And here we are…
On this day a month ago, a friend gave me a challenge:
Do 200 pushups a day, every day for the next 30 days.
And here we are.
Now, my friend offered me money, but I quickly realized I do not care about this money. Rather I wanted to present myself with this challenge. Funny thing was, he asked me “Test your mindset, you have this mindset?” I said “I have this mindset” (I was thinking immediately about Resilience Max). Little does my friend know about my real life cheat codes. And obviously I didn’t tell him.
Anyways, you might be wondering, wow 200 pushups a day sounds a lot but is definitely doable right?
And I would agree, for some people its very easy. But with a full-time job that is pretty mentally taxing, plus the forum and everyday life, I really struggled to find the time at first. Essentially I knew I would have to do most of these daily pushups at work.
Here are the results:
Day |
Set 1 |
Set 2 |
Set 3 |
Set 4 |
Set 5 |
Set 6 |
Set 7 |
Set 8 |
Sum |
1 |
35 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
25 |
18 |
20 |
18 |
209 |
2 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
27 |
25 |
23 |
23 |
18 |
206 |
3 |
33 |
33 |
28 |
30 |
28 |
28 |
25 |
|
205 |
4 |
33 |
30 |
31 |
33 |
30 |
27 |
25 |
|
209 |
5 |
30 |
30 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
22 |
|
205 |
6 |
30 |
30 |
25 |
30 |
30 |
25 |
30 |
|
200 |
7 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
27 |
27 |
30 |
|
207 |
8 |
33 |
35 |
32 |
33 |
30 |
20 |
22 |
|
205 |
9 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
22 |
|
202 |
10 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
|
216 |
11 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
35 |
33 |
30 |
|
218 |
12 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
32 |
30 |
30 |
|
212 |
13 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
39 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
|
222 |
14 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
|
210 |
15 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
35 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
|
218 |
16 |
36 |
30 |
30 |
32 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
|
218 |
17 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
40 |
34 |
33 |
|
|
200 |
18 |
33 |
33 |
33 |
33 |
37 |
33 |
|
|
202 |
19 |
33 |
33 |
31 |
35 |
33 |
36 |
|
|
201 |
20 |
30 |
30 |
38 |
36 |
34 |
32 |
|
|
200 |
21 |
30 |
33 |
33 |
30 |
30 |
30 |
27 |
|
213 |
22 |
33 |
35 |
33 |
35 |
33 |
33 |
|
|
202 |
23 |
36 |
41 |
36 |
33 |
33 |
31 |
|
|
210 |
24 |
34 |
33 |
36 |
35 |
35 |
33 |
|
|
206 |
25 |
33 |
39 |
34 |
33 |
33 |
33 |
|
|
205 |
26 |
37 |
36 |
35 |
33 |
33 |
33 |
|
|
207 |
27 |
37 |
36 |
33 |
33 |
32 |
30 |
|
|
201 |
28 |
33 |
36 |
34 |
33 |
33 |
33 |
|
|
202 |
29 |
38 |
38 |
35 |
36 |
36 |
36 |
|
|
219 |
30 |
37 |
42 |
36 |
36 |
40 |
36 |
|
|
227 |
You can see how I went from 8 sets a day in the first two days to 7 sets a day on day 16, and then from then until the end 6 sets a day, with the exception of day 21 that was another 7-set day.
With time and effort, I was able to do more reps each set.
Its also cool to see how i broke my personal best several times throughout and reached a set of 42 as a current highest PB on day 30.
The total amount of pushups completed is 6257 in the last 30 days.
Here are some of my observations:
- This kind of challenge (and imo this applies to many, if not any, challenge) was entirely a battle of my own mind. I had no enemy except getting those 200 in each day. It was me against myself. Hence the responsibility and accountability are both in my own hands. It was all up to me. Actually several times throughout the challenge I questioned myself and thought “You really wanna continue?”
- The words of David Goggins couldn’t ring more true. Especially when he says “Its not supposed to be easy!”. I took that as a mantra when it got more and more difficult. My mind was struggling and I kept repeating this phrase to myself that it isn’t supposed to be easy. That actually helped tremendously as silly as it sounds.
- In the first few days, prior to a set I would always whisper “FU Goggins” for self-motivation.
- As mentioned above, I noticed on numerous occasions intrusive thoughts entering even whilst doing a set of pushups. Stuff like “Give up”, “Leave it”, “Its pointless” etc. Again the mantra above really helped
- Several times throughout the challenge, I was not feeling well, overwhelmed, headache, stomachache - you mention it. It didn’t matter, I had to push through. To me it felt like a graceful determination, a certainty of destiny.
- Several times throughout the challenge, I would still have around 50 pushups left and it would already be 10-11pm. Those moments I really only wanted to sleep but I pushed through.
- Oh right, another extra challenge I did was stopping coffee on day 3 - I haven’t had a coffee since. I still did have tea, however. It was not a no-caffeine challenge. For this little coffee challenge I noticed sleep and dream improvements.
- Also, especially in the beginning of the challenge I had issues with muscle soreness that I also pushed through mostly with the Dotto Ring
Takeaways:
Well, obviously I became stronger, my physique improved. Though for me tbh, the upgrade in mindset, that felt the most beautiful - to have a goal every day and get it done, no matter what. And that means I can set my mind to any new goal and stick to it.
It was oddly interesting to struggle through pushups when your muscles are already sore, and you knowing that you have to push through. Feels like shit in the moment. Feels fantastic when you complete the challenge
I am grateful.
I listened to Resilience Max every day. Thats why I write this here.
A top notch field to inspire new habits and stick with them.
Thx for reading
Be blessed