Blonde will make thin ....Here we go again !

[DaveShoelace]

Sick work Byron. vwp. Just so you know we altered my 2nd challenge as It turns out it wasn't really realistic and with your weight I can't believe you got as close as you did. Sick work!

On a side note I just tried to do some more press ups.. It appears I have ripped every muscle in my arms and shoulders and couldn't even manage one, anyone got any tips to speed up muscle recovery?

Lol, I've actually really hurt my back too.

[EvilPie]

100 press ups WTF? You have got no chance.

My degree is in sports science and I went to uni with some really top athletes, I remember us trying this out and the best in the group got to 70 odd and he was a fucking machine!

Fancy a friendly wager?

You set the line and we'll have a £ per push up over/under donated to charity.

[EvilPie]

Sick work Byron. vwp. Just so you know we altered my 2nd challenge as It turns out it wasn't really realistic and with your weight I can't believe you got as close as you did. Sick work!

On a side note I just tried to do some more press ups.. It appears I have ripped every muscle in my arms and shoulders and couldn't even manage one, anyone got any tips to speed up muscle recovery?

Lol, I've actually really hurt my back too.

I've got a really bad headache.

This may or may not be related to press ups.

[EvilPie]

Sick work Byron. vwp. Just so you know we altered my 2nd challenge as It turns out it wasn't really realistic and with your weight I can't believe you got as close as you did. Sick work!

On a side note I just tried to do some more press ups.. It appears I have ripped every muscle in my arms and shoulders and couldn't even manage one, anyone got any tips to speed up muscle recovery?

The best tip would be to have not pushed yourself to your limit for that first attempt. Bit late for that now though.

You should warm up before you do your push ups with a bit of stretching. You'll have really over exerted yourself doing those earlier today.

Whilst you're building up don't ever push to your limit. If you think you can do 15 max then stop at 6, have a rest then do another set of 6. That way you'll slowly build up your muscles rather than just fuck them up.

Best thing now is probably an ice pack or 4 on the affected areas. Should help a bit.

[DaveShoelace]

Sick work Byron. vwp. Just so you know we altered my 2nd challenge as It turns out it wasn't really realistic and with your weight I can't believe you got as close as you did. Sick work!

On a side note I just tried to do some more press ups.. It appears I have ripped every muscle in my arms and shoulders and couldn't even manage one, anyone got any tips to speed up muscle recovery?

The best tip would be to have not pushed yourself to your limit for that first attempt. Bit late for that now though.

You should warm up before you do your push ups with a bit of stretching. You'll have really over exerted yourself doing those earlier today.

Whilst you're building up don't ever push to your limit. If you think you can do 15 max then stop at 6, have a rest then do another set of 6. That way you'll slowly build up your muscles rather than just fuck them up.

Best thing now is probably an ice pack or 4 on the affected areas. Should help a bit.

Roughly, what is your programme likely to look like Matt?

There are loads of 100 push up programmes out there, which i will likely get mine from. I also want to work out my back/lower back/core area in each work out as I know that is weak.

[millidonk]

Cheers, Frozen peas treatment it is!

Insane amounts of pain since I tried doing more.. Will be making note of this when I review the app..

Barry, On my app the programme is 3 days a week.

First week is:

Day 1: Assesment
Day 2: 10,12,7,7,9 with 60 seconds break in between each set
Day 3: 10,12,8,8,12..60 sec breaks

Probably going to be Sunday, Tues, Fri now, plan was Mon, Weds, Friday

[DaveShoelace]

Yeah the programme I have been looking at essentially does it like this. Three times a week, rest days in between. Then whatever your current max is you do a set of 60%, another set of 60%, a set of 75%, another set of 60%, the your maximum.

So basically if you can do ten press ups max its:

Set 1. 6
Set 2. 6
Set 3. 7 or 8
Set 4. 6
Set 5. As many as possible.

Rinse and repeat.

This is probably what I'll opt for, I like to keep it simple.

[Marky147]

Sick work Byron. vwp. Just so you know we altered my 2nd challenge as It turns out it wasn't really realistic and with your weight I can't believe you got as close as you did. Sick work!

On a side note I just tried to do some more press ups.. It appears I have ripped every muscle in my arms and shoulders and couldn't even manage one, anyone got any tips to speed up muscle recovery?

The best tip would be to have not pushed yourself to your limit for that first attempt. Bit late for that now though.

You should warm up before you do your push ups with a bit of stretching. You'll have really over exerted yourself doing those earlier today.

Whilst you're building up don't ever push to your limit. If you think you can do 15 max then stop at 6, have a rest then do another set of 6. That way you'll slowly build up your muscles rather than just fuck them up.

Best thing now is probably an ice pack or 4 on the affected areas. Should help a bit.

Roughly, what is your programme likely to look like Matt?

There are loads of 100 push up programmes out there, which i will likely get mine from. I also want to work out my back/lower back/core area in each work out as I know that is weak.

Get the deadlifts on the go Barry, they're an immense exercise. Just do 5x5 start at 60kg and then once you're doing those with great form chuck 5kg on the bar with each set. I guarantee you'll notice the difference pretty quickly and they're great for building strength all over.

I've got tez balance now and have to use a stick/crutches to leave the house now which is a nightmare. I'm gonna have to go back to the gym just so I can do deadlifts and squats as I can't do those at home with the dumbbells and benches that I've got.

[EvilPie]

Roughly, what is your programme likely to look like Matt?

There are loads of 100 push up programmes out there, which i will likely get mine from. I also want to work out my back/lower back/core area in each work out as I know that is weak.

I've not really thought about it yet. I'll probably just do 3 or 4 sets of 12 or so after each gym session then on days off from the gym try to do a few more, perhaps aim for 4 sets of 20. Got to build up slowly.

The thing people forget about press ups is how much cardio effort they require. People think of it as a strength test but once you get to the 50 region it becomes more of a cardio test. Your muscles will be burning and you'll also be struggling for breath because you'll be knackered. It's a lot tougher than people think and I'll be amazed if everyone manages this.

You're much better off doing several small sets rather than aiming to hit failure every set.

I'll also be mixing up the pace. Do some rapid sets of 10 and also some really slow controlled ones. As I get better I'll be doing them with weight added and also with feet elevated to make them tougher.

By making them tougher the whole final effort becomes pretty easy.

[leethefish]

Click to see full-size image.

well i smashed the first challenge and failed the second but still abs delighted to have lost 3 stone this year. i make it £50 that i owe to charity, if woodsey or lee want to name one (pref one i can donate to online) and PM me an email addy then i'll ship the money and forward the email confirmation.

big ups to the lot of you and good luck with your press ups!

Awesome work Byron well done mate congrats......
I'll let woodsey name the charity we help

[sovietsong]

At my last weigh in I was at 31lbs so unless I've put on more than half a stone this week I've managed to hit target.

Will need to post pic later as not at home today

[Patonius2000]

100 push ups is a weird goal. That said if something like that helps you reach your longer term goals for overall fitness then go for it! Evil Pie posted some good stuff above about cardio/variety. To expand on it a little:

1. Pushups are predominantly an anaerobic exercise i.e. you cannot sustain them indefinitely and your muscles eventually fatigue to failure. If your goal is to do 100 with minimal rest then your cardio sessions in the gym should be focussed around improving your anaerobic endurance. One of the most effective ways to do this is with HIIT (high intensity interval training). As an example;
1min walk
2min sprint @ 75% capacity
1min walk
2min sprint @ 85%
1min walk
2min sprint @ 100%

Rinse repeat for 2-3 circuits. You can modify this however, just remember the key is INTENSITY, i.e. being out of breath after your sprints. This will improve your anaerobic endurance and thus enable you to boss push ups.

2. Variety. Don't try and bang out a thousand pushups every day. 2-3 times a week should be about optimal if you are training correctly. Pushups are a compound exercise incorporating chest/triceps and to a lesser extent back. Other exercises that work these muscles will help with your pushups and you can use them effectively on days you are really sore. I.e. If your chest is fucked do some tricep work with free weights, if your tris are gone do some deadlifts. Don't train muscles that are sore/recovering. If it's all sore then rest! But still do your cardio.

Also mix it up by doing short weighted sets, and using different hand positions. Generally speaking the closer your hands the more you work your tris, the wider your hands the more you work your chest. A good press up workout could look like this:

50,40,30,20,10 reps. Wide handed; rest pause for the high reps when you reach failure. Focus on the negative part of the push up more as you reach the lower rep sets. This means going down in to your press up at a normal speed and coming up slowly in the negative (up) part of the exercise. Allow yourself enough rest between sets to get your breath back, no more.

10,20,30,40,50 reps. Narrow handed; same as above, these will be harder so you might need to rest/pause more.

That's plenty for 1 day of press up training. Increase reps accordingly based on your progress, you should be reaching close to failure with every set. This is WAY more effective than training 7 times a week at 60%.

Do that 2-3 times a week along with as much HIIT as you can fit it (preferably every day). Dont be afraid to change it up if you feel a plateau. For recovery, make sure you are getting a lean source of protein within an hour of finishing your workout (fish, chicken, LEAN steak), shakes are fine too just DYOR and make sure you get the right one. Also some carbs to replenish you glycogen stores will help, a banana would be my personal choice. Remember after you work out you need these things asap so plan ahead.

Gl!

[millidonk]

Cheers patonious, some good info there! I will be on the HIIT tonight as arms are still battered.

Had a really bad blowout yesterday, actually feel terrible which is probably a good thing to stop me wanting to do it again. Result was an overnight 4lb gain. Lee can you update my Xmas challenge with the starting weight of 23st 1 plz.

Can you update Girgy's new challenge to say he will weigh less than me on 22nd Dec. that's what he told
Me yesterday anyway. Hasn't provided a forfeit yet.

GL fatties, where are the rest of them weigh ins? Soviet bossed it, Wp!

[leethefish]

Cheers patonious, some good info there! I will be on the HIIT tonight as arms are still battered.

Had a really bad blowout yesterday, actually feel terrible which is probably a good thing to stop me wanting to do it again. Result was an overnight 4lb gain. Lee can you update my Xmas challenge with the starting weight of 23st 1 plz.

Can you update Girgy's new challenge to say he will weigh less than me on 22nd Dec. that's what he told
Me yesterday anyway. Hasn't provided a forfeit yet.

GL fatties, where are the rest of them weigh ins? Soviet bossed it, Wp!

Girgy please confirm your forfeit before I update

[leethefish]

Updated the op to include

The Daveshoelace press up challenge ...
And our videos !!
I will add to it as we go along