Jun
16
2008

The One Hundred Pushups Challenge

Posted by Double Eagle in Fitness

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Being competitive by nature, I can’t pass up a good challenge. The Happy Rock knows how to motivate me by pressing my competitive buttons. He laid down the gauntlet and I’m now finding myself embarking on the One Hundred Push ups training program.

How Many Pushups Can You Do?Push ups are a great exercise for building strength in the core, shoulders, chest, and arms. The basic premise of the program is that you can work up to 100 pushups (in a row, wiseguy) by doing three 10-minute sessions per week for six weeks.

The program is simple: simply take the initial test which helps you determine your starting level. With that information, you can start with the week 1 program and progress through each week until you get to the end. You then follow up with the final test to see if you can drop and knock out 100 push ups. As you progress through each week’s program, if you’re not making the grade and aren’t ready to advance, then simply repeat that week’s program until you’re ready for the next level.

This is a perfect Monday-Wednesday-Friday routine that only requires ten minutes per day. I’m going to work on it in the mornings before heading to work. It will supplement my normal fitness routine, so I’m not looking to knock anything off the schedule to make room.

As golfers, we should all recognize the value of core strength. Push ups are a great way to make strides in that area, as well as in several other parts of the body. If you can significantly increase your core strength, improvement in your golf game is virtually guaranteed, especially in the area of distance off the tee.

Are you ready to take the challenge!? Let’s do it! It’s free and it only takes 30 minutes per week. I was challenged and now I’m challenging you!

If you choose to rise to the challenge, I’d like to know two things: how many push ups you were able to do after the six week program, and how many weeks did it take you to get to 100 (if it was more or less than the standard six weeks)?

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There are currently 19 responses to “The One Hundred Pushups Challenge”

  1. 1

    Steve said:

    Good luck on the push ups program and thanks for writing about the routine!

    Let me know if you’d like to be added to the “Challenge” page:

    http://www.hundredpushups.com/challenge.html

    –Steve
    –www.hundredpushups.com

    Posted on June 16th, 2008 at 6:05 am

  2. 2

    Double Eagle said:

    Thanks, Steve. It’s a very simple, interesting, and challenging program.

    I’d love to be added to the challenge page!

    Posted on June 16th, 2008 at 8:17 am

  3. 3

    The Happy Rock said:

    I started today. Did 17 for my initial test. That is were I will start on my way to 100.

    I will do the first day workout tomorrow, and then shift to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine.

    Posted on June 16th, 2008 at 9:45 am

  4. 4

    Golf Tips For Beginners said:

    I have been looking for something like this for a while. I see so many people neglecting to do sny kind of physical preperation for their game. I will most definately start this soon.

    Posted on June 19th, 2008 at 4:55 am

  5. 5

    David said:

    Ok I’m in too, managed 19 on my first try, now recovering in Intensive Care ( only joking ). Start first training Monday.

    By the way, if you readers are interested in fitness for golf generally I can strongly recommend Pilates - not Ground Control Pilates by Debby Jenner, which is designed to make them easier for the masses, but the real original developed by Joseph Pilates himself. You get to use balancing balls, discs and dynabands, so you work on a combination of balance, suppleness, core strength and stretching, all of them ideal for golf !

    Posted on June 21st, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  6. 6

    Double Eagle said:

    Way to go, David. Glad you’re on board! I only managed like 5 or 6 on the initial test before my form started to break down. It’s amazing how a certain exercise works the body in a completely different way. Obviously my gym workouts miss a lot of important muscles.

    After the first session on Monday, I was totally destroyed. My lower abs were killing me, as were my sides. I took a lot of extra rest and finally did the second session today and kept up with the program well.

    I plan to do the next session Monday, and even though I’ll be on week two, I’m just going to follow the program and do the third week 1 session, so I’ll be a day behind. That’s OK, though.

    Thanks for the tip about Pilates. There are a lot of people that speak highly of that program.

    Posted on June 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm

  7. 7

    David said:

    Ok, first week completed without problems - actually cut short the waiting times for the last set a bit as I was getting impatient ! Already noticed an improvement in performance. Second week doesn’t look too alarming ( I’m using the 3rd column for other users ) but week 3 really steps it up so that should be interesting.
    I’ll be intrigued to see if it has an effect on my golf - last evening I was hitting the s**t out of the ball, but that may be due to small tweaks I’m making in my S+T swing.
    Incidentally, for any of your readers interested in health issues generally, a couple of months ago I switched to a diet/lifestyle called The Primal Blueprint - you can find it on Mark Sissons’ blog The Daily Apple. I think it’s amazing - I’ve lost a couple of kilos, 1.5 inches round the waist, sleep better and have more energy. Have a look !

    Posted on June 27th, 2008 at 5:30 am

  8. 8

    Double Eagle said:

    Awesome, David!

    I’ve fallen behind, myself. I was under the weather for over a week. I just started working out again, so I expect to pick it back up soon.

    That Primal Blueprint seems very interesting. I’m going to have to read more. I’ve heard of something similar to the diet portion referred to as the “caveman diet”.

    Posted on June 27th, 2008 at 8:18 am

  9. 9

    David said:

    You’re right about the diet part - the principle is to take us back to the way Paleolithic man lived, as its his digestive system we’ve inherited. So no grains, pasta, rice or dairy, since they didn’t exist 10.000 years ago. Just fruit, veggies, nuts, berries and bits of fish and meat. Eggs for protein are also acceptable though I’m not quite so sure of the logic there !
    In fact it’s a low-carb diet, like a healthy version of Atkins. Because you feel full quite quickly you don’t take in so many calories, so you lose weight as long as you combine the diet with the right kind of exercise - some low level cardio plus 2 very intensive high speed sessions per week. Sounds initially a bit eccentric but I’ve seen the results.

    Posted on June 27th, 2008 at 1:47 pm

  10. 10

    Double Eagle said:

    It sounds like an interesting concept, David. With the fruit and such, I’s say it sounds like more of a “no refined carbs”, rather than a low-carb diet. You can get a good amount of carbs from fruit, vegetables, nuts, etc.

    Sometimes, modern life makes me wonder. Our bodies have evolved over a very long time. Now suddenly we have a huge amount of obesity, diabetes, cancers of all kinds, autism, etc. I can’t help but wonder if the modern conveniences we enjoy might be causing problems that we don’t even realize. Not just diet, but chemicals used in various products and things like that. There was a feature in Golf Digest recently about golf courses and the environment that discussed the evolution of chemical use on golf courses. Things like DDT that were “safe” are now completely banned for usage in many countries. That’s just a small aspect of life, but it makes me wonder.

    Posted on June 28th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

  11. 11

    One Hundred Push Up Challenge | Golf Fitness | Golf Tips - Golf Drills - TP Golf Online said:

    [...] at Life in the Rough has challenged his readers to take the 100 Push Up Challenge. Mike was challenged by a reader of his blog to participate and complete the [...]

    Posted on June 29th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

  12. 12

    David said:

    I share your concern about chemicals etc in modern life, I’m sure they have an effect also.. But just take a look at the packet next time you buy some food in a supermarket and look at all the additives and enumbers - those are problems we can avoid ourselves by just eating fresh and healthy !

    Anyway, wanted to report I’ve sucessfully completed week 2, using the third ( toughest ) column and occasionally shortening the waiting times because I got bored waiting. Week 3 however is a distinct stepchange and I’m going to use Column 1 to start with as my max is still 19 pushups. I’ll be interested to see if this has any effect on my golf over time….

    Posted on July 4th, 2008 at 10:10 am

  13. 13

    YellowYards said:

    What a great idea! Did the test yesterday and only managed 5 :-( suppose the good news is there’s lots of room for improvement :-)
    Did the first day of the first week about 5 mins ago and feel OK. Was thinking about waiting until Monday to start but I know what will happen, Monday comes and I forget and then never get started!

    Posted on July 9th, 2008 at 2:27 am

  14. 14

    David said:

    Ok, just finished the last session of Week 3, using column 2. Only just crawled over the finish line, probably not helped by having had a Pilates class earlier today !

    Week 4 doesn’t look too exhausting - a plateau built into the programme I would guess. But Week 5 - Holy Mama !

    Also discovered this is a really good short intense cardio workout !

    Posted on July 11th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

  15. 15

    Double Eagle said:

    Hang in there YellowYards!

    That’s great, David!

    Can you notice any difference in your golf game? Your core strength has to be on the rise.

    I’ve been experimenting with a new workout, so I put this one aside temporarily, but I’m still increasing my push-up strength. I’m going to try and do a test this weekend to make sure I’m gaining ground with this for when I pick it back up in a couple of weeks.

    Posted on July 11th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

  16. 16

    David said:

    Not sure if I’ve really noticed a difference in my game yet, probably because I’m constantly tinkering at the edges with my S+T swing. Definitely feels as though my core is stronger though.

    Just finished week 4, as I thought not much of an increase from Week 3. Have my sister visiting next week so will probably have to skip this week, maybe redo Week 4 again when I come back. Still can’t believe how severe the programe for Week 5 is ! I’ll definitely be using the easiest column for that one.

    Posted on July 18th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

  17. 17

    Marc Sirkin said:

    I’m in week 4 and doing well - I did 30 pushups to start, so the number of pushups is already pretty big. Week 3 almost killed me, I had to extend out the wait times but this last week was quite good. I’m still probably doubling the wait times, but I’m doing all the pushups!

    This last workout was 30, 22, 22, 20, 29!

    I’m looking at week 5 and oh boy - it starts out 40, 32, 30, 25 and 40… feel the burn baby.

    My chest is suddenly becoming defined (the wife loves it I think) but I’m not sure I feel any different hitting the golf ball yet.

    Posted on July 25th, 2008 at 11:38 am

  18. 18

    Double Eagle said:

    Wow, Marc, you’re getting right up there. One way to look at it is that you’re already doing well over 100, just with a little rest. You should be right on track at the end of week six.

    Posted on July 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm

  19. 19

    Marc Sirkin said:

    I struggled through week 5 and 6 and when I did my test I maxed out at less than 50 pushups. I felt so weak even though I had more than doubled my previous max. I’ve reached some sort of physical plateau and am not sure what to do next. I’m going to restart week 3 starting next Monday and try to stick to the intervals even if I don’t make the numbers.

    My muscles seem to melt at around 40 and I just can’t push through.

    As for hitting the golf ball.. it’s definatley going further. I’ve added at least 5-8 yards on my irons. That said, part of that distance is due to some swing changes as well and a refocusing on my hand positions.

    Posted on August 21st, 2008 at 4:28 pm

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