Half way – almost. I guess the end of the day is the half way point.
Don’t want to celebrate too soon.
This link will take you to the outline of my 30-day push up challenge, and this link will take you back to the results of days 13 and 14 of the challenge
Day 15 in Figures
Day 15 Thoughts
An incredibly slow start to the day. Somehow I forgot to do my first set before showering this morning. Starting later didn’t seem to make the push ups any easier. That first set seems stuck at 30
The second set and third sets were necessarily closer together than I have done to date. I am playing suqash this evening (an inherently HIIT sport) which makes getting sets of push ups done a bit more problematic. My aim is to get my stretch target (120 total) done before playing.
Previously I had been working on a premise that each push up took around 2 seconds to perform. I have aimed to keep a very even, steady pace. For the 3rd set I timed how long it took to do 30 push ups.
Even including the time to get down and into position, 30 push ups only took about 40 seconds. Each push up takes around one second. So my overall exercise time is only about 4-5 minutes per day.
Speed of performing each push up matters. For cardio purposes, faster is better.
From a muscle development perspective, slower push ups with great form are much better. If you don’t believe me try doing 10 press ups each taking 10 seconds. Motion should be continuous with only a momentary pause at the top and bottom of the movement. At the bottom make sure you just touch your chest to the floor (don’t rest any weight from your chest to the ground). You will feel the effort kicking in after just 2 or 3 push ups done this way.
Going too fast risks injury. To generate speed you will let your arms collapse which means your body will pretty much drop in free fall. Your arms must catch that falling weight at the bottom and rapidly reverse the direction of travel. Such sharp loading and unloading of muscles is much more likely to lead to injuries and pain.
The key is to find a steady pace that suits your body weight and fitness level
So, today started poorly. No commitment, no enthusiasm. It ends on a bit of a high with 130 total pushups. At this rate the stretch target looks achievable. That did not look possible when I started this challenge.
