My Journey to 100 Push-ups
Writer: Justin DesRoches
Illustrations: Sainte Maria
In September 2019 I set a goal of doing 100 push ups in a row. I picked this because I've always enjoyed doing push ups. I've done plenty of push ups in my lifetime and felt like I had a good chance of making this goal a reality. I like any exercise that can tire me out quickly and push ups can do just that. I could do around 50 push ups in a row when I started this challenge and was feeling positive about it.
“Don’t limit expectations of yourself and settle for anything less than what you are truly capable of achieving.”
–David Goggins
I had a friend tell me that this was a goal of his a long time ago and I was pretty impressed, it just sounds like alot of freaking push ups (and it is). Ultimately he didn't follow through with the goal so I picked it up and decided that I would push myself to give what it takes to do 100 push ups in a row. I've been pretty fit my whole life, I've been involved with sports and had a fairly regular exercise habit. How hard could it be right? I've pushed myself pretty hard physically before, but not mentally, and that proved to be the challenge here.
I found an easy to follow guide online got to work. It's a program that states you can get to 100 push ups in a row in as little as 6 weeks and yes, I was skeptical of that as well. I started with a baseline of 50 push ups and followed the program very closely. I was feeling awesome! I was seeing some steady gains every week and my progress was obvious. I had assumed it would just keep going that way until 100 but nope, nothing is ever that easy as you may know.
After 4 weeks I reached a plateau at 72 push ups and couldn't get past it for several more weeks. This was beyond frustrating as I was assuming I would see steady gains each week. I started really questioning myself and what was happening, I asked a lot of friends and a personal trainer about how they break through their own plateaus. I tried some muscle isolating exercises to work on my chest and triceps as they fatigued the fastest. I did this for a week but was so sore from the work outs that I couldn't test myself on schedule. I still wasn't able to pass 72, so I tried a deload week; essentially a week of very little resistance training with more stretching and light warm ups. I was really optimistic about the deload week as I knew my muscles needed the rest but again, I was stuck at 72.
It was at this point I was writing my blog post about consistency and why it's important. I decided to just accept that I was at 72 push ups for now and keep working regardless of if I saw gains or not. It was 2 more weeks of following the hundred push ups workout plan until I got to 74 push ups and I just had to cry and laugh. 2 more push ups than before seemed laughable and small but it was massive! After committing to the process and staying consistent I was able to get over my plateau. My challenges didn't end there however.
I started to reflect on all my progress and get negative about it. It had taken me 8 weeks to get from 50 push ups to 74 in a row. I was nowhere near 100 in the 6 weeks that I expected. Honestly, I didn't push myself as hard as I could on every workout, I skipped some days and pinned my lack of progress on a lack of self discipline. I started keeping myself more accountable and asked a friend to check in on me and challenge me to do my workouts. I started looking at other factors in my life as well apart from just working out. I watched the documentary, The Game Changers, and was kind of blown away. I felt very inspired to incorporate more plant based whole foods into my diet and see if this could help me towards my goal. If changing your diet and nutrition interest you at all, check it out.
I started being more consistent in my training and eating more plant based options. Black beans, chick peas, lentils and tofu were some of my new staples and I was feeling massive new levels of energy. I started to see more consistent gains each week until I reached 84 push ups. This new plateau turned out to be a much more difficult hill to climb.
After I hit 84 I started to slack off again in my training. I was feeling exhausted and beat, like I would never reach 100. I continued to do push ups but for the next 3 weeks I couldn't even get to 75 push ups after reaching 84. My consistency went down again and my thoughts just got more negative. I felt defeated and had lost a lot of my motivation to push myself as hard as I needed to. I was working hard and being accountable, I was changing my diet why was I hitting a wall again? Can you relate to this feeling at all?
In one of my mens group meetings I remember sharing how I was feeling about my progress. The group was good to me, giving me some support but also giving me a hard hitting truth. If getting to 100 push ups was easy, more people would do it, but its hard and you need to be your own coach to push yourself enough. What would I tell someone else who's struggling with this goal? I certainly wouldn't tell them that they're defeated and never going to make it. So why was I telling myself that?
Not long after hearing that from my squad, I was listening to the Unstoppable Podcast with Kerwin Rae and guest Robert Hamilton Owen. This guy was a retired Para-rescue soldier in the US army and talked about Mental grit. I would whole heartedly recommend this episode as I learned so much about the power of self talk and being your own coach. I began to incorporate new techniques into my training, things like positive self talk: "I can do it, I've made it so far and I can handle this". I started breaking the push ups down into smaller chunks as I was getting tired and tell myself, "Ok, 5 more. Great now 5 more, you're doing so good! Ok 2 more..."
I found that this was the self coaching that I was missing. I was able to push myself and stay motivated to hit my goal. After two weeks of putting this into practice I decided to test myself again. I did a Wim Hof breathing session (which I can't recommend enough) before my push ups to help hyper oxygenate myself and ended up doing 92 push ups. Awesome!! I was so happy to see a massive jump like that and I was back on the road to reaching my goal.
Two weeks later I would finally hit my goal of 100 push ups and ended up doing 101, 17 weeks after I started. I was SO pumped and couldn't wait to share it with my wife and my mens group. It was monumental for me, it was the first time I've pushed myself and followed through on a difficult goal like that. I've gained so much confidence in myself and I've learned so many tools along the way.
In the end, while I'm happy I reached 100 push ups, I'm more grateful for what I've learned along the way. I now have healthier and more energising diet habits, I have more positive self talk habits and tools for self coaching. I've learned that I'm capable of anything I commit to and do consistently. By reaching out for help, learning the necessary tools from people who have been there before and by staying consistent we can achieve almost anything. The mental aspect of any goal is so important, there are a lot of invisible barriers and beliefs that we all hold on to about ourselves. I honestly believe that the mental barriers are the more difficult to overcome because we can only overcome them by transforming our perception of who we are. It's a form of ego-death, the old version of ourselves and the identity that we hold on to needs to be adjusted and allow for a newer or truer version. That can be a painful process.
I've learned that I'm a guy who is capable of doing 100 push ups in a row and capable of pushing myself as hard as is needed. You're just as capable of that as well. My hope for you is that after you read this you can feel a bit of relief about struggling to hit your goals. Quite frankly, if you're not struggling than your goals aren't high enough. Be kind to yourself, give yourself time and patience and more positive self talk. You're capable of more than you think. What may be holding you back is the unconscious belief you have that you aren't capable. So find joy in the struggle, continue to break down your own barriers and celebrate with the ones you love when you do. We all have unlimited potential but limited time.
Safe journey traveller, may you be a better version of yourself tomorrow than you were yesterday. Even if only slightly, for what is done in the highest good of self is done for the highest good of all.
Read more from Justin on his blog, Around the Fire and see more of Sainte Maria’s work via her instagram.