I’ve decided to take another crack at the One Hundred Push Ups plan, a six-week course designed to get you able to do 100 pushups. I can do enough pushups that they recommend I start on week 3, and I’ll start tracking it again tomorrow.
This will be my second time around. Last time, results were mixed. I did match the timing of the program, but I hit a plateau near the end and then moved on to other things. I was still happy with the gains I made, but I didn’t officially complete the program. Let’s see if I can’t fix it this time around.
Puuuuush!
I’ve been meaning to get started on this again for a few weeks now, but Charles Goodin’s “Get in Shape” post on his Karate Thoughts Blog helped me pull the trigger. I don’t believe my weight has hampered my karate in terms of things I can and can’t do, but there’s no doubt I would look and perform better without it. Swapping muscle for fat and toning up would be a big help, and I need to work some cardio.
I have also decided that if I were to move away from my current karate school, I would probably start my own karate program at a gym or community center. It’s a lot more motivating to work out with other people, and I’ve found teaching others is a huge help in retaining everything that I have learned. I’m thinking it would be a lot easier to attract students if I didn’t look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in my gi.
"Wa-taaahh!"
I had myself a bad food binge this weekend. Between UFC 126 on Saturday and the Super Bowl earlier this evening, I put away more wings and beer than I would on a normal weekend. I shudder to get on the scale tomorrow. However, this was partially by design as I’m revisiting The Abs Diet
In fact, the push-up picture above was taken right before I signed up. That was nearly four years ago and I was twenty or thirty pounds heavier. I’ve done a little bouncing since then, but have stayed mostly consistent since completing my first year of karate. I’m fit for my age and weight, but I keep telling myself I need to step things up and correct that one final, nagging issue.
It’s time to push it.
About Mike Oliveri
Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. He is currently hard at work on the werewolf noir series The Pack for Evileye Books.
