Two more days of the Spring Fitness Challenge, and my body is really starting to feel it! That’s a good thing, right? I’m trying to push myself, without overdoing it.
Day 3: Sit-Ups
Based on my initial test, I either could have done the third column of week 1 (the hardest set of that week), or skipped ahead to Week 3 and done the first column of that. I decided to stick with week 1, to keep it in line with my push-up routine. I got through the column fairly easily, and was able to do far more than the minimum for the last set (the minimum was 14 - I stopped counting once I hit that and just kept going).
I’m still pleasantly surprised that I have any abdominal strength at all! I think this program will be easier for me overall - I have little doubt that if I stick with the six-week program, I’ll be able to do 200 sit-ups by the end. Maybe it’s a little early to be making such claims, but I feel good about making that claim.
But boy, did my abs hurt all day long after that! And into the next day, too. I was very, very thankful that the program only goes every other day.
Day 4: Push-Ups
My second try at the push-up exercises, "Day 2" of the program (for those of you following along at home). The sets increase a little each time, but I’m still not ready to move up to "real" push-ups, so I stuck with the modified knee push-ups.
I moved from the hardwood floors (pictured above) to a carpeted area of the house, and it made a huge difference. My knees are still not happy about these modified knee push-ups, but the carpet is better by far. Except, now I’m acutely aware of how much the carpet needs to be vacuumed!
My push-ups are still very weak, but I managed to squeak six modified push-ups out of the last set, so that brings my max up to six.
I’m using to "loggers" on the OneHundredPushups and TwoHundredSitups sites to track my progress. You can watch my logs, if you like, by clicking the link below. The number that appears as "max" represents the number of push-ups/sit-ups I was able to do in a row, without stopping, in "Set 5" of that day’s workout.
Pushups Logger (click "situps logger" in the left sidebar to view my sit-ups stats)
You should try burpies!
http://lifehacker.com/5171115/the-five+minute-prison-workout-keeps-you-fit-in-any-space
Oh wow - I just watched that burpie video and… no! Come on Sam - if the guy from Dirty Jobs feels like he’s going to vomit after 10, we know that I can’t even do one! Maybe once I’ve moved up to “big girl” push-ups, I’ll be able to attempt a single burpie.