You might notice a trend with me; I like physical fitness apps and progression style programs. A long time ago I started doing a “100 Pushup” program that I found online. I’d do varied amounts of pushups every other day, with the goal of building up to being able to do 100 pushups. Back then, I never finished the program so I never got to the point of doing 100 pushups. A few weeks ago one of my workout sessions included pushups, and I really struggled to complete them. It had 3 sets of 8 reps and I thought I was going to die. As I was doing them, I remembered the 100 pushup program and I searched to see if I could find an app for my phone with a similar progressive program, and one that keeps track of it all.
Tracking Your Progression
The one I found and started using is simply called “100 Pushups” and it’s by “ShvagerFM”. They have an iPhone version as well. The 100 Pushups app keeps track of your progress, tells you how many pushups to do for each session, and it even has notifications to remind you when it’s time for your next pushup training session.
This app has several programs that you progress through, based on how many pushups you can do without stopping. Your first session will be one of these tests. You just do as many pushups as you can, and then enter that into the app. It will tell you which program to select. Each program has 6 workout days, and each day has 5 sets of pushups. It will start you out at reps well under your max amount of pushups. For example, I’m on the 4th program because on my last test I was able to do 22 pushups (and I was only able to barely do 8 when I started!). The first day of the 4th program, the sets of pushups are 12, 17, 13, 13, and 17. I never even do 22 pushups in a set that entire workout. By the 6th day of this program though, I’ll be doing sets that are above 22 pushups. This program is all about progression and building up strength to get to the next level, and if you are consistent with the training you will succeed. It feels really good to see and feel the gains, and you will be doing more pushups than you thought possible before you know it.
As I’ve mentioned with the running programs, it’s perfectly ok to repeat training sessions. It’s perfectly ok to repeat entire programs. You can’t always push yourself into doing harder things, it’s not always the best choice. The 100 Pushups app asks you after every training session if you want to move onto the next session next time, or repeat the one you just completed (or attempted). There have been several times already that I’ve hit the option to repeat my last workout. One time I just was not able to complete the workout. The other times I completed the workouts but I felt really worn out at the end, and I felt it would be better if I repeated that particular workout so I did. There is no shame in this, it’s how we grow. Accept that you need time to build up the strength to get to the next level, this does not mean you have failed in anyway. If you push yourself too hard too fast, you risk injury. You also face a potential mental block on the workout. If you push yourself and then end up not completing a few in a row, you could end up feeling like this isn’t working for you and that you can’t do it, and end up giving up. Don’t let that happen. Anyone can build up the strength to get to 100 pushups (or more)!
Pushup Form and Variations
When you are doing your pushups, please make sure you are doing them with good form. Your entire backside should be in a straight line, from your heels all the way up to the back of your head. Your hands should be under your shoulders, not way in front of your body or back toward your stomach. There are variations on how wide your hands are, which I will discuss more in this section. You are pushing your entire body up, keeping it all in this straight line the entire time. Resist the urge to push your butt up, which puts your back and your legs at an angle. This will also make you feel like you are doing more of a pushup than you actually are. If you need to, when starting out, you can do pushups with your knees on the ground instead of your feet. If you need to go this route, I suggest doing one or two of the 6 day programs like this, and then when you do your test after the 2nd programs completion, do them as regular pushups, not using your knees at all. Push yourself to move onto regular pushups, don’t go through all the programs to get to 100 pushups on your knees. You can do regular pushups, trust yourself and just do them. Even if you can only do 1 or 2, you’re doing them, and it’s a place to start.
If you really want to challenge yourself, a harder variation of foot placement is to have your feet elevated up on something, such as a chair or a bench. This pushes more weight to the front of your body, where the work is being done. I plan on moving to this variation once I’ve reached the 100 pushup goal.
Other variations are in the hand placement. I find that the hardest is the diamond pushup, where you place your hands under your chest, with your thumbs and forefingers touching, creating a ‘diamond’ between them. This variation works your triceps in your arms a lot more than any other variation. Another harder variation is sometimes called military pushups, and on these your hands will be directly under your shoulders. As you go down, you keep your elbows tucked in and close to your sides. Keep them there as you go up as well. The further out from your body your hand placement, the easier the pushups are. When I’m doing my 100 Pushup workouts, I try to vary my hand placement, but I find that by the time I get to the last set, I’m doing most of my pushups with a very wide hand placement. If I find that I’m doing the majority of my pushups as wide pushups, I will definitely repeat that workout.
Challenge Yourself
I challenge you to start your journey on a pushup program. You don’t have to push yourself to 100. Maybe you’re happy with being able to do 50 in a row, and that’s fine too. As long as you are growing, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, you’re doing great. You’re getting more and more FIT.
Tell me about your journey in the comments!