The Zen College Life Spring Fitness Challenge 2009 is based off of the popular One Hundred Push-Ups and Two Hundred Sit-Ups programs. These programs are both six-week courses designed to get you in shape by doing, predictably, push-ups and sit-ups.
The sit-ups, by the way, are not the full-upper-body back-pain-inducing sit-ups that doctors recommend against, but actually the smaller, safer “crunches” that I did so many of in high school gym class. So I’m grateful for that part, at least.
Day 1
Yesterday, I kicked off my personal attempt in the challenge by taking the initial test for each: that is, doing as many push-ups and sit-ups as my body will allow.
It wasn’t pretty.
I could pull off even one standard good-form push-up. I had to resort to the modified “knee push-ups,” and even those, I can’t do very many of. This is the reason one of my friends calls me “Noodle Arms.” I have the upper body strength of a five-year-old.
Sit-ups I did a bit better on, even though my abdominal strength runs a close second in non-existence. I can do about 20 of them before I have to take a few quick breaths to keep going. Still pretty poor performance.
But that’s alright, in my book - everyone has to start somewhere, and I’m not going to get any better unless I work on it, which is what this program is for.
Day 2
Since each program (push-ups and sit-ups) requires you to do the workout just three days a week, I’ve decided to alternate which day I do what. For my first day after the initial test, I decided to start the push-up program. I’m still doing the modified “knee push-ups,” since I can’t even extort one normal push-up out of my Noodle Arms. Even with the modified push-up, I’m still in the basic/beginner column of the guide.
Speaking of the guide, it’s available for free on the One Hundred Push-Ups site. I downloaded the “pocket mod” version of it (pictured below), because I love pocket mods more than any sane person should. It’s really nice, because I can just put the pocket mod down in front of me while I do the push-ups, and tick off each level with a pencil during the mandatory rest breaks.
I got through the set just fine - the mandatory rest breaks help. But I’m skeptical of my own ability to keep this up for the whole six week program, let alone repeat it if I don’t get to the 100 push-up mark at the end of the six weeks. The other thing that’s got me worried is the poor state of my knees. I’ve always had trouble with them, and have avoided high-impact activities for that reason. So the modified knee push-ups are pushing pressure on them that I don’t feel comfortable with (literally). I hope to graduate to “normal” push-ups as soon as possible, to take the pressure off my knees.
Tomorrow: sit-ups!
Great Stuff. Just remember, it’s not about where you start. It’s about how much you’re willing to work for it, and where you end up. The journey is the battle, the finish line is the reward (Although in your case, not being noodle arms might be a reward in itself…). I’m excited to see you’re taking such a pro-active approach! Good luck buddy, I’ll see you at the finish line!
[...] ZCL writer and owner of PoorerThanYou.com, is tracking her progress and performance at her new blog StartingThisWeek.com. Her commitment to the challenge is really motivating! And I’m sure at the end [...]
I’m about to find a “modified knee push-ups” info since I have a rheumatism and found your blog. Glad to hear of the result soon. Thanks in advance.