What, Another Challenge? This Time I'm In A Push-Up Challenge!

I keep striving to improve my fitness level. After just completing another 8 week walking challenge at my work, I began a push-up challenge at the beginning of December.

Push-ups are an essential part of a workout routine. It builds strength for your arms, chest and core. Nearly every muscle group can be involved in this exercise. You also don't need to use any equipment, they can be performed just as easily from home as the gym!

I never could do a push-up, all through high school or college. You really need a lot of strength to do them properly. It takes patience, and many people, like me, have to begin in a "modified" position, on your knees as opposed to the typical plank position.

My goal is to get to 50 push-ups by the end of the month. I'm well on my way... so far I'm up to 33 for today. I'm really amazed that I'm able to do them properly. I think it shows how much my strength has improved. I haven't skipped a day of doing push-ups since the beginning of the month. Each day, I've been increasing the amount by one. If I continue on this schedule, I should be able to get to 50 by the end of the month.

Challenges are a great motivator! It gives you something to strive for, and a long enough time to achieve the goal. Some challenges have gotten too easy... like walking challenges. I did over a million steps for this last walking challenge, but then, it wasn't much of a challenge for me as I walk at least 10,000 steps everyday anyway. But a push-up challenge is something that will build strength, which is an important goal for me.

As I get closer to 50 push-ups, another goal is to do more of them in a row. I've been doing three or four sets to get to my total amount each day. I'd like to be able to do more of them in a row as they become easier, and maybe do different variations of them.

I do feel like my strength has increased since doing them. I'll let you know how I do when the challenge is over!