I Did the 100 Push Up Challenge for 1 Week: How I Failed but Succeeded at Building Habits

Right now the 100 push-ups challenge is trending. Today I only did 34 and don’t feel the least bit bad about it.

You see, I’m a chunky 220 pounds with a bad Ben & Cherry’s habit and a gym procrastination problem. To say rigorous exercise comes easy would be a misstatement. I could never do 100 push-ups.

For weeks I would see the news stories and blog posts about people accepted the challenge. I saw the pictures of ripped 20-year olds with a body by CrossFit extolling the benefits. I thought I could never do 100 pushups. So I never started.

It never occurred to me that I didn’t need to do 100 pushups to participate in the challenge and start realizing the benefits of a workout routine. So I changed the rules. Instead of doing 100 I only needed to get down on the floor once per day, every day.

It never occurred to me that I didn’t need to do 100 pushups to participate in the challenge and start realizing the benefits of a workout routine.

And it worked. The first day I only did 17 push-ups. 1 set of 10 and a second set of 7. And my arms felt that they might fall off. But I felt great.

The next day I only did 12. 2 sets of 6. My arms and torso felt fatigued from the day before. I was frustrated that my numbers were going down and considered stopping the experiment.

The third day started to turn around I did 23 push ups. And before I knew it I did even more than that.

By reducing the barriers to getting started I no longer had any excuses. You can use this psychological trick in all areas of your life.

I never thought I could never do 100 pushups so I never attempted any. Once I changed my mind, during the course of a week I went from 0 push ups to 34. I can’t wait to see how many I can do the next week.

Here’s my Captain’s log:

Day 1: 17 total push ups. Why can’t I raise my arms over my head!

Day 2: 12 total push ups. Feeling the burn from the day before- feeling a little unmotivated that my numbers are going down

Day 3: 23 total push ups. Feel the burn

Day 4: 22 total push ups. Going down but not a total loss.

Day 5: 25 total push ups. A nice little uptick

Day 6: 26 total push ups. It was a struggle but I told myself I needed to at least beat yesterday’s record

Day 7: 34 total push ups. I really went primal to get these numbers. By the end of it my body felt completely exhuasted

I thought I could never do 100 pushups. In a total of one week I went from 0 push ups to 34.

The key it turns out is to get started.

What are some ways you’ve tricked yourself in order to do something difficult but beneficial?