free.  If you can't do that, what are the odds that you are going to follow through on a 45-90 minute fitness program that costs money?  

As I said elsewhere, I probably couldn't do 100 consecutive push ups today, but that is how I started limping my way back towards a more fit lifestyle years ago, after a decade of neglect, and it was a valuable lesson for me:   The money you spend on fitness should be to increase the quality of your exercise, not an attempt to psyche yourself into exercising in the first place.  

Joskin_Nodd

45 push ups (total) yesterday. Still can't do more than 15 consecutively. Slow to build strength and endurance, alas. but every little bit helps. Wasn't that long ago 18 in a day was the best I could manage, and I couldn't top 10 in a set. 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I keep telling myself. One. More. Step. 

Monkeys_Uncle

Way to stick with it, J_N.   Can you see a significant difference in how your arms and chest look yet?

Joskin_Nodd

Monkeys_Uncle: Not a significant difference, but there is a difference. Just enough for me to say that it is making a difference. I think by the time I can do 100 in sets of 25 (this time next year!) I will see a significant difference. 

I just wish I hadn't been so overweight in my teens, then again in my 30s. Perma-flab.Only cosmetic surgery would fix that . . . but, not normally an issue, so I don't worry. Arms are looking better every day, and that people can see. Shoulders and chest looking better. I'm pleased. Just got keep hitting the floor, and then pushing away from it.

Hamster_Free

@Joskin_Nod: \:D/

I did 57 this morning...but only in sets of 10, and three sets were girl pushups (can't tell ya how much I wanna rock a full set of 100 full plank pushups).  Tomorrow *will* be better.  :^)

AnonJohn

webmistress32 said:

I called XSport fitness today just for grins because I saw they were running a special locally on memberships.

$475 / person for a husband/wife! wow!! The days of the old Golds membership for $200/year really is gone, isn't it? The guy was trying really hard to make it sound like a deal but I don't think even he believed it. Ridiculous. I'll stick with my basement, thank you very much.

Now, how to get an incline leg press? HM.

doesnt sound that bad at all to me

DanG

I saw on YouTube that wrist pain can be a problem when doing pushups without pushup stands. I was having wrist pain from a previous injury (maybe artheritis). When looking for pushup stands at Walmart, I saw a similar "Tricepts+" device ($20). It works great! No more pain and it ups the benefits by adding instability.

longneck

I've started doing pushups. I'm thinking of setting goals like 2500 total pushups, 3000 situps in the next two months. Right now a couple sets of ten is enough. I used to bench 300 so this in not acceptable.

GumbyMan

longneck said:

I've started doing pushups. I'm thinking of setting goals like 2500 total pushups, 3000 situps in the next two months. Right now a couple sets of ten is enough. I used to bench 300 so this in not acceptable.

I don't see the benefit of doing that many. I think the 100 number is good to have as a goal, after that it gets to be just repetition without any gain. once you can do a reasonable number then start to up the intensity. Start doing declined pushups, weighted pushups, one handed etc. 

Same with pull-ups, once you can get a decent number of regular ones, start upping the intensity. 

It still goes back to doing 3 or more sets of 7-15 reps to 'failure', if you want to increase muscle - whether you are lifting iron, or body weight. 

At some point you might wonder how many you can do and just do regular ones for as long as you can 'just to see what number you can do' but it is like running a marathon, you don't do it every day.

longneck

@GumbyMan I think you misunderstood me. I was talking cumulative totals. I would start with three sets of 10, the 3x15, then 4x15. Working towards the totals.