I used to be able to drop and give you 100 effortlessly.
I haven’t really done many for several years, but about a month ago I started on the 100 pushups interval training program.
I’ve previously done C25K by the same people, and I’m also currently doing the 200 situps program and am getting on really well - I no longer have a significant gut, my belt is two inches smaller, etc.
But the pushups… I’m going backwards. I got to the week 3 exhaustion test and managed 25, so ended up in column 3. But since then, I haven’t been able to complete any of the exercises. After not being able to complete day 2 in column three, I dropped myself down to column 2, then went back to day 1 of week 3, and I couldn’t finish that either. It’s not CV exhaustion, it’s completely muscular - when I’m doing reps, after about 15 pushups, I simply cannot lift myself any more, but I could still go out and run three miles immediately.
It’s incredibly disheartening.
Is it my age (44)? Not enough protein in my diet? Any suggestions on how to improve?
It’s a mystery. I haven’t done a pushup for decades and I am terribly overweight but I was able to do 100 at my first attempt.
That’s binary of course.
How much of a break were you taking between attempts? I am not a workout guru, but my understanding is this can happen if you repeatedly work your muscles to exhaustion without sufficient time in between for recovery. It would kind of makes sense that you had an easier time recovering from the lower rep portions of the program.
If you find your ability is decreasing, you need to allocate yourself more rest time between workouts as well as up your protein intake. Additionally, you may need to increase the water you drink to help keep your system well hydrated and flushed of toxins that build up as you build muscle.
If this does not arrest the problem, you may need to see a doctor and get a physical. There could be issues that you are not aware of like blood pressure concerns or other chemical imbalances.
You might just need more rest. I know I used to be able to do a lot of swimming and plenty of other things too all week. Now I have a hard time doing two good sets a week. Last week I had one great set on Tuesday, on Thursday I got through 3/4 of what I had done before and felt like crap.
Try not doing as much, especially if you’re trying to do a couple of other challenges as well, and try making the days between sets longer and see if that helps.
I’m only 38 by the way, though way out of shape right now.
Are you exercising at the same time each day? Meaning could you sometimes be fatigued before you start?
Are you breathing properly?
Do you kind of feel defeated at the beginning of the set?
Maybe you’ve improved the strength of some upper arm muscles, and the others are having to catch up.
I find my ease/difficulty with push ups is in direct correlation with how much I stretch my chest muscles. The less I stretch, the sooner I am fatigued and the weaker I am.
