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Sorry for the late post today — I’ve been moving in slow motion ever since I got up. From the comments, it sounds as if a couple of people are, indeed, moving to week four of the Get Fit Slowly one hundred pushup challenge, so I’ll keep posting that schedule for those of you who haven’t yet had to repeat a week:
And for those, like me, who are doing week three:
On Saturday, I managed seventeen pushups in my exhaustion test, which means I’m doing the first column during week three. I did my pushups this afternoon, and did better than I expected, but still not very well. It’s likely I’ll have to repeat week three, too. I did 15, 12, 12 (with a very weak 11th pushup), waited a while, did 10 solid pushups, and then could only do 13-1/2 on the max set (almost got 14). Again: I don’t view this as a failure — hell, I just did 62-1/2 pushups! — but I may, indeed, have to repeat week three before moving on.
(By the way, my arms feel buff. I keep flexing for Kris. She’s not as impressed as she should be.)
Read about this project at One Hundred Pushups.
Mac
35 responses so far ↓
1 Laur // Jul 7, 2008 at 1:48 am
I’m doing week 4, column 3, but I’m seriously thinking about repeating… Last Friday was painful to get through - I barely made it.
Anyway, you needn’t post reminders on my account - I’ve written the whole thing down when I started. If you make a “Hey, push-up day!” reminder for all of us involved and then report only on your own progress, it would probably be more than enough for all of us doing it
2 Steve // Jul 7, 2008 at 2:31 am
yeah, i’m repeating. finished off week 3 on a high, but day 1 and day 2 were too tough last week.
will repeat week 3 and conquer it 100% before moving on
–steve
3 Nedsferatu // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:45 am
At the end of week two last week I did 17 in my exhaustion test which I was not happy with so I repeated week 2 on level 3. yesterday I did my exhaustion test and got 22 so i’m going on to week 3 level 2.
4 Begaw // Jul 7, 2008 at 5:06 am
I’m starting week 3 today. It looks like there’s a huge jump in numbers this week.
It will be a challenge to go from 4-4-3-3-max to 15-12-12-10-max.
5 Scott // Jul 7, 2008 at 5:16 am
I’m doing week four, column three. Still hanging in there and feeling great about it. No doubt that week three was a challenge, but I’m managing to hit every last rep so far.
Looking ahead to week five, though, things start getting a little crazy…
6 grimsaburger // Jul 7, 2008 at 6:04 am
I confess, I have dropped the project entirely. I’ve been busy with teaching lately and need more yoga to combat stress and a bad back. And unfortunately, it’s one or the other, since pushups have made me too sore to get through 20 minutes, much less an hour of yoga.
But y’all go on ahead without me, and kick ass!
7 Gooniette // Jul 7, 2008 at 6:24 am
I’m repeating Week 2 Column 2 for the second time and my fiance is repeating Week 3 Column 2 for the first time.
I did 15 for my second exhaustion test last week, but just don’t really think I’m up for Week 3 yet. I’m slowing the pace down a bit.
8 The Vegan // Jul 7, 2008 at 6:51 am
I’m repeating week 3. Last weekend the exhaustion test, coupled with a very active canoe trip, left me feeling like putty when trying to do the week’s pushups, though even if I had a restful weekend I’m still thinking I’d be repeating the week - it’s a tough one.
9 jon // Jul 7, 2008 at 7:09 am
definitely repeating week 3 this week. day 2 was really tough last week, and the july 4th holiday didn’t help matters much :).
10 mhb // Jul 7, 2008 at 7:32 am
I was already behind the curve, then had a very lazy holiday weekend and skipped pushups altogether, so today is week 2, day 2 for me. :-/
11 Mike // Jul 7, 2008 at 7:41 am
I started when you started and just finished up W3D3 but I dropped down from Cloumn2 to colum1 after my exhaustion test.
Ive been feeling great so far and its definitely not easy. I feel like I will push through for the entire program but if I dont get 100 in the allotted time I will just repeat the last week indefinitely until I can do it.
Actually, I get the feeling I will continue to try to keep up with the last week even after the 100 pushup date. No reason to stop. My arms/shoulders are getting much bigger just from the current sets. The GF isnt complaining.
I noticed though, I cant finish the sets when Im in a rush. I need to put it in my head that I dont need to finish as fast as possible. That means if I dont have time tonight.. then I will get them in the next day day. So if M,W,F didnt happen.. its M,Th,F. Im not gonna kill myself for missing a day.
12 Pete @ quicktofit // Jul 7, 2008 at 7:44 am
I am starting week 3 this week after managing 20 pushups in the exhaustion test over the weekend. Week three doesn’t look fun though - I have a feeling I’ll be repeating week three when all is said and done.
13 workout mommy // Jul 7, 2008 at 8:35 am
I am also repeating week 3, column one. My form was starting to suffer, so I’m stepping back a bit to hopefully gain the strength that i need.
14 Doug W // Jul 7, 2008 at 8:43 am
Today is Day 1, Week 3. It was haarrdd. Might have to repeat this week. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes. I did my exhaustion test yesterday, so that probably didn’t help.
I started this whole thing at 30, and yesterday I got to 37. So 10% per week. Not too shabby.
15 drifting // Jul 7, 2008 at 9:00 am
Repeated W2 last week.
Exhaustion test 2 on Sunday: 31 (up 15 from ET1).
W3D1: 25, 17, 17, 15, 25.
Holy crap! I did it! Yeah, yeah, I took an extra two minutes of rest before the final set, but still! 99 push ups today.
16 A.M. // Jul 7, 2008 at 10:15 am
Hoping to do week 4, column 1 - but I’ll drop back to week 3 if today is toooo bad. I figure I’m doing ok since I can always do a few more than the min on the last level each day.
17 Andrew is getting fit // Jul 7, 2008 at 11:23 am
Going to do my week 02 exhaustion test on Friday.
18 fit36.com // Jul 7, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Okay, just completed W3D1, and I managed to obey the 60 second breaks. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… I think that obeying those breaks will be critical for success in this challenge. Once you hit the final stage, you’re not going to get a single break as you make your way to 100. It’s all about endurance.
19 Nick // Jul 7, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I just finished W4D1 and am feeling a lot better than this time last week. The first day of week 3 was a killer and all three days I had to take long breaks in between to get all reps done. Today was much better though and I was able to stick closer to the 60 second rest periods.
20 kazari // Jul 7, 2008 at 3:34 pm
We are doing week 4 (even though we missed Day 3 of Week 3 last week).
I haven’t repeated a week yet, but I did drop down from the third column (for weeks 1 and 2) to the second column. My husband - bless him - is still going strong in column 3.
One unfortunate side effect is that doing pushups in the morning feels like I’m done with exercise for the day. So i haven’t been going to the gym after work - and i’ve put on 2 kg.
21 amyj // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I am repeating Week 3 this week for the same reasons JD gave. I wasn’t completing all of the sets last week, but this morning I did complete all of the W3D1 sets without dropping to my knees at all. I thought the program made a big leap from Week 2 to Week 3. But for someone who did ONE push-up three weeks ago, this is fabulous!
22 Peter // Jul 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm
W3D1C3: 25-17-17-12
Another one bites the dust. I did 33 “girly” push ups on the post-week2 exhaustion test, which theoretically qualified me for column 3. Still, I feel like column 2 is a more natural continuation of W2C3. Anyway, I kept to the 60 seconds rest-time. Although honestly, eve with more rest I doubt I would have pulled off the minimally required 25 for the last set. I think I’ll drop down to column 2 for the rest of the week and then repeat W3 C3.
23 fit36.com // Jul 7, 2008 at 6:45 pm
JD: If you didn’t make it through today, I’m not sure why you’re saying you “may” end up repeating this week. After all, the goal isn’t to make it through the various levels — the goal is to make it 100 pushups. I’m very glad I dropped back to Week 2 last week.
24 J.D. // Jul 7, 2008 at 7:19 pm
25 Michael // Jul 7, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Does anyone know if there’s a similar program to 100 push ups for sit ups.
Michael
26 Chris // Jul 7, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Michael, why don’t you just substitute the number of pushups for situps. I’m sure it’ll work fine. I’ve personally started doing about 60 situps in 3 sets every few days, but I was thinking I could do the 100 pushup plan in situps instead.
27 Steven Rigney // Jul 7, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I’m not sure how I continue to improve this way. I amaze myself. I did week 3 column 3.
27, 20, 20, 17, 40
Taking two days off for the weekend really helps me out on Monday.
28 drifting // Jul 7, 2008 at 10:52 pm
@ fit36 re: the proper rest breaks
I totally hear you on this - even though I finished the correct number of reps today (! ), I needed to take a long break to just barely reach my min on the final set - not a good sign as I try to ladder up the week. But I finished them! I’m totally cool with doing W3 over next week to get it ‘right’. But, did I mention I finished them?
29 Al // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:55 am
Fail. Week3, Column3: 25,17,12,9,2. To be fair, I’ve been sick, and I slept for crap Sunday night. Sleep, hydration, and diet continue to be my biggest challenges. I will do my best, but I expect to repeat this week.
30 Caron // Jul 8, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I’m so glad I found this!! I used to be an avid pushupper and than I got bored with them. This will give me some motivation!
31 Lisa Newton // Jul 8, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I’m also in Week 3 Day 3, and I’m struggling. My body is at a place similar to a mother who looks at her kindergarten attending son, who needs another year to get used to it all.
She does it for his good, and I think I’ll be repeating Week 3……………:)
32 Steve M // Jul 9, 2008 at 5:37 am
@ Michael #25
I was thinking the same thing but for chin ups. I am stuck on 3!
For the last 2 years I have been using Cathe Friedrich’s Core Max program that I found on the cable channel FitTV. There are 3 levels. The first level uses just a mat. The 2nd level incorporates a stability ball and the 3rd level uses a medicine ball.
I only use the first level but I can feel a burn almost every time as she targets all of the abs in just over 20 minutes. That is where I learned about the plank and I feel having used the plank prior to the 100 push up challenge has helped me with my push ups.
33 Peter // Jul 9, 2008 at 4:09 pm
W3D1C2: 20-15-15-13-21
Whew, made it! Barely, but still. After getting killed in column 3 two days ago, I just started the week again in column 2. It was still very hard and I had to rest in between reps (but still in position). I’m actually pretty confident for the rest of the week, I think getting more rest time in between sets should make it easier. Anyway, I added another 5 push ups to my total, bringing it to 83. Onwards to 100!
34 100 Pushups: Week Six, Day One // Jul 21, 2008 at 9:58 am
[...] week four [...]
35 Peter // Jul 27, 2008 at 6:36 pm
After successfully completing week 3 and 4 in column 2, I took a long hard look at week 5 and decided that there was just no way. So instead I decided to drop back to week 3 and try to tackle column 3 again. Here’s the result:
W3D1C3: 25-17-17-15-27
I did it! In your face Peter of 3 weeks ago (25-17-17-12)!
I’m happy with the new level of difficulty. Even though it seems like a step back in time, it’s definitely a step up in effort and intensity. For now my goal is to finish week 3 and 4 in column 3. I’m confident that by that time I’ll be more than ready for week 5.
Onwards!
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