The 100 Push Up Challenge is six weeks long, and we just finished week five. The last update we did was at the end of week two. So how are things going?

At the end of week four we had to do an “exhaustion test” and perform a certain number to max out and continue to the next week. I managed to squeeze out 36 push-ups, while Ryan did his 40. This put me in the middle difficulty level and him at the hardest. I was worried that the middle level would be too hard, but I am glad I did it; I was able to complete each day without problems.

Week five went pretty well. The first day Ryan was pretty sore, but I was alright. We both managed to make it through the whole week successfully.

Then at the end of week five was another exhaustion test. That didn’t go so well. We took a few days off to “recuperate” and tried the exhaustion test on Monday. Ryan was fine, he managed to do his 50 in a row and move on to week six – the final week. I did not make it; I was only able to do 33 before my arms shook and I couldn’t move anymore. This was less than my exhaustion test at the beginning of the week, and I am not happy about it.

I am disappointed, I didn’t think it would be hard to do 45 in a row; not after the grueling pace that was week five, and I was doing really well each week – this is my first set back.

I think part of the failure was due to a recent lack of other exercise and a rash of poor (for us) eating.

I recently got new running shoes that are really comfortable but a lot more flexible/less padding than my old shoes were. After running in the new shoes for a few days I felt great, but in the middle of one run my shin started to hurt, and the next run it was worse, so I took a break didn’t run again until this morning, a week later. I think it’s just the adjustment to the new shoes.

Then on top of that my parents came up this weekend and we went out to eat a lot; which isn’t a problem in itself, but we splurged. We got appetizers we don’t normally eat, ordered food we don’t normally order, drank sodas for the first time in months, and basically ate large amounts of food that our bodies weren’t used to. I felt lethargic after each meal and it wasn’t until today (two days after they left) that I felt back to my “normal” self.

I know I can’t blame the food (yes I could have ordered healthier things) or the running for this failure, but I feel certain they both had an impact. So this week Ryan is on week six, finishing up, and I am going to repeat week five at the hardest level until I can manage a better performance.

I know we can do this if we work at it. It’s very satisfying to see so much progress; when I first started I could only do fourteen push-ups at once, and now I can consistently do over thirty!

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Tagged as: Fitness