A few weeks ago some friends on twitter started talking about doing the 100 push-up challenge, and I got it in my head that this was something that I should agree to doing. This doesn’t make much sense for me, as I have ALWAYS hated doing push-ups, and never been able to do any great number without almost having a heart attack from the exertion, looking like a tomato in the process. So I give up, and vow never to waste my time doing a push-up ever again.  Yet here I was, agreeing to start a six week plan that could get me to 100 push-ups.

Willy and I have contemplated starting this in the past, but have never actually started together.  He started once, but did not make it much further than a week into the plan.  I’ve always been somewhat scared, and also somewhat skeptical.  I didn’t think that there was anything that could guide me to doing 100 push-ups, not in six weeks, not in sixty.  Still I started and didn’t tell him, as I didn’t want him to beat me at it :).

Three weeks in, I believe. Starting this, I would not have guessed how quickly I would see a difference in the number of push-ups that I could do, and how much push-up make a difference in my biceps and pecs.  There have been a couple of stumbles where I haven’t gotten my three workouts in in a traditional week (what – your week isn’t eight days long???), and many a day where I have been really sore.  The first week was a hard adjustment for me, even though the demands were not too great, the recovery was longer than I thought it would be.  The third seems to be kicking it up a notch, so that I am just on the edge of not being able to complete the sets, and jello arms for a long time after. But I am still with it.

Today?  I did 100 push-ups.  It was over five sets, but it was still 100. When I started this, my initial test result was 12, and it damn near killed me. I didn’t try it, but know that there is no way I could have done even one more in another set that day.  I am not saying that I will be able to finish this in the six weeks that some can finish in, but I am OK with that. I’ll keep going to see how far along I make it, but even if I don’t get much farther, I’m really happy I am doing it!