For ANYONE to be able to complete 100 consecutive pushups in 6 weeks sounds impossible. But I’ve done quite a few things that I once thought impossible (polyphasic sleep, live in South Korea, Bikram yoga) so this will be yet another adventure.

I learned about this while I was working with old friend and Detroit’s most talented rapper Stryfe Da Fantam (facebook page | official webpage). Somewhere in between the working, laughing, joking, Black Dynamite watching, and helicopter flying, he told me about how he was able to do work up to doing 100 pushups and showed me the website.

I did my initial test today and I was able to do 30 consecutive pushups. According to their guide, I get to skip to week 3. So 4 weeks from now, I’ll be able to smash my chest to the ground and push myself back up until I hit the ceiling 100 times in a row. And I’ll post a video to prove it. And even if I can’t, I’ll post a video of my failure and we can laugh at me together!

http://www.jermilsadler.com/blog/2010/04/one-hundred-pushups/

I’ve been doing it for about 4 weeks now and I definitely see results. It’s a huge difference from the one I posted last year.

Background.

It’s called High Intensity Training. I learned about it from a blog post where a guy gained a lot of muscle in a month. He spoke mostly of Arthur Jones and his Colorado Experiment which tested two guys doing one set of heavy weights until momentary failure. The experiment monitored how much muscle the people being tested gained, and how much overall strength they gained. Arthur Jones is inventor of the Nautilus workout machines and founded the Nautilus company.)

Here’s my workout plan.

I usually do upper body lifting every other day.

I start out with one set of about half the weight of my high intensity set weight in order to warm up. I do this because I sit at a computer and don’t use any muscles all day. I do 12 repetitions of the warmup set.

Then, I do as many as possible of the heaviest weight I can use. When you get to that last one that you can just baaaaarely squeeze out, I hold that one in it’s full contraction. Then I let it down slowwwwwly. I let it take about 10 seconds to finish that last slow release. That adds focus on the negative resistance that doesn’t usually get as much attention.

Also, each repetition should be done slowly while focusing on good form. Ideally, each one should take 5 seconds in the positive direction, then 5 seconds back to the starting point.

The exercises that I do are:

Bench press, dumbbell curls (either hammer or concentration), single arm dumbbell rows, lateral pull downs, lower back machine, and butterflies on the pec deck. I’m planning to include some type of forearm exercise as well (probably the palms up dumbbell wrist curl). That’s it.

It usually takes about 15 minutes. After I finished one day, I checked my heart rate on a treadmill. My pulse was at 140. That’s pretty good for lifting weights.

That’s what I do Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

What do I do on other days???

I do cardio on Tuesday and Thursday. I run on the treadmill for about 30 minutes overall. I do a 5 minute warmup, then 10-15 minutes running, 5 minute walk, then 10-15 minutes running again.

If you get shin splints (pain and tightness in your shins) like I occasionally do, don’t try to run through it. It’ll only make it worse for the next time. When it happens to me, I start walking for a while until the tightness goes away. Then I do about 2 or 3 more minutes of running until the tightness comes back. I usually walk the rest of my 30 minutes so I get some activity and keep the heart pumping.

When that’s done, I do high intensity leg presses. I do a warmup set then I do as many as I can with the highest weight that I can get moving. I’ve been worried about breaking or tearing something in my gonad region since I’m using such heavy weight around that part of the body. But I figure that’s why I have health insurance.

On some Saturdays, I do yoga in the afternoon. I did it last Tuesday since I gave up tutoring. If you want to know what muscles are weaker than others and what you should pay more attention to, try yoga just once. You’ll see how weak you really are when you have to stand on one foot with the other leg crossed in front of you and your hands reaching for the ceiling.

What not to do.

If you misjudge how much weight you can lift and set it for too low, you’ll end up being able to do more than 10 or so. Maybe even more than 15. But that’s no big deal. Just keep going until you can’t do anymore. Next time, use a higher weight.

DO NOT decide to do a second set with higher weights. That’s what I did when I first started this. But while reading the Colorado Experiment, I found that was a common mistake amongst us rookies. The most important part of this whole workout is to use high weight and do it until you can’t do anymore (momentary failure).

If you try this wonderful workout plan, let me know how it goes for you. If you have any questions about my experiences with it, email me or leave a comment.

All weighted exercises go like this:
Whatever weight, then plus 10, then plus 5, then minus 15 or 20 from the starting weight.

Day 1 – Weights
(In no particular order really but mostly this order)

Bench
Abs
Pullover Machine
Lower Back
(I don’t know what it’s called but) sitting up, back straight, arms outstretched and pull them inwards (I’ll find out what it’s called Wednesday)
Curls
Triceps
End
Drink plenty of water

Day 2 – Cardio

Walk one lap
Run one lap
Walk 1/2 lap
Run 2 laps
Walk 1 lap
Repeat one time
Sprint one straightaway
Walk one curve
Sprint one straightaway
Walk one curve (or more)
End
Drink plenty of water

Day 3

Repeat Day 1

Day 4

Repeat Day 2

Day 5

Repeat Day 1

Day 6

Repeat Day 2

Day 7

Rest

Results

Do it for 3 weeks straight and you’re addicted.
Do it for 4 weeks and you notice a definite difference.
Do it for 6 weeks and you get coworkers asking you about your workout.

Remarks

Take any day off that you want. But know for the rest of the week, you’re working out everyday.

If you’re using a treadmill, then you probably won’t be doing sprints but you can do everything else.

If you have any suggestions or improvements, give them to me.