By Mike

Aha! You thought we weren’t actually doing the 100 Push-up Challenge, didn’t you? In fact, we just started week 3 last night. And boy was it hard!

As a review, the hundred push-up challenge is a 6-week-long training program that will get you to the point of doing 100 push-ups in a row.

Initial Test

In my initial test, I was able to do 25 straight push-ups.

Stacie, on the other hand, has never been one for push-ups. So in the initial test, Stacie eeked out 3 push-ups. I also “strongly urged” her to work on her form, but now, in Week 3, she has much better form. It’s all about practice and strengthening those support muscles.

Week 1

We decided to do our training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays so that we can take the weekends off. It works out for us fairly well, except some days we’re doing push-ups at 11pm, just before bed (thanks to my graduate classes).

The training schedule for Week 1 didn’t seem too strenuous to me, nor for Stacie (although form was a problem initially, as mentioned). On the 5th sets, where I need to do at least 7, 10 or 15, depending on the day, I was able to push out 15, 17 and 15. On Day 3, I was exhausted from swimming all day with visiting family.

For Stacie, she decided to pace herself and just do the listed numbers. She didn’t quite catch on to why you need to push yourself on the last set until week 3, but I’ll talk about that soon.

Week 2

In Week 2, the numbers inched up a little, but they were still manageable. Again, I was able to push out a few more during the 5th set, but Stacie was just able to do the minimums. If you recall, her max during the initial test was just 3 push-ups, but if you look at the Week 2 Schedule, you’ll see the highest number for Level 1 as 6 push-ups on several days and several sets.

But she didn’t give up and didn’t fail to get through each set. Plus, her form was improving so that she was able to keep her head up higher (almost horizontal to the body). If you find your head down below your heart while doing a push-up, you have bad form. You can see proper form push-ups here, as well as alternative forms if you just can’t do the standard push-up.

On this past Saturday, I decided to test myself to see how many push-ups I could do on my off day. I was able to push out 32 straight push-ups, which is a 22% improvement. You can see the updated max number in the sidebar graph (currently over to the left of the screen).

Week 3

Oh boy, I guess I didn’t look ahead to see what we were in for in Week 3. I had to double-check the numbers to make sure they weren’t typos! Sure enough, though, I had to do sets of 25,17,17,15 and M25 (minimum 25). Ok, I think I can do that, and I did. I was even able to push out 27 on the last set (2 extra) to finish the night with 101 push-ups total.

But poor Stacie. I had no idea her training requirements would jump so much. She went into shock when I told her the numbers: sets of 15,12,12,10, and M15 (minimum 15). But she’s only done 6 at most! How can they more than double the minimum set?

But guess what…Stacie was able to do 15 in a row on her first set. That’s an 80% improvement over her initial number (3). And then she did 12, then 12 and then 10. But that last set killed her. She did 8, then quickly did 3, then 4. I guess it’ll count on this one, but now she knows what’s in store for her on Wednesday!

How about YOUR progress?

So how are you doing with the program? How about starting it today if you haven’t yet? If you can only do 1, then at least it’s a start. And if you can’t do any, try out the alternative push-up forms. I may sound belittling, but that’s just me being a guy. Perhaps you have wrist problems so you can only do knuckle push-ups, or wall push-ups. Anything counts as long as you’re consistent and you’re improving.

So give it a try and see if you can get to 100 push-ups in 6 weeks! And keep checking back for our own progress as well!

In case you have been following my marathon series, you may have realized that after about 5 weeks of updating you on how our training was going, I stopped writing about it. It didn’t mean that I wasn’t continuing to run, it just meant that I got lazy about tracking my progress.

Yes, I admitted it! Even I, a registered dietitian, can get lazy!!!

And, yes, I also decided that I didn’t want to train to run 26.2 miles. I wanted to train to run shorter distances and run faster. So, after talking with my husband, who had also signed up with me, we decided to sell/transfer our marathon numbers to other dedicated runners, and admit our change in goal. It’s OK to change your goals, and there will be more info to come on this topic at a later date.

This doesn’t mean that I won’t run another marathon; I would like to build a healthy base of running solid miles, be more consistent in my running year-round, and build some muscle before the next marathon try. I would also like to have a few short-distance races under my belt before I tackle another long-distance race.

So, next weekend, October 28th, you will find my husband and me on the sidelines in Washington, DC, cheering on those two runners who bought our numbers (legally), and the 30,000 other runners who are marathoners!! We are proud of them all!!

Mike published a post the other day about how money and marathons are related. With his permission, I will post part of his advice, as I think it pertains to building nutrition and increasing physical activity in general.

“While training last year, I knew I was burning tons of calories, so I took it upon myself to make up ALL of those calories when eating. I relished in my ability to eat whatever I wanted, and almost any quantity I wanted. What was the end result? I still had to carry my 226 lb body 26.2 miles on race day! I didn’t lose a single pound. Granted, I had converted a lot of fat into muscle during training, but I deserved that horrible finish time. I barely “Beat the Bridge” and finished with just under a 14 minute mile pace.

How could I do better this year?

Yeah, I could just push myself harder this year (which I am anyway), but if I continue consuming the same amount of food as I’m burning in calories, I’ll still have to haul my fat 226 lb butt across that finish line. Or, I could reduce my calories to a reasonable amount to provide energy to complete the run and recuperate, and carry less weight for 26.2 miles.

I chose option #2 this year. I’ve already lost about 7 lbs in the last 1.5 months of running, and I hope to be down to 205-210 by race day. However, I have to balance my goal to lose weight with my body’s need to sustain itself during training. If I take in too few calories, my body will give up on me, and I could possible injure myself permanently. Or I could end up gorging on food once this period of “fasting” is over.

What lessons can we take from this post?

Keep in mind that Mike is attempting to lose 15-20 pounds over the course of 5 months (which is about -0.5-1 pound a week). Don’t try to lose weight too fast –aim for 0.5-1 pound a week for sustainable weight loss.

Also, by eating adequate amounts of healthy carbs and protein, but keeping fat in check, you can lose weight without sacrificing the carbohydrates and protein you need for those long runs. For example, eat grilled chicken instead of fried chicken and a baked potato instead of french fries. As well, remember that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you start working out after taking a hiatus, you might not see weight loss but might lose inches around your “trouble spots”, which is better overall!!

This week was an off week for us, in more ways than one. Our long run consisted of only 3 miles, and we missed our walking day this week.

Mileage = We ran 9 miles this week: 3 in the gym, 3 outside, and 3 on the track.

Pace = Sorry, not available right now.

Rest = Variable. I have problems sleeping! (Does anyone else have a hard time sleeping after a good run?)

Emotions = Our 3-mile “long run” this weekend was AWESOME. We did some speed work and after we finished the mileage, I wanted to keep running. That’s what I love about running–the desire to continue (it’s probably just endorphins, but I love the feeling anyways).

Lessons Learned = If you are following a training plan (for a 5-K, 10-K, 1/2 marathon, or marathon), don’t vary from the plan! We missed our walks this week, and that threw me off, physically AND mentally. I remember how important it was for us to strengthen and stretch our muscles after those long runs last year, and so I encourage you to stick to the plan as much as possible. These training plans have been used and tested by many, and they work!

While perusing the web this evening looking at running websites, I found this post by Mark, the Running Blogfather (cool name by the way). He lists 25 celebrity marathoners and their finishing times. It was fun to read his commentary of the celebrities. I look forward to reading about other celebrity runners (which he plans to post at a later date). Next time my husband and I are running, I’ll pretend we’re training with one of these famous people! Who knows, maybe I’ll be running next to one of them in the next Marine Corps Marathon!!!