The hallowed 500 pushups a day number … for an entire YEAR.
Dear Reader,
Just reading about it makes you tired, doesn’t it?
500 pushups a day, and in general, the number 500 when it comes to exercise.
The stuff LEGENDS are made of, is what comes to mind. Or U.S. Marines, and elite forces around the world.
Or wrestlers. Or boxers, of course — or old time STRONGMEN!
Or … perhaps tri-athletes, but 500, without fail, daily? Every day … for an entire YEAR?
This, my friend was actually a goal I set a couple of years ago, and believe it or not, yours truly got half way there … and this was WITH a full schedule of work and other exercises lumped in during the day as well.
Anyway, I didnt start off with that goal.
I started off with what is currently an impossibility even in terms of thought for most people — that being 500/day — or per workout — or a combo therein.
And here is an “eye witness, blow by blow” account of how it went when I first embarked upon my 500/day journey — and then got there!
I collapsed in a puddle of my own sweat this morning while exercising.
Was breathing heavily, sort of like an old locomotive puffing it’s way up a steep hill. And this happened multiple times during my workout — each time, I felt I couldn’t go ANY further — but go further I did — until I completed my routine. I’m sitting here writing to you after I’ve finished — and I’m STILL sweating. My arms feel a bit numb, as does my chest — but they’re going to be talking to me later for sure. HA!
And that, my friend, is what is liable to happen to YOU as well when you bang out 500 pushups in a single workout — which is what I did today.
Remember that 500 pushups per day is not something I currently do — so it was something different.
It was also a real challenge — and making it past 300 odd didn’t seem like it would be possible at one point — but I puffed, panted and somehow pushed my way to the magic 500.
In fact, I was sweating so heavily that the carpet on the living room (where I work out) was damp as well — I kid you not on that one.
And remember that winter’s not gone as yet from these parts; I’m wearing a thick vest and a T-shirt on top of that — both of those should be enough to absorb the sweat, but evidently not — I was literally dripping sweat all over the place. And even if you leave the strength benefits aside for a minute — talk about a GREAT cardio workout — WOW!
Pushups are a workout all unto themselves — strength and cardio combined into one simple, and highly effective exercise. And the amazing thing about them is that even the easiest pushup is enough to humble the toughest guy.
There is a very good reason that pushups (along with pullups) are a mainstay for soliders in the army. I teach you how to do different style of pushups in Pushup Central, as well as how to progress up to higher numbers, so if your looking to get better at pushups, this is where you need to start.
Now, I know that some of you reading this are going to get pumped up and are going to want to do hundreds of pushups daily, even if you haven’t been doing them a while.
And while getting pumped is good — remember that it takes TIME to work up to 500 a day.
I do pushups on an almost daily basis, and 500 is hard as heck for me as well. A good goal for most folks would be 50 pushups a day — believe it or not, that in itself is more than what most folks can handle.
If your working out regularly, shoot for 75, or 150 pushups per day — but whatever you do, remember that working up to higher numbers takes TIME and dedication. There’s no point in busting your butt trying to do 500 if you can’t do 10 in good form — do what you can, and work up from there.
And as for the eternal question — do they all have to be done in one workout — or “in a row”, or with minimum breaks during sets?
Well, as I told a friend of mine today who was asking me a few questions about conditioning, there is MORE than ONE way to skin this particular CAT — or BEAST, hehe.
This is what he had to say about his current fitness levels in terms of pushups — “I can probably do 25 straight pushups in good form”.
And my response …
Do them in sets of 25 then, Jake. Work up from there. Mike Tyson did ’em in sets of 50, so 25 is a fairly good start!
And the above is just ONE way in terms of how to do pushups in those numbers daily.
For example, when I knocked out the fitness video for 0 Excuses Fitness, I had NO intention of doing 250 odd pushups and stretches for the video.
More like 100 pushups and 100 squats, and be done with it, but thats not how it turned out, as you 0 Excuses faithful are well aware!
And believe it or not, that wasn’t the first 250 odd pushup workout of the day. Before Cindy came over I did 250 as a “warm up” .. and then got something to eat before knocking the video out, so its probably no surprise I’m already sweating a bit when I first start, hehe.
Or, you can do them in sets of 100 throughout the day. 2 sets of 100 during the morning session, 2 in the afternoon and evening, and one right before bed.
Or, do what Mike Tyson did.
The ONLY thing to bear in mind here is that it ain’t weightlifting or machines.
You go QUICK, and you keep going. You don’t dilly, and you don’t daddle, and you dont rest forever between sets.
You get your breath back (and keep the deep breathing up by the way — pushups will force you to do that anyway, which is yet another reason it is by far the NUMERO UNO exercise out there in terms of strength and conditioning and also RAPID weight loss) and then you go again. You don’t rest for fifteen minutes between sets and pump, preen, pose and shmose . . .
And you certainly don’t let your mind wander, or engage in idle gossip between sets either. It ain’t socialization. We are there for a PURPOSE — a serious one, and you’ll never get to 500 if you don’t think of anything else but that 500 — believe me on this one!
And last, but not least, if doing even FIFTY pushups is a current impossibility, well, worry not. Lots of folks are at the stage where doing 5 or 10 pushups is a real chore, let alone holding some of the positions I do in between pushups.
The key is to get started — keep doing the thing — and LEARN PROPER FORM (which you can right here) on all the exercises you do.
And to NOT quit midway.
And you’ll get there, my friend. Persistence is what wins most battles at the end of the day, and so it goes with the 500 pushup battle as well!
And that’s it for the day. I’m off to shower now — provided I can get my shirt off my back!
Best regards,
Rahul
PS: Pushups are great, and you should be doing them on a regular basis as well. But remember that a great craftsman has MORE than one solid tool in his toolkit, and so it should be for your exercise “toolkit” as well. And thats why I’ve got 0 Excuses Fitness out there, which truly is the most comprehensive “strength, conditioning and fat loss all in one” system out there — the best home workout system ever that more than fits the above description.
Grab a copy NOW, and catapult YOUR own strength and levels of conditioning to a whole different level.
(This piece originally appeared at the following URL — http://www.rahulmookerjee.com/index.php/blog/item/47-500-pushups-a-day. It has been modified since!)
