Push Ups: The Quest for Strength
I’ve been dabbling with a 12 week strength/endurance workout plan
The StrEndurance
Anyway, I’ve been in search for a slightly gentler plan, something to strengthen my core and upper body without going the whole hog of a full weight lifting regime. The last thing a runner needs is to be carrying excess bulk in the form of huge muscles (not that I have any hope of ever achieving that anyway, I might add).
Dex over at the Gasping for Air blog has just started a “100 Push Ups Plan”, after finding that he too lacked a certain amount of upper body strength. Being of the curious nature, I clicked over to the 100 Push Ups for Breakfast web site he’d mentioned in his blog post, and decided to do the suggested initial strength test. Results were not good. I could only squeeze out 19 consecutive push ups, putting me in the “average” category compared to the rest of the nation.
So, without further ado, I printed off Week 1 and made a start on the plan. You start with series #1, take a rest of 60 seconds, continue with series #2 and so on until you get to series #5. If 60 seconds rest isn’t enough you can take a longer rest between series. Based on my initial test results, I’m following column 3 by the way.
The training is supposed to be done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I only read about the plan on Tuesday, so I played catch up Tuesday night and did the Wednesday and Friday workouts as normal. Next week I’ll try to stick to the correct schedule - you really need the rest day in between workouts.
Note: Actually, the web site says if you can manage more than 15 push ups in the initial test, you can skip to week 3, 5 or 6, depending on how many push ups you completed. These weeks looked a bit tough for me, so I decided to start at week 1 (see below), and work my way up gradually. We’ll see how it goes anyway. Can’t do any harm right?
Obviously, just doing push ups isn’t going to strengthen my core muscles at all, so I need to find a solid program to follow for this area too. I have a couple of abdominal workout books 
PS No, that’s definitely not me in the photo top left…
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June 2nd, 2007 at 10:22 am
Great stuff Steve, keep it up. I’ve done 3 marathons, (this is Jim here btw, not Em) just breaking the sub 4 hour mark when I was 100kg (I’m 86kg now after smelling the flowers and detoxing in Thaialnd) - London in 99, NY in 2001 and Dubai 2006. This looks like a great system you’re following! Happy running - to the core!
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Hey Steve, have you ever thought about doing yoga.. it’s great if you have an injury… and great for the mind too…
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
ahhh i hate push ups!!!!!:D but im not a runner too!! im more of a walker!!! i love to walk!! i love to walk myself to exhaustion too!! love that heavy feeling on my legs and then taking a long bath!!! yoga sounds way too appealing !!
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Go! Smell the flowers: London is a great race isn’t it? I did it in 92 and 96 and am hoping to run it again next year.
Susie: Have read about the benefits and tried yoga, but it’s not really for me. It works for my wife though…
Confessing: I must say I’m not the biggest fan of push ups either, but if it helps…
June 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I’m such a wuss when it comes to doing push ups *blush*
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 am
Hi Steve…did your foot pain come back again?
I’ve heard that strength and weight work can be very beneficial to running especially the long distance running because it helps the upper body and back stay strong. And like you say…it’s not to bulk up to look like a body builder but to tone and build strength to aid your back, arms, chest muscles…which runners use in addition to the legs.
The program I used to increase my pushups up to where I can knock out 90-100 at one time is the 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 approach. You start off by doing one pushup…get up and walk five paces, then do two pushups…walk five paces, do three…walk five paces…so on all the way to 10. Then you come down…do 9…walk five paces, do 8…walk five paces…all the way to one. When you finish with the final one, you have done 100 pushups. Starting off you can go to 5 and work yourself up to 10. By the time you can do the 1-10 and back down to 1, you will be able to crank out 70-80 at one time easy…and eventually 100 or more…if you wanted to.
I do pushups as part of my strength/weight workout three times a week every other day. My workout starts with 50 jumping jacks (I know…not good for hurting feet…but good to loosen up…stretching could be used in place) then do 40-50 pushups, 120 crunches..30 straight ahead with knees bent, 30 to each side and then 30 again forward…all in one set, then 120 flutter kicks…10-12″ off the floor, 30 hello dollys immediately after the flutter kicks, 40-50 pushups, 50 jumping jacks.
Then I do about 20 minutes of weights. Three sets of barbell curls, leg extenstions, dumbbell curls, leg curls, five different lat pulldowns…hands wide, hands close…lat pushdowns, lat push aways, lat pulldowns behide the head, and then bench presses. I use a comfortable weight that I can complete reps of 10-12 for three sets. Then finish up with pushups…maxing out, and then finally 50 jumping jacks. Gives a good 40 minute workout.
Good luck on your strength build up.
Charlie
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:57 am
Charlie,
Thanks for the comprehensive reply! That information would make a great post on your own blog I’m sure. No wonder you’re still running strong and posting impressive times in your age-group.
Keep up the great work and see you at the races,
–Steve
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Hey Steve, I am glad your wife enjoys it. I am the opposite.. I have a hard time running but love yoga! Thanks for your reviews and messages.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:30 pm
You’re welcome! Just goes to show we’re all different. As long as we’re having fun, that’s the main thing I guess.
June 4th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
[…] Not much else to say really. The next workout is on Wednesday which I must admit looks a little more challenging. Here’s what column 1, 2 and 3 look like in case you’re following along. If you are, the first week of workouts can be found here. […]
May 28th, 2008 at 4:28 am
[…] and if you’re interested, here are the original links to the first four weeks of the plan: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4. Share the loveSubscribeDiggdel.icio.usFacebookStumbleUponTechnoratiIf […]