Lots of people need the structure of a prepared program in order to feel comfortable working out and many of those same people need a definitive goal in order to keep them focused on their fitness regime. You could have this provided for you by joining a local health club for a year and taking advantage of the fitness professionals that they likely have on staff, but times are tough right now and not everyone has the extra loot to throw around for gym memberships and personal trainers.
Getting a good workout doesn’t necessarily have to cost you an arm and a leg, even if you want a solid, easy to follow road map complete with a definitive and reachable goal. I went through the “100 Push Ups” ([www.hundredpushups.com]) program several months ago and I had great success with it. I was in the market for something different, it was cold and miserable outside and I needed a new goal that I could get accomplished inside my house without shelling out a bunch of money - the 100 Push Ups program seemed to fit the bill, so I decided to give it a shot.
The website is surprisingly detailed for something that doesn’t cost any money to participate in, it’s complete with a friendly intro (informing you that regardless of your current capabilities in the push up, that by following the program according to the guidelines that you’ll be able to achieve the ultimate goal of 100 consecutive push ups.) There is also a section describing how to properly perform the exercise for those that aren’t fully aware of the mechanics behind the push up.
Getting to the program specifically designed for your current level of fitness is simple - you access the “initial test” section of the website to determine at which level you’ll be doing your push ups to ultimately reach your goal. Once you’ve taken the initial test and determined your starting level, you can dive right into the program (though the website does advise taking a brief rest period to allow your body to adequately recover from the stress of the initial test, which may be a good idea if you are new to working out).
The workouts are incredibly easy to follow, laid out for you depending upon your individual level, noting what you will do on each of the three days that you’ll be working out for the entire six week program, including a suggested length of rest periods. The website also offers access to a free “Push Ups Logger” so you can keep track of your progress online and compare your results to others who are following the program. Everything you need to achieve your goal is perfectly laid out for you in black and white, all you have to do is get on the floor and get pushing.
The program, as it’s laid out, can literally be done by anyone - even those of you who use the oldest excuse in the book for avoiding a workout (lack of time). Even during the latter weeks when you are performing enough push ups to be closing in on the goal, your workouts will still take no longer than about thirty to forty-five minutes per week (I actually found that it took me around eight minutes per day all the way up until week four or five, at which point the workouts did get a little longer).
Once you’ve pushed your way through the six week course and achieved your goal, you can e-mail the website and get props by having your name emblazoned along with others who have accomplished this impressive goal - and there’s also the HTML for a cool website/blog badge that you can display for all who pass through your personal web space so you can proudly advertise the fact that you are among those that can perform one hundred consecutive push ups.
Once you’ve completed the 100 push ups challenge, you can move on to one of the other ingenious programs that are affiliated with it (which are both also free) - 200 sit ups ([www.twohundredsitups.com]) or 200 squats ([www.twohundredsquats.com]). Though I haven’t gone on to the two newer programs, I have visited both of the websites and they are just as well put together and seem to be as easy to use as the 100 push ups program. The two newer programs offer the same detailed instructions on properly performing their respective exercises and give the very same roadmap to success as their predecessor.
If you fancy yourself as well seasoned in the fitness department and think that any one of these challenges may be too easy for you on its own, then why not give all three a shot at the same time? You’ll be working your entire body with completely free, high quality programs and your workouts will only take you about ninety minutes per week or less - that’s less time than some gym rats invest in a single session.
Will any of these programs, alone or together, make you the next Mr. Olympia? Most likely not, but what they will do is offer you a fun and exciting new fitness challenge that will likely get you in better shape than you’ve been in years, and give you the perfect roadmap to get there - for free. That’s a pretty tough offer to beat.
Though the program is completely free to use and share, there is a donation button located in the sidebar - so if you try it, have great success with it and have just a little extra green laying around you could donate a small portion of that money to the website in order to keep it running for the next batch of guys in need of a good program that won’t break their bank account.
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