do 50 pushups every night

read the entries to find out why i consider this goal “accomplished”. i’ll start ‘er back up again when the class has ended.

i asked my weight-training professor what she thought i was doing wrong. i told her all about how my neck would hurt during the second set. i showed her my form and described my routine. here’s what i found out:
1. for chest results, it’s best to have your hands far apart instead of touching.
2. 50/night is a good goal, but not all at once. break it up into three sets of 15 and then five more to hit 50. stay away from more than 15 per set.
3. head and neck should naturally extend from the spine. do not look “up”, but do not let your head hang either.

this is good info that can be utilized once the class is over. for right now, i’ll put a hold on this goal since i have access to top-of-the-line exercise equipment at school.

so, today was my second day of weight-training at college. we took measurements and then began the physical fitness test. first off, let me brag for a second: thanks to my yoga, i did the best in the “sit-and-reach” portion of the physical fitness test. huzzah! now, what really impressed me, is that i was able to do thirty-nine pushups without stopping! my work towards this goal has produced some nice results. i can’t say my chest is any bigger or more toned, but the strength has improved. little side note, my body fat % was 8.0! i guess i’m doing something right!

i’ve had a pain in my neck that’s been growing for a week or two. it got pretty bad last night so i’m calling it quits on this goal for a short while. i’ve got a weight training class at school that starts in a week and a half. i’ll ask the teacher what he/she thinks the problem might be. i’ve got two ideas as to what’s wrong: the first one is that my form is still wrong somehow. the second guess is that my form is correct and i’m working new muscles in my neck; maybe they’re just sore from being worked. i’ll find out soon.

with my wife as my spotter, i just got a great workout! i corrected my form and also moved my hands closer together to make the pushups more difficult. i really felt it during the post-workout stretches.
can’t wait to do this again and again.

my wife pointed out that my form could use some work. i think she may be on to something because i haven’t felt “the burn” in several weeks. i can keep my body rigid throughout each set, but my arms begin to bend differently towards the end of the routine. i must make sure that my elbows are pointed away from my body for each pushup. sometimes they point towards my feet. not only does that positioning do nothing for my chest, it also hurts my wrists. however, i am doing them every other night and doing more and more each set. i am certainly making progress!

every other night.

title says it all. baby steps in the right direction.

i can do 50 pushups every other night. what i need to work on now is doing more than 10 or 12 without stopping. to reach my ultimate goal, i’ll need to break it down into easily reachable goals. the next step is to do sets of 20, then 30 and so on. once i can do 50 pushups without stopping every other night, the next step is to do that every night before bed.

after taking a few nights off to let my muscles heal and grow (a tip from member “energy” on 43things), i was able to complete all 50 pushups. i will take tonight off and then hit them again tomorrow evening. eventually the goal is to not need that night in between for muscle repair and growth.