Once upon a time, I participated in the hundred push ups challenge. I worked hard to do tons of real, straight leg push ups. I made it through week 5 (of 6) by repeating weeks 3, 4 and 5 over and over. It was tough. I never got to week 6 and never was able to perform all 100 push ups consecutively.
But all was not lost because my arms (and core) had gotten a lot stronger just by doing the push ups three times a week. So, really, it was a win. And I took that win, patted myself on the back, and gave up on push ups for a good year or so.
Sure, I would do them when working out with Jillian Michaels and her Shred girls. That was about it, though. I rarely, if ever, did them just to do them.
Well, the time has come to get back to kicking my own butt. Bring on the push ups!
Lisa over at Chasin' Bunnies wrote about how she's doing the challenge and invited others to join her. I seem to not be able to pass up a challenge because I signed up. I'm in. Get ready, arms! Today, I did the initial test and was able to squeeze out 15 good form, straight leg push ups. I almost made it to 16 but that one was crud and my back was all archy, so it didn't count.
Yes, 15 is a far cry from 100 but I'm not so worried about getting to 100 this time around. Lisa is all low-pressure with this challenge so it's more about building strength than actually reaching a certain number. That should work well for me.
Now, speaking of Jillian Michaels (because we were, right?), I went back the Shred last night. I did Shred level 3 using 6lb weights and I feel a little sore today. I'm going to cut myself some slack because a) I've hardly done any cross training in the past few months and b) Jillian and her girls use 3lb weights. So I'm practically a rock star hoisting my mighty 6lbs. Ha!
Right. So, it's almost Friday! Woo hoo! Enjoy it, everyone!
~ Felice
Thursday, November 5, 2009
OK, arms. The party's over.
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24 comments:
you are a total rockstar, and may have now almost convinced me to join the challenge too. maybe just a teeny little twist of the arm needed now. :)
Do they really use 3 pounders? I always used 5. No wonder I thought it was so hard. I made it 20 days straight on the Shred. I need to do it again.
That is WAY rock star in my book :)
WooooHooooo!! You're off to a great start with the Push Up challenge.
Push ups are so hard for me, great job with the challenge! You're tough!
You are so hardcore with your pushups challenge! I am too scared to actually try myself!
Work it out. I need to get on the challenge. Lord know my arms could use some toning. In my last Half Marathon I totally forgot to mention that my arms were on fire and sore. what is that about?
I was really good about doing pushups over the summer, but have totally fallen off. gotta get back on the bandwagon.
Good luck!
Good job getting back to it girl! I think I may need to take up this challenge myself... hmmm....
I started back on yoga and my arms are in a permenant state of jello. and today was power yoga so lots of abs too! I definitely bypassed cross training for running and its time to get to hit it again.
I went out and bought lighter weights (forget if they're 2 or 3 lb) because I had been doing the Shred with 5lb weights and couldn't keep up. Ouch!
I think I'd be lucky if I could do five pushups. Maybe I should try this challenge too ...
Straight legs?! holy. I am doing Lisa's challenge as well..push ups still bite.
Well you can already do a lot more than I can. Good for you taking on the challenge again!
Good job with the push ups challenge. I might need to get on board with that. . .
The first time I did the Shred, I used 8 lb weights and almost died. Then when I realized they were only using 3 pounders, I decided I better downsize!
15 is a good start!! Much better than what I'd be able to report for "real" pushups right now. gah! I used to do them every morning too - you miss ONE day and totally fall off. Sad.
I've never done the Shred!! Where have I been with this?! Everyone loves it. I have another TBL workout dvd that I heart - with bob jillian and the old trainer, Kim. But, missing this Shred thing. Might have to look into this...
You go girl - this is awesome!!! I want to do the challenge, too!
You did A LOT better than me! I only did 2 for my initial test. I am only on day 2 and already sore :-)
You've inspired me to dust off my Shred and give it another go. And the pushup challenge is on the list too. Toned arms, here I come!
I'm starting the hundred pushup challenge on Monday!! I will be doing the girly kind and starting at level 1 bc I have ZERO upper body strength lol.
All this talk of the shred really has me thinking about buying it. Along with zero upper body strenth I have zero coordination so I tend to shy away from work out videos.
Oh wow! Where do I sign up? I used to be a competitive swimmer and was all upper body strength and now...well, hardly any lol! Really tho- what a great idea yay :) I will be stocking up on my Topricin pain cream before beginning...yikes! Thanks for the info...now I need to go find a link.
Oh, maybe I need to try again, too. I made it just as far as you. I saw results but then gave up. Might be time to go back...
I did that back when it was cool too a year ago. :) I started at about 10 pushups and worked my way up to 45 or so. I failed about the same week you did - and I just got sick of having it take up so much time in my workout.
However, I was so happy with my accomplishment I've made pushups part of my strength training and do them about once a week. I can knock out about 50 now, which makes me happy.
I think traveling pushups are my new favorite arse-kicking exercise though...
YAY! I've been looking for an easy upper body workout to incorporate into my BUSY schedule...this challenge looks perfect! Can't wait to try it! Thanks for including the link :)
i jumped on the 100-pushups craze once and didn't complete it either, but i did notice that my arms were getting stronger! it's a good program - i need to start it up again. i don't care so much if i ever do 100 pushups in a row - i just want my arms (and back) to look hawt! :)
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