Three weeks ago, the most I could do on an exhaustion test was 7. Now I do more than that in every individual set, sometimes more than double. I plan to triple my initial number on the next exhaustion test.

Most importantly, I feel healthier and have started doing some other exercising as well.

You can achieve this kind of progress, Tran. Get in there and start crushing it!

Been following this log; keep up the progress!

Completed column 2, which was:


Set 1: 10
Set 2: 12
Set 3: 15
Set 4: 16
Set 5 (max): 12


Getting Motivate to being better shape. Good luck.

Thanks, Montecore! Will do!

johndocter, get in there!



Today is day 2 of week 4 in column 1.

Set 1: 14
Set 2: 16
Set 3: 12
Set 4: 12
Set 5 (max, target 18+): 10


Failed the final set again, by an impressive margin.

Yesterday was supposed to be day 2, but I think I ate something bad a few days ago and went 36 hours without eating, so I didn't have the energy to try day 2 yesterday and it got bumped to today.

I'm not sad that I didn't make the final set, it never seemed within the realm of possibility, much as day 3's final set goal of 20+ does not. I'm happy that I made it through the first 4 sets hitting the targets. I would have bet $50 that I wasn't going to make set 2. I finished both set 1 & 2 with at least 1 extra push up in me. Was pretty surprised at that. Set 3 was the first struggle, and I needed 2 minutes of rest after it instead of 90 seconds. I only barely made it through Set 4 and took almost 3 minutes of rest before futilely attempting Set 5.

Maintained good form on four initial sets except for maybe the last pushup or so on each. Set 5 got a little wobbly starting around #6.

I'm not really feeling any aches in the chest or sides, just the arms directly above and below the elbows on the back sides. Mostly above. Also some minor bicep soreness.

Might be worth looking into some self myofascial release on thos triceps and forearms. Massaging all the sore bits with a lacrosse ball or similar will do wonders.

Hey, a fellow pushup fan! Looks like you're making decent progress so far.

So, I've been doing a lot of pushups for the last 2 or so years. I underwent some YTF type work after a few years of laziness. Went from 350 to 250, and just kind of stayed there. But I am 6'4". And not willing to endure the deprivation that getting to 225 would take.

Back to the pushups Because of my distain for the gym. My workouts consist of outdoor walking/intermittent sprinting, pushups, airsquats, this exploding lunge thing I invented, some curls, planks and that's it.

I'm at the point now where I'm doing 5 sets of 60. But I don't do them all right away. I'll do 60, chill a little, do some more. I'll wind up doing to 300 over the course of a few hours. When 60 becomes to easy, as 50 did, its time to move to 70

I think you'll progress rapidly. You weigh a lot less than I do and we're pretty close in age. I'm 30. I think you said you are 38. I wouldn't be surprised to see you hit your goal by the time you're 40. Just because 100 pushups is a lot of ****ing pushups.

Have fun. Pushups are the nuts

Aidan - Thanks, have started looking into that. A lacrosse ball is something small enough to travel with, so I definitely appreciate that suggestion.

LedOut - Thanks for the support. You think it will take that long? I was thinking I'd be there in six months or so, but I didn't have an actual educated guess or logical rationale behind that thinking.


Today is day 3 of week 4 in column 1.

Set 1 (16): 16
Set 2 (18): 18
Set 3 (13): 12
Set 4 (13): 13
Set 5 (20+): 11

Changed the format to show the targets in parentheses, followed by the actuals. Makes a little more sense that way.

Failed the final set again, by another impressive margin. Also managed to fail the first regular set.

1: I did either 16 or 17, wasn't sure I hit 16 so I did one more. No pain or aches.

2: 18 - bad form last 3/4, terrible last pushup, barely counted it as OK.

3: 12 - terrible last 1/2, pure form fail on the 13th, so I didn't count it. Lots of tricep tightness right after, took a 3.5 min rest (supposed to be 2 min)

4: 13 - started meh, ended good. Another 3.5 min rest.

5: 11 - barely. Decent form.


On the down side, I failed the final set as expected, and also barely failed a regular set for the first time. On the up side, I did 5 sets of which all were at least 50% more than my initial max of 7 just four weeks ago. Definitely have made some sick progress.

Having failed week 4, I'll be repeating it, starting in two days. Hopefully I can get past it on the second try, but if I need to repeat it a third time, I'll do so, and keep repeating it until I get past it.

I'm guessing that I'll be able to get past all the 1-4 sets on the second try with no problem. The set 5 maxes are going to be the tough spots, as they were this week. Seems like when set 5 rolls around I'm just always really drained.

Today is day 1 of week 4 in column 1. This is the second attempt at week 4.

Set 1 (12): 12
Set 2 (14): 14
Set 3 (11): 11
Set 4 (10): 10
Set 5 (16+): 16


From my first attempt:


This was a lot easier the second time around. I wasn't sure I'd hit the min on the final set, but I did, if just barely. I didn't need more than 60 seconds between sets except just prior to the final set. Didn't really feel tired until after the end of set 4. Finished all sets prior to the final set without much effort, but I did start to feel it toward the end of set 4.

Good form throughout, though I may have cheated a little on the final set at the very end. I don't think I went all the way down for #15/16. I can live with that.

Op, goodluck. If you are truly doing this for your health only, I would assume your diet is spot on. What are your macros?

Thanks, guys. Appreciate the encouragement.

Don't assume anything about my diet, I am pretty uneducated. As far as macros go, I have no idea. Google tells me that is the % breakdown of fat/carb/protein. I don't track that, do I need to? I have upped my protein intake since starting this by about 40-45g/day. That is mostly due to adding 5-6oz of chicken breast to various Lean Cuisine / Healthy Choice frozen meals once a day.


Today is day 2 of week 4 in column 1. This is the second attempt at week 4.

Set 1 (14): 15 oops
Set 2 (16): 16
Set 3 (12): 12
Set 4 (12): 12
Set 5 (18+): 18

Set 3 started to get a little tough at the end, set 4 was very tough at the end and I was sure I wouldn't hit 18 for the final set. I gave myself a 3 minute break at the end of set 4 instead of the standard 90 seconds.

While I hit 18 (barely) for the final set, I haven't decided if I'm going to allow it to count or not. My pushups were definitely shallower than target depth toward the end and I think I was more concerned with meeting the number than doing them properly. I'd say they were about 80% correct, which is why I haven't just automatically disqualified them. All other sets were great form, great breathing. That's why I did an extra one on set 1 by accident - I was really into the groove and didn't realize that I had hit the target. What a waste of a push up!

I was a lot more aggressive about massaging my shoulders and arms between sets, as well as stretching them. I think that helped.

Today is day 3 of week 4 in column 1. This is the second attempt at week 4. Day 34 overall.

Set 1 (16): 16
Set 2 (18): 19 (maybe 18?)
Set 3 (13): 13
Set 4 (13): 13
Set 5 (20+): 21


Yeah, I still can't count. The funny thing about this time is that I think I remember the specific push up I may have missed. I'm not sure I did pushup #6 in set 2. No clue why. I went to 19 just in case.

First three sets were pretty easy. Started feeling it in the fourth set. Was somewhat surprised I not only made it through the final set, but with one push up to spare. How lucky!

Good form throughout, a little sketchy on a couple in the final set, but I'll allow it. Rested the standard 2 minutes after each set except for giving myself 3 minutes after set 4.

In good news, look at me, finishing the week on the second try! Just barely, of course, but I'll take it. I'm going to give myself a couple of days of rest, then do the exhaustion test and see where I'm at for week 5.

Another great thing about this day is that I've now officially tripled my initial exhaustion max of 7, and managed to do it in the final set of all places.



Today is the 34th calendar day since starting this log. Things are going well. Very pleased to have tripled my max and looking forward to seeing what the exhaustion test shows in a few days.

As far as exercise, I've been walking about 1.5 miles/day on average in addition to the pushups and also focusing on some stretching. I think it may be time to start adding in some additional items from earlier suggestions. Air squats seem like a good start to add on the rest days.

As far as diet, it's been pretty much what I listed in the first post. Mostly chicken-based meals with veggies. Lots of Lean Cuisine type frozen stuff that I add chicken strips to. Almost all meals protein based, with some exceptions for sweet stuff like sausage gravy biscuits, buffets, or sushi. I've had two drinks total (happy hour at Morton's), pizza twice, and french fries once. The worst is probably three donut binges after discovering a pretty sweet donut place nearby. A binge is like 3-4 ginormous donuts eaten over a two day period. I also bought a bag of Tostitos a few days ago, second time I've had chips this year. I'm not too worried about diet now that I'm getting some regular exercise and since overall I eat pretty healthy.

As far as general condition, I'm at 160lb as of today and may or may not be imagining the presence of a little actual muscle tone showing up. Perhaps I will not stay skinnyfat forever after all!

You seem to have a lot of concerns regarding form. I recommend taking a video of yourself doing pushups. Even if you don't post them here for feedback they should be beneficial for yourself and to confirm/deny your proprioception.

Thanks, I'll take that under advisement.


Today was the exhaustion test at the end of week 4.

I did 31 pushups, which is the absolute bare minimum number of pushups that allows you to start week 5.

I haven't decided if I'm going to allow myself to start week 5 or not. My form was pretty good overall, but I definitely had some shallow push ups in there and I think I may have skipped a pushup, not sure. I noticed about 6-7 push ups in that my left tricep had a little pain, and that definitely affected my overall set. Barely finished the 31st.


So my options are:

1. Do week 4 again. Not sure what column I'd start in.
2. Move on to week 5.
3. Repeat the exhaustion test in a couple of days and make sure I can hit at least 31, then on to week 5.

I guess I could also drop back to week 3 as well and just start there in column 3 (>25 pushups).


I'm leaning toward repeating the exhaustion test but I haven't decided yet. Week 5 has a litmus at the end where you must do 45 consecutive pushups to move on to week 6. I may be on week 5 for a little while.

Today was a repeat of the exhaustion test at the end of week 4.

I decided that since I wasn't certain I had hit 31 that I should repeat it. Definitely made it to 31 this time, but that's as far as I made it. Good form throughout, though some were a little shallower than I would prefer.

31 is the bare minimum for me to move on to week 5. I have a feeling I may be on week 5 for a while. I've read more than a few reports from people doing this that week 5 is a tough one. It certainly looks tough. Day 1 is the normal 5 sets, but days 2 & 3 jump to 8 sets albeit with lower number of reps per set.

Need to be able to do 45 consecutive push ups in an exhaustion test to move on to week 6. That's achievable considering I just did 31, but it may take a couple of attempts at week 5 first.

I don't think going back to Week 3 and starting in the most advanced column would be the worst thing in the world, fwiw. You'd likely be able to adhere precisely to your rest times and still bang out a bunch of pullups on your exhaustion sets, as opposed to burning yourself out in Week 5 and staying there for 3 weeks.

Still trying to decide what to do as far as the next step. Today was supposed to be the decision day, but as I was warming up with stretches, I noticed my arms ached a bit. Probably from carrying around a lot of stuff yesterday for a while. I decided to give myself another rest day instead, so I have until tomorrow to figure it out.

I know that the individual week # is meaningless in the scheme of things, but I still have a minor irrational aversion to "going back" to week 3, even though there's no logical reason for it. Being in the third column would be completely different than the first, so it's not really like I would have lost any progress. Interesting that I still feel that aversion - I don't think it is an irrational thought of feeling failure. Even if it was failure, there's nothing wrong with failing. I'm not sure how to explain it. More like an aversion to ******ation of progress?

Just did a little thought exercise. What if there were no numbers on the weeks, and it was purely a "here are this week's targets based on the most recent exhaustion test"? No feeling of aversion there. It's definitely the numbering of the weeks creating the aversion. lolme

I decided to give week 5 a shot and re-evaluate afterward.

Today is day 1 of week 5 in column 1. Calendar day 43 overall.

Set 1 (17): 17
Set 2 (19): 19
Set 3 (15): 15
Set 4 (15): 15
Set 5 (20+): 16


Failed the final set. Barely closed out the 4th set. Had a 90 second rest after set 2 and 120 second rest periods after sets 3 & 4. Target is 60 seconds.

Noticed the same minor soreness / tightness showing up just above the elbow after set 3. Was super tight after set 5.

Day two starts the jump from 5 sets to 8 sets. The number of pushups per set goes down but the total jumps up. Today was a target of 86, the longer sessions jump up starting with a target of 100. Today I capped out at 82/86, we'll see what happens when the sets get broken into smaller chunks on day 2.

My suspicion of increased muscle tone is no longer just a suspicion. There's no question that there has definitely been a change. I don't care from a vanity perspective, but it's nice to see that this is actually working and it's not just in my head.

What's really nice is knocking out 5 sets in a row in which I'm doing more than 2x my initial exhaustion max in every single set. At this pace, I may one day achieve my dream of being able to open a jar without assistance.

Today is day 2 of week 5 in column 1. Calendar day 45 overall.

default 45 seconds rest period between sets

Set 1 (10): 10
Set 2 (10): 10
Set 3 (13): 13
Set 4 (13): 13
Set 5 (10): 10
Set 6 (10): 10
Set 7 (9): 9
Set 8 (25+): 11


Time for the new extended format with 3 more sets.

No issues until after set 5. I was tired after that set, and rested an extra 15 seconds.

Set 6 was close but I finished it, and started laughing at the thought of closing with 25+. Rested 1.5 minutes after. Barely finished set 7, I was panting at the end. Wondering if I'd crack double digits on the final set. Another 1.5 minute rest. Hit muscle failure in set 8 after 11 push ups. Super tired and breathing heavy after this.

On the plus side, I managed 86 pushups in about 11 minutes. That's pretty sick considering where I started.

Also, form is still good.

Today is day 3 of week 5 in column 1. Calendar day 47 overall.

default 45 seconds rest period between sets

Set 1 (13): 13
Set 2 (13): 13
Set 3 (15): 15
Set 4 (15): 15
Set 5 (12): 8 LOL
Set 6 (12): 12
Set 7 (10): 10
Set 8 (30+): 10

Failed a regular set again, in addition to massively failing the final set.

Started needing longer rests after set 4. 1 minute after that and 1.5 minutes after set 5 onward. Probably could have hit target on set 5 if I had taken a longer rest after set 4.

96 push ups total. Too bad I didn't rest longer after set 4 and hit the full 12, it would have been nice to meet the 100 push up mark. Next time.

I did crank out 4 more a little afterward just to have a 100 push up day. Go me!

I enjoy this log quite a bit! I might start doing something similar myself--seems interesting!

Nice progress OP, keep it up. Have you thought about what happens after you finish the program? I suggest moving on to chin-ups (and maybe even GTGing a few per day now, depending on what your capacity is and if you think it would affect recovery for the pushups).

Turn - Thanks, glad you are enjoying it.

Montecore - Haven't put much thought into it. Not sure how I would do chin-ups, would need equipment of some kind for that.


I wasn't sure what to do today, so I decided to do the end of week 5 exhaustion test, even though I had failed week 5. Figured it would be good just to see where I was at.

Not much change from last time, managed to do 32 total. One more than the previous exhaustion test, but not a meaningful increase.

Still need to decide if I want to repeat week 5 or drop down to a higher column from an earlier week.

if you add 1 pushup to your max every 2 weeks, that's not awful.

I advise just follow the program, and moving back is OK too. Volume is king with bodyweight stuff, imo.