Pushups were once a dreadful task for me to do. Throughout High School, with a 6'5'' frame that I wasn't close to even filling out, I was lucky to push some of my body off the floor with my wiry arms. Obviously, as I got older, I got stronger. And as I became more educated, thanks largely to a Master's degree, and bunch of money to get said degree, in the sports sciences, I learned the the proper way to weight train and build lean muscle.
So as 2014 came about, unlike others who have goals to go to the gym more often, my goal became to fill the void days in which I'm unable to get to the gym. You know, for those pesky days when I get home late from work, it's snowing outside, or a task to fill my "rest" days.
So with that said, I decided to jump at the task of not only attempting to get better at pushups, but to one day be able to bang out 50 in a row courtesy of one of my favorite fitness websites - neilaraey.com. For those of you who are super strong, don't laugh. Those who can't, no fear, I added the workout plan below for your review:
I followed the plan to a tee. 30 days. A nice gradual progression towards first elongating your muscles and eventually developing for strength. I did the pushups either at night or when I got up in the morning depending on how hectic my schedule was, but I completed all thirty days. Needless to say, this past week I was able to bang out fifty pushups in a row. And yes, I do feel much stronger, leaner, and much healthier because of it's effects on my core.
In fact, I'm already searching for more challenges and for more ways to improve on my pushup max.
Give it a whirl. A Great way to stay motivated when you just can't get to the gym (Although prep accordingly on days you will be going. Doubling-up was tough). After all, there are very little excuses you can have with such a challenge.
#23, Do fifty consecutive pushups. Completed. Boom.