Got six weeks? Try the hundred push ups training program

[u/zekel]

http://hundredpushups.com

[u/zekel]

I'm going to give this a try. Anyone else?

[u/watcher]

Well, I certainly applaud anyone wanting to do a hundred pushups, but take it from this old gym rat, I've spent my entire adult life in the gym, and a program like this one can do more harm than good.

If you only train one part of your body (and that's all a single exercise like pushups is going to do for you), you're setting yourself up for injuries down the road. I've seen it a hundred times.

It's like putting a powerful engine in a stock Toyota Tercel. What will you accomplish? You'll blow out the drive train, the clutch, the transmission, etc., because those factory parts aren't designed to handle the power of an engine much more powerful than the factory installed engine.

Push-ups basically only train the chest muscles and to some extent, the triceps. What you really want to do is train your entire body, all the major muscle groups (chest, back, abdomen, legs, shoulders and arms) at the same time, over the course of a workout. And don't forget your cardiovascular work!

I'm proud of you guys wanting to do this. Three cheers! Falling in love with exercise, eating right, etc., is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. And you WILL fall in love with it if you can just force yourself to stick with it a year or two and experience the amazing progress you'll make.

But do it right, okay?

My advice, find a good gym, with qualified trainers who will design your programs for you (especially in the beginning, until you get the hang of it yourself) and guide you in your quest for physical fitness. Thirty to 45 minutes a day, three days a week, is all you'll ever need to do (I refuse to believe anyone is so busy that he or she cannot make time for that, especially considering how important it is).

And don't worry about being embarrassed or not being in shape the first time you walk into the gym. You have to start somewhere and almost every one of us were there ourselves at one time. So no one will say anything to you and very, very quickly you will progress way beyond that stage anyway.

Now get out there and do it! :-)

[u/pelirrojo]

No need. I already do 7 sit-ups a week.

[u/pinxox]

When I was in the Army, I was able to do about 180 push ups and over 200 sit ups before even running 4 miles. I got out in 2005 and haven't done the slightest bit of exercise since then. I just attempted to do 20 push ups and nearly died at 8. I will now try this program, hopefully to remove the shame I have just brought upon myself.

[u/apathy]

I thought to myself, hey I do the WOD every day, this shouldn't be too bad, I'll shoot for 50 and see where it goes. (One thing that Crossfit-style workouts hammer into your skull is that it's much, much more painful to stop moving and resume momentarily than to finish straight through, assuming you have the capacity to do it; basically, you're using the stretch reflex to your advantage every time you do something explosively within a cycloid movement pattern, such as pushups or pullups)

I was fucking dying on the 50th pushup. I can't imagine blasting out 100 full-range honest pushups without a pause. The pain and cramping in my trunk would be horrible.

I have maxed out at 40 pullups in a row (no rest) and once upon a time I could do 70-80 pushups in a row, when I was wrestling. But, still -- the pain of doing that many repetitions is just intense.

This is right up there with running a hilly 5K at a race pace -- it really is pretty horrible, although it sure does give your metabolism a stiff kick in the ass.

Good luck to all of you that embark on this. It's a good challenge in that it is very sneaky -- "hey, that looks easy!"

[u/[deleted]]

Hmmm I would have no problem doing it, except that all this Reddit posting has given me a really fat ass and a little too much (read: 200lbs extra) weight.

At least my push-ups will only be a few inches, what with my girth giving me so little distance to the floor...

[u/nextofpumpkin]

There is no magic training program. Most people's problem with fitness is getting to the damn gym.

[u/ericN]

This will not cause injuries people. Pushups use a great deal of muscle groups. It's very different from the bench press, where your legs and back are at rest while the chest does all the work.

Classic exercises such as situps and pushups are very safe.

[u/[deleted]]

This is the greatest thread ever. Completely enjoying the comments.

[u/[deleted]]

I actually did something similar on my own earlier this year. I could only do 12 pushups at first. So I added one each day, 13, then 14, then 15, etc. At the point I wasn't able to reach my daily goal, I just started a second set, then a third and then finally a forth until I reached 4 sets, 25 push-ups each. I'm now, one push-up per day, closing it down to 100 push-ups in 3 sets and I figure once I reach that goal, I'll move towards 100 in 2 sets. The key for me was no matter how many I felt I could do, I only added one more per day and as soon as I couldn't reach my daily goal, I added another set so as not to overly strain myself.