I took a week off from the challenge because my stomach was giving me fits. However, on my last exhaustion test, I managed a number that put me in level 2 of week 3, instead of level 1.
Since I do the exhaustion test with real push-ups, I decided it was time to ditch the knee push-ups, because they obviously weren't challenging me enough to build much strength.
egwenna pointed out that knee push-ups didn't really engage the core muscles, and suggested doing real push-ups on an incline -- specifically on a staircase. Move down the staircase as you get stronger, she said.
Well.egwenna has never seen our house. While we do have a staircase, the space at the bottom of it is a roughly 3'x3' square, with the front door smack behind it -- so I'd be halfway up the stairs with no room to move down if I wanted to. The suggestion made me pretty cranky when I first read it, actually.
However, I decided that if stairs were okay, a thick book was probably going to do the same thing. So I did today's push-ups with my hands propped on the slipcased hardcover Lost Girls.
Today's set:
12
17
13
13
max (at least 17) - I did 20, and it was a real effort
I really needed those 60 seconds between sets, too. And I certainly didn't get all the way down to floor level. But I definitely felt it working.
That's 75, btw. That's more than I ever thought I'd be able to do!
Now for some Wii Fit time. Maybe today I'll be a Professional Penguin!
Since I do the exhaustion test with real push-ups, I decided it was time to ditch the knee push-ups, because they obviously weren't challenging me enough to build much strength.
egwenna pointed out that knee push-ups didn't really engage the core muscles, and suggested doing real push-ups on an incline -- specifically on a staircase. Move down the staircase as you get stronger, she said.Well.
egwenna has never seen our house. While we do have a staircase, the space at the bottom of it is a roughly 3'x3' square, with the front door smack behind it -- so I'd be halfway up the stairs with no room to move down if I wanted to. The suggestion made me pretty cranky when I first read it, actually.However, I decided that if stairs were okay, a thick book was probably going to do the same thing. So I did today's push-ups with my hands propped on the slipcased hardcover Lost Girls.
Today's set:
12
17
13
13
max (at least 17) - I did 20, and it was a real effort
I really needed those 60 seconds between sets, too. And I certainly didn't get all the way down to floor level. But I definitely felt it working.
That's 75, btw. That's more than I ever thought I'd be able to do!
Now for some Wii Fit time. Maybe today I'll be a Professional Penguin!
