Week 5, Day 1

Holy moley! What a jump from last week! The combination of moving from column 1 in Week 4 to column 2 in Week 5 and the insane increase in the number of push-ups in Week 5 Day 1 has left me hurting. Jelly arms. Short of breath. Rug burns on my face.

And the clear understanding that I'll be repeating Week 5. To be completely honest, I didn't come close to completing Day 1. I did the first set of 28 with no problem, waited 60 seconds, then did the second set of 35 in about 6 or 7 smaller groups with as little gap between them as I could manage. Same on the remaining sets. I did the total number of push-ups, but I didn't do them straight through.

Day 2 looks a little more sane, but I'm not sure what to expect with the increased number of sets. It's sure going to get interesting this week!

Week 4b, Exhaustion Test

To summarize the exhaustion test:
Pre-test: 22
Week 1 and Week 2: Bad tests - did at end of Day 3
Week 3: 31
Week 4: 35
Week 4b: 38

My total is going up. Not fast enough to get me to 100 consecutive push-ups in 6 weeks, which is already going to be 7 weeks.

38 for Week 4b puts me in the 2nd column for Week 5. That looks like it's going to hurt. Stay tuned!

Week 4b, Day 3

Pretty good day. Work today was pretty much miserable, and all I really wanted was to come home and have a beer. Or two. Or, well, you get the point.

I got Matt packed for his Boy Scout trip, worked on Abby to get her ready for swim practice, and waited until Jen left for a tennis match. I had the house to myself, and had to make the decision between running around in underwear with a beer in each hand and some loud music cranking from the stereo, or doing today's push-ups. I compromised. Loud music & push-ups, with the promise of a cold beer, and a decision to keep all my clothes on.

I had no real trouble finishing each set in today's program. The extra time in between on Day 3 helps. For the exhaustion set, I managed 25. That's 1 more than Wednesday. It also means I did 85 push-ups in the space of about 11 or 12 minutes. Can't complain about that!

Big exhaustion test tomorrow to set the stage for Week 5.

Week 4b, Day 2

Sort of an easy day. I felt better today than Monday. Maybe it's because the break between sets is a little longer, even though there are more push-ups per set.

24 push-ups on the last set (minimum was 18).

Week 4b, Day 1

Not much trouble with today. I'm second guessing where I should be right now, but I'll do the week as I started it, and maybe rethink next weekend.

On the other hand, I managed 21 for Set 5, and the minimum for Set 5 under column 2 is 25, so maybe I'm in the right spot.

Week 4, Exhaustion test, and a decision

35. Not bad. Again, an improvement. Gotta love that!

I'm going to repeat week 4 with the new program. Call in Week 4B. Then, I'll continue with the new program until the end.

The problem was which column to do in the new Week 4. The exhaustion test from Week 2 is supposed to define the column for Weeks 3 and 4. Back in Week 2, I was doing the exhaustion test right after the Day 3 program. I could only pump out 16 that way. In Week 3, I did the exhaustion test on Saturday after resting from doing the program on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Am I repeating myself? Anyway, Week 3's exhaustion test produced 31 push ups. Week 4's total was 35. Which column to use for Week 4B?

Well, to be completely honest, I think both columns 2 and 3 are a bit beyond me. They're far enough away that I don't think I can just push myself a little harder and still make it. I'm going to stay in column 1 for Week 4B. If it's too easy, I'll complete Week 4B, then move up to the next column and start Week 4C next Monday. Yes, that means I'll be doing Week 4 for 3 weeks, but I think it's the best way for me to go.

Week 4, Day 3

Got through today with pretty much no problem, even after a couple of beers with dinner. And maybe before dinner. Yeah, well, it's Friday, say thankya.

Level 5 - push-ups-til-you-puke only got to 21 today. Tomorrow or Sunday will be the test of how many I can do in a row with good form and no breaks. Depending on that number, I'll decide whether I need to repeat the week, continue on this program, or move over to some equivalent stage on the new, improved 100 Push Ups program.

Week 4, Interlude

Over half way through and the program has changed. I read over on the Podcacher Fitness: 100 Push Ups forum that there were some changes. Seems that there were some comments back to the 100 Push Ups author that a warm up first set would be good, and that not progressing smoothly from week to week is a little difficult. I'm in a quandary.

I think I'll finish out week 4 as originally written. Then depending on how I do at the end of the week, I'll either start week 4 over with the new program or jump to week 5 in the new program. I've been keeping track of my push-up-til-I-puke numbers, so I think I can switch to the modified program and hit the right point.

Week 4, Day 2

Not so bad tonight during the push-ups, but now I've got arms that somehow feel hard as rocks and floppy as jelly at the same time. And in 10 minutes I've got to drive my son to his Boy Scout Troop meeting. If I never post here again, it's because I couldn't grip the wheel to steer!

1 more than last night on the final stage. Progress is progress! No pain, no gain, right?

Week 4, Day 1

Now, why did today hurt? I'm still in the first column because of jumping the gun at the end of week 2, so I thought I'd be just churning through this week. This was a little frustrating, and I had a brief moment where I was second-guessing myself for starting this program. Sonny!!! This is all your fault!!!

On the other hand, my level 5 push-ups-til-you-puke count was 20 (although I had a bit more than the 60 second break due to some odd timing in the house this evening).

Maybe I should be happy that I did a total of 73 push-ups tonight in the space of about 6 minutes.

Week 3, Exhaustion test

Did 31 before I started getting sloppy. I figured that was probably the right time to stop counting. It's also something like 40% more than the exhaustion test before starting week 1, so I'm definitely seeing progress. If I had skipped a day before the exhaustion test last week, I would probably have been at least in the 2nd column of difficulty, possibly the 3rd. I screwed that up. Well, next week's column is still based on last week's exhaustion test, so I'll stay with the program as it is. Next week's exhaustion test will set the stage for the week after. That's when it's really going to hurt, because I'll be moving up in difficulty. Hey - as long as I keep seeing progress, I can't complain too much!

Week 3, Day 3

Did it. Felt fine. I probably should be at a higher level. Oh well. Let's see about the exhaustion test tomorrow.

Week 3, Day 2

For the last 7 weeks (yes, I know, it's way too long), I've been fighting with the company that makes the video capture and editing hardware and software that I use. Today, I got the USB-connected box they sent me. My hopes went up high, because this was finally going to be the end of this, and I could get our little office area back in order. It didn't work. Of course, my blood pressure went up a bit. I tried a ton of different things, and finally realized that 9:30 on a Wednesday night wasn't the right time. I cleaned up the mess a bit, and relaxed. I started feeling pretty tired, and decided to pack it in for the night at about 9:45.

Then I remembered. Push ups.

I made it through week 3, day 2, but let's just say I didn't exactly overachieve tonight.

Week 3, Day 1

Well, not a big deal today. As I explained, I moved down from the macho 3rd column to the girlie 1st column. I got to thinking that this was a bit of a big drop, so I went back to the web site to make sure I wasn't screwing something up. I think I did. The exhaustion test at the end of week 2 is supposed to be done "within a couple of days of completing week 2." I did this test within a couple of minutes.

I'm going to try to do the sets on M-W-F, then the exhaustion test for the next week on Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully, I'll bump back up to at least the mid-level.

Week 2, Day 3

Today was a little tougher. I've got a little of the jelly-arms going right now. Today's final count for the "push-ups 'til you puke" sets the stage for next week. I'm sorry to have to admit that I only did enough to "qualify" for the first column in week 3.

Week 2, Day 2

Much better than Monday. I managed to do more than the minimum on the maximum level. OK, that doesn't make much sense. Each day, there you do 4 sets with fewer (or the same number) push-ups in each set, with a break in between each set. After the 4 decreasing sets, you do a 5th set where you do push-ups until you can't do them anymore. Push-ups 'til you puke, remember? On this last set, there's a minimum number you should do, which is more than the previous 4 sets. I did more than the minimum required on the last set where you do the maximum number of push-ups you can do. Got it? More than the minimum on the maximum level.

For instance, today's list went like this:
16 push-ups, 90 second break
13 push-ups, 90 second break
11 push-ups, 90 second break
11 push-ups, 90 second break
As many push-ups as possible, must be at least 15

Remember this. I won't explain it again!

Week 2, Day 1

Monday was a little tough. Jen was out, and I let the kids talk me into dinner at Uno's. After a couple of beers and an individual deep-dish pizza, I felt like I was waddling around the house like a pregnant lady. No offense pregnant ladies - you know how I feel about you!

I managed, but on the final "push-ups 'til you puke" level, well, I did the minimum push=ups and didn't quite puke.