Goal Has Been 100 Push Ups A Day

 The first of March was day one of trying to get 100 push ups a day.  A year ago this would not have been a "thing." At that time I was in some sort of shape and doing push ups was not a major challenge. The pandemic, a couple of cataract surgeries, some other excuses had pulled me away from my regular routines. The goal for March 2021 was one way to kick start back into exercise. The other goal starting that day was 10 sets of 100 ball crunches a day to see if I could bring back some core strength.

Well, today is March 21, 2021.  18 of those 21 days I have managed the 100 push ups and the push up challenge is still there though I have gotten obviously (to me) stronger. My proof of that is that instead of only sets of 10, I throw in some sets of 30 regularly and a couple of days ago after some warm up with other stuff I managed to hit 50 in one set.  So, while I have not totally achieved the daily goal, the overall strategy is showing some success.

As to the crunches. I have hit the thousand mark 17 of the 21 days so muscle memory kicked in pretty quickly and though I feel them at around 600 hundred, there is not usually any lingering ouch throughout the day. 

This morning on MEDIUM I saw a post by someone else who decided on 100 push ups a day and he made a better study of it than I have. His question to start was do these 100 push ups replace a gym membership. His answer and my answer are the same -- NO.  As part of my push for moving back into shape I have made a few of Robbie's Bootfit classes at the Y. 

This is the photo after the March 21, 2021 bootfit class that was a 30 minute as many reps (AMRAP) that incluced 400 meters - run (in my case walk); five body builders; ten weighted hollow rocks; and 15 goblet squats.  I include this photo because while it was not pretty, I was able to accomplish four reps and then still do the core work following.

I have also done some curls, some bench presses and chest stretches to begin getting back.  March has also seen four spin classes that are helping a bit with cardio, which is needs significant work at this point. While I have tried F3 at Revolution, I am still letting rain, cold and limited knee mobility keeping me from regular attending.

Conclusion -- been doing some work to get back -- but need to step it up. 

Good Advice from people who continue to build their temples

 My own fitness journey has been one of fits and starts over the past couple of months. That is something I am not proud of and mention it because - It happens.  As has been mentioned so many times in this blog over the years, the hardest exercise I do is opening the door of the YMCA (or gym), Once it is opened, the journey is happening.

Julia Hubbell is a writer whose work I have been following on MEDIUM and recently she talked about the ideas that Steve shared with her about how he is building strength well into his seventies. She wrote about that feedback.

Many of the blog posts that make up the content of this blog are about people over sixty and their fitness journeys.  Often, I wonder if the content is worth it and then I read an article like Julia's this morning and know that we all can benefit from seeing what others are pushing themselves to accomplish.

Personally I have been trying to rebuild my routine though if honest, I will admit it has been with less vigor than when it stalled. My March goals are to put push ups and core work back to pre-gotlazy levels. So I am working on 100 push ups a day and using the exercise ball for crunches - ten sets of 100. Today is March 10 and I have 700 push ups (not all regulation) and 7000 crunches so far for the month. Slowly I am adding a bootfit class and have about four spin classes. So this new journey is beginning to take shape. While I did make the Hartsville F3 six-year convergence, my knees make any semblance of running a fantasy and I have not been back often because of my inability to keep up with the work.

Hartsville F3 Revolution -  they will let me hang out with them even when I can't hang with them.