I have never done any type of strength training. I have some hand weights, but the only ones I've ever used have been the little three-pound weights, and I find those to be a little heavy when I work out with them. I have no upper-body strength. I wasn't that thrilled with how my arms were looking in the photos, and figured that 27 is as good a time as any to figure out how to get muscles. So after we got back home from Christmas, I started doing the 100 pushups program.
In case you haven't heard of it before, it's a three-day-a-week, six-week program where you build up your arm strength, starting with just a few pushups and then adding more day by day.
Now, the website tells you to take a pre-test to determine whether you should start on level 1, 2 or 3. I skipped that because I knew I could only legitimately do one or two pushups before wilting like a delicate flower. I started with level 1, and the website says that on this level, you're supposed to be able to do 50 pushups in a row after six weeks.
Hahahahahahahahahaha.
I've been working for three weeks now. I repeated Week 1 twice, and I'm about to start Week 2 for a second time. Week 2 Day 3 said to do repetitions of 5, 7, 5, 5, and then a minimum of 8 pushups, and then Week 3 Day 1 tells you to start your first rep with 10 pushups! And I am faint of heart and can't fathom starting out with that many and then doing more sets after that.
On my best day yet, I managed 11 pushups in a row, and then I growled and did muscle poses all over the living room while my husband laughed at me and called me cute. But I am not deluding myself into thinking I could do 11 pushups in a row every day, not just yet. These noodles I call arms are still struggling, and my shoulder muscles that are by my chest are sore every day, and I don't want to hurt myself.
But I am going to have awesome-looking arms at my sister's wedding. And if I ever manage to get to 50 pushups, I will post a video to prove it. Because if I were you — heck, if I were me! — I wouldn't believe it.
Tell me what you're doing to work out! Are you still sticking to any New Year's resolutions? Do you like strength training?