Wednesday, April 17, 2013

100 Push-Ups In 6 Weeks: Week 1, Day 3 - Failed

Monday was Week 1: Day 3 of the "100 Push-ups in 6 weeks" program (using the free Android App because I'm cheap and it was out there).

Week 1, Day 3 had the following - each with a 120-second rest in between:
8 push-ups
10 push-ups
7 push-ups
7 push-ups
10 push-ups (or more to max out - my max was 5)

I did the first 2 sets in the bedroom like I usually do. 120-second rests are long and boring, so after I'd picked up the bedroom from the first two sets, I decided to finish the remaining sets in the living room where Sweetie was watching television. Then I had the brilliant idea to have Sweetie watch a set to make sure my form looked okay. I was pretty sure it was good but figured an outside set of eyes might see something I couldn't feel.

Right at the start of my first push-up, Sweetie guffawed. My back was dipped, my arms were too far in front of my shoulders, and I wasn't going down to a 90-degree angle. Well shit. So I corrected and tried to finish the set. It was a struggle. I barely eked out the last push-up without dropping.

After another rest, I felt confident that I could push out another 7 with no problem. I got 2 done and then started struggling again. It took almost a minute to get the last 5 done and my form started to break on the last one.

I was doubting myself for the final set. The 120-second rest alarm sounded and I got into position. Right off the bat I was having trouble pushing back up. I managed to get 5 finished before I really could not do another push-up.

I was pretty down about this "failure". I set the program to repeat the day for the next workout.

On Wednesday, I attempted the sets in Week 1, Day 3 again. That time, I did the first set of 8 in front of a video camera and watched the playback during the 120-second rest. My back was dipped again but otherwise my form was good. I concentrated on keeping my back rigid (which felt high and humped but I knew it wasn't) and couldn't complete more than 5 in the second set. I decided I'd already "failed" the workout again so I thought about what to do about it.

I came to realize that my entire workout plan is based on the program's input that I could do 10 good form push-ups, but this was incorrect. Those weren't 10 good form push-ups. I tried a final set and found I can realistically do 5 good form push-ups. Granted, this was after 18 push-ups with rests but I still felt like 5 was my max number without stopping. So I reset the program and set the new Initial Test result as 5.

I will do Week 1, Day 1 (with the new baseline number) on Friday.

2 comments:

  1. I know the feeling! I've been doing yoga for over a year and I got a major correction today on my plank. A REGULAR ASS NORMAL PLANK!!! I feel like I've been doing it wrong the whole time. BAH. Pretty crappy - but hey, now we know ;-)

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    1. Yeah, I have to wonder if my plank form isn't as awesome as I think it is. I swear, it feels like my back is humped when Sweetie (and the camera) tell me is straight. The most recent tip I got for plank was to push my heels back, which is supposed to help keep your back in line. "Butt down, heels back, core tight". Well, maybe that butt should be *that* far down, LOL

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