Here are the previous posts from this series: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10/11 – 12 – 13
It’s been a while since my last post in this series, so I’m glad to be posting on my progress again.
I had to make a decision to change my approach to achieving 1000 chin-ups and 1000 push-ups per day. Here’s what I’m doing now:
#1: I am striving to get 1000 chin-ups on one day of the week, and 1000 push-ups on another day of the week. Having a family, a job, a business, AND other responsibilities makes it too hard for me right now to be doing push-ups and chin-ups every day, all day.
#2: I am training towards specific objectives. I am training for a particular sports event that I won’t disclose until I feel it is the right time. I’ve often been too ambitious and told the world I was doing this or that, only to stop shortly thereafter. I believe I’m done with that.
With all of this said, I am happy to report that I have achieved 1000 push-ups on more than one occasion! Here’s what I’ve been doing:
5/7/16 (Saturday): 1008 Push-ups (My first time!)
5/11/16 (Wednesday): 204 Chin-ups
5/12/16 (Thursday): 735 Squats
5/14/16 (Saturday): 1000 Push-ups
5/17/16 (Tuesday): 272 Chin-ups
5/19/16 (Thursday): 325 Squats (I stopped short because of knee discomfort brought on from increasing my running mileage recently)
So How Do You Get 1000?
I basically have to do push-ups all day to reach 1000. Starting early in the morning, I spend maybe 30 or so minutes getting in sets of 20-40 push-ups, after which time my muscles get pretty tight. Throughout the day I throw in a few more sets here and there, and by the evening time when my pectorals and triceps are really tight, I use pyramid sets, where I do 5 push-ups, rest a few minutes, then 10 and rest, and so on until I reach 25. Then I come back down the pyramid.
Chin-ups are a much harder exercise for me than push-ups, thus the lower totals that you see above. But I’m getting there. My first goal is to reach 500, and then I’ll aim for 1000.
I mean, imagine the kind of strength and musculature that you can develop from doing 1000 chin-ups in a day. That’s part of my motivation to do it. And to think that just 7 or 8 years ago, I could only do 2 at a time.
Check Out My Progress Since December 5th
I’ll have a comparison pic with my next post. Basically, I’ve gone up about 3.8 lbs, which I believe is largely due to water retention. Maybe a little muscle gain, but I know that I wasn’t drinking enough water. I also have to be careful with the peanuts and raisins that I eat. I love that snack, and it isn’t that bad unless you’re trying to lean out. Raisins are high in sugar, and peanuts are a high calorie food as well.
They’re not bad for snacks though. Don’t get me wrong.
Materials Used to Help Me Reach My Goals
In this section, I share with you the things I’ve been using to help me reach my goals. Because I train exclusively with calisthenics these days, I tend to not need much equipment, but I still have a couple of items that help me do what I have to do.
Portable Chin-up Bar – I’ve had my portable chin-up bar for at least 2-3 years now, and it holds up well. When I first searched for one, I realized that there aren’t many out there. This one does the job, and its portability allows me to put it up when I’m done, and to use it for training other people. It is made by a company called Trapeze Rigging.
Portable Dip Bar – I’ve had my dip bar for almost 4 years, and it is great. It’s hard to find somewhere to do dips when you aren’t at the gym unless you have the luxury of a nearby playground with parallel bars. You can actually use it to do modified pull-ups as well. It’s durable, easy to disassemble and stick under a bed, and is made by Ultimate Body Press.
Doorway Chin-up Bar – I use my indoor doorway bar when I didn’t get all my reps in on my portable chin-up bar in the garage. It has held up surprisingly well over the past few years, and my only complaint is that it can wear out the door threshold a bit if you’re not careful. Otherwise, it works great for chin-ups and pull-up variations. Mine is made by Gold’s Gym, and honestly you can get it a lot cheaper by visiting Wal-Mart than by buying it offline.
Water Bottle – In my opinion, purchasing a stainless steel water bottle to carry your water in is the best way to get in all of your daily water requirement. For one, you can avoid having to buy bottles all of the time (which helps conserve the earth’s resources, which is always good). You just have to get something like a Brita pitcher (my wife and I have one) to keep the bottle filled up. Second of all, you can carry it with you, so it reminds you to keep on drinking. Thirdly, they’re quite durable. They can get banged up, but it’s hard to put a whole in them. My wife has me on these Klean Kanteen bottles. At 27 ounces, I can fill mine up a little over 3 times and have all of my water in for the day.
Blood Pressure Monitor – A few years ago, I bought my own blood pressure monitor so that I could occasionally take readings at home. My blood pressure had been reading high at the doctor’s office, but I knew that I didn’t have high blood pressure. I was experiencing something referred to as “White Coat Hypertension (the doctor’s white coat…get it?).” Anyway, my monitor is made by Microlife and is a manual one (where you squeeze the bulb to tighten the sleeve) and has worked well for me for several years. This one is also made by Microlife, but it is automatic. I could not find my model so I wanted to refer this one to you to give you a good idea of what I’m working with.
I hope you’re motivated by following my very real journey to doing 1000 chin-ups and dips every day. As you see, I succeed in reaching my weekly quotas sometimes, and sometimes I fail. The hope is that with time, I succeed more than I fail, and see, that’s the way life is. I encourage you to follow me as I do this thing, and If you’re not already a subscriber to this site and desire to be one, you can subscribe here.
The post My Journey to 1000 Chin-ups and 1000 Push-ups – #14 appeared first on Your Health At The Crossroads.