I'm not happy. not in the least bit. I hate giving up on things, but this push-up plan is really breaking my spirit.
As you may have read, I redid week 2, and this week I am on week 3 of the 100 push-ups plan. I feel like I am definitely getting stronger, and better at push-ups in general, which is great. My back isn't bothering me and I do them at a more even pace, and I feel it all over, so I know its good for me.
....BUT won't find me nosing up with the floor, thats for sure. I'm not even convinced I'm getting my arms down to 90 degrees. Yesterday I had to do 15/12/12/10/15, and I did all 64 of them, but I think I'm cheating just to get up to the required amount. Not cheating exactly, but sand-bagging.
I've done various other exercise plans, for running or triathlons, and they always say only go up by 10 percent.... Here is a calculator to figure out how you're doing, that I found on an NYTimes blog about fitness guru Jack LaLanne. I liked this blog about doing your age in push-ups, which also has advice about starting with modified push-ups and moving to full push-ups (hint, hint mom). The author also described how to do a push-up (and since I like the description I'm going to take their word for it):
As you may have read, I redid week 2, and this week I am on week 3 of the 100 push-ups plan. I feel like I am definitely getting stronger, and better at push-ups in general, which is great. My back isn't bothering me and I do them at a more even pace, and I feel it all over, so I know its good for me.
....BUT won't find me nosing up with the floor, thats for sure. I'm not even convinced I'm getting my arms down to 90 degrees. Yesterday I had to do 15/12/12/10/15, and I did all 64 of them, but I think I'm cheating just to get up to the required amount. Not cheating exactly, but sand-bagging.
I've done various other exercise plans, for running or triathlons, and they always say only go up by 10 percent.... Here is a calculator to figure out how you're doing, that I found on an NYTimes blog about fitness guru Jack LaLanne. I liked this blog about doing your age in push-ups, which also has advice about starting with modified push-ups and moving to full push-ups (hint, hint mom). The author also described how to do a push-up (and since I like the description I'm going to take their word for it):Full Push-Up Form:
Start in the modified form from the ground, but instead of pushing from your knees, raise them off the ground so only your hands and toes are touching the floor.
- Make sure your back is straight.
- Tighten your stomach
- Inhale and lower your body until your chest is just below your elbows (going lower than that can put unnecessary strain on your shoulders).
- Exhale as you push yourself back up and repeat.
- Get a good rhythm. Don't go too fast or too slow.
There are other descriptions, like the ones at ehow.com, and wikihow.com.
So I'm going to think on this for a bit more, see how the rest of the week goes. Anyone else out there still following with the plan?
So I'm going to think on this for a bit more, see how the rest of the week goes. Anyone else out there still following with the plan?
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4 comments:
i second two things here -- "ugh. push-ups." and "i don't like to give up on things." that said, i think that the plan just doesn't make sense -- if my max is 26 (and the last 6 take *everything* i've got), how am i supposed to do 30/22/22//20/27 just a few days later?! maybe i am getting stronger, but my confidence is certainly weaker, and my arms just feel tired =(
push-up overload!!!$#@$!%@
I don't have time to really write more about this ... but I'm thinking about how it's easier to hook into 'a plan' than to create a plan or simply move toward a goal without a plan. So that even if the plan looks flawed, it still more comfortable than no plan. The parallel that comes into my mind is all of the 'sleep training' plans to get babies to sleep through the night. Or diets. The one hunded push-ups plan that we've been working on(or not, as the case may be) has a lot of problems to it - not the least of which is that it's not motivational. The jumps in push-ups between weeks are too big and what can be more uninsprirational than dropping a level or doing a week over? There are times when plans are helpful and reduce decision making so that we can really focus on the goal. But, what happens when we get stuck in a bad plan? It shouldn't have to be that someone's a loser for quitting a bad plan. Maybe quitting means quitting push-ups all together - OK to feel bad. But maybe it's stronger to leave the plan we know and have committed to than to stick with a plan that makes us feel bad simply because we made a commitment. Of course, I'm saying 'we', even though 'I' am a loser because I just quit kind of by accident - having nothing to do with the plan. But maybe I could commit to a better plan?
Hehe - I already dropped the plan, but may come back to it later. 100 push-ups is a HUGE feat - I think that the fact that several weeks may need to be repeated a number of times is under-emphasized in the description. The jumps between weeks are just way too big.
You could take the original plan and keep the structure if you like that framework, but substitute the numbers to something more realistic or motivational. Personally, I am not on the plan. I do the girly ones when I think of them. Although with Emily here, I've been thinking of them more often!
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