But! They're also one of the all-time exercise MVPs, no question. Pushups are mega-efficient multitaskers working your whole body in every rep. With fitness streaks (a month of repeating the same exercise every day) being all the rage, we wondered: Could committing to a pushup streak finally change our feelings toward the little guys, all while chiseling our muscles? Ready to rid myself of my own cop-outs and make something of my average arms, I signed up to find out.
As someone who works out six days a week, I thought, Ten pushups? No prob I can knock those out after my workouts or while I'm cooking dinner. But the first few days were unexpectedly tough. Since my typical routine had mostly consisted of exercises like biceps curls and shoulder presses (muscle-isolating moves) and occasional boxing, my upper body parts weren't used to working together to hoist my body weight. And while this new daily stress on the same muscle groups never left me can't-wash-my-hair sore, I definitely shook through the end of my set on Friday.
Still, things turned around fairly quickly: On day one, it took me five minutes (and several breaks) to get through 10 polished, chest-to-the-floor reps. By day 15, it took me under three minutes. On day 30, it took me just 27 seconds. "The more you do something, the better you get at it, because you're improving communication between your neurons and muscles," explains Gentilcore. Not only did my pushups become easier, but everything else I did in the gym planks, ball slams, battle ropes felt less taxing too. "A lot of people think the best way to measure progress is through brute strength where you test how much weight you can possibly move for one rep," he says. "But a far better gauge of progress is whether you're less fatigued after completing the same amount of work." Awesome-sauce.
Now let's talk about the other kind of progress the flexed-muscles kind. Did I go from meh muscles to dope guns? Not quite. Turns out, unless you are a genetically blessed muscle gainer, per Gentilcore, 30 days isn't exactly long enough to develop lasting definition. Muscle growth and fat loss the combo that lets those babies shine through usually takes a bit longer, at least six-ish weeks. (The Slim, Sexy, Strong Workout DVD is the fast, flexible workout you've been waiting for!)
What I did see after the month? Noticeably more sculpted shoulders to the point that my tops started to fit higher up on my chest and slightly more pronounced biceps and triceps. I also saw a very welcome bonus: flatter abs. "To do a clean pushup, your core has to engage to keep your hips level throughout hence the tighter stomach."
And here's the best change: When I walked into NYC boxing-meets-HIIT hot spot Rumble last week and had to crank out 30 pushups, I didn't spit out an alibi about the previous night's margs or throw my gloves in the instructor's face. Competence is a crucial ingredient to confidence which, as Gentilcore puts it, "is the secret to not only maintaining an activity, but also enjoying it." Perhaps that's why 15 days post-challenge, I'm still going strong and not as a punishment, but as a reward.
10 Lessons Learned
1. Baby steps trump big leaps
Despite having a personal best of 20 push-ups before I began developing my daily push-up habit, I decided to start Week 1 with one push-up a day. Why? I wanted to make the habit so easy I couldn’t say no (HT: Leo Babauta).
Many people attempt to make changes in their lives by taking big leaps, when, instead, they should focus on ONE tiny change at a time. For example, going to the gym for 15-minutes a day, twice a week, as a beginner, is A LOT easier than going for an hour, five days a week.
Similarly, by starting at one push-up a day, I had 20 weeks to automatize the habit and before I even arrived at my personal best in Week 20. Having that momentum behind me made showing up and doing the work a lot easier. This leads me to the next lesson I learned…
2. Consistency is everything
The more I study habit formation the more I realize the habit is not counting calories, going to the gym, writing in your journal, completing a project, decluttering, reading … it’s STARTING.
There are going to be days when you don’t feel like doing the habit, but if you commit to taking the first step – opening the app, picking up your gym bag, turning on your laptop, writing one sentence, turning on your Kindle – you’re a lot more likely to follow through with the full behavior.
There were many days when I didn’t “feel” like it, when I rationalized, “one day won’t hurt” when I couldn’t be bothered – but I still committed to taking the first step: getting into the push-up position. If all I did was that, I always followed through with my push-ups.
3. Don’t be afraid to chunk habits down
When you take baby steps, the habit is easy to start and easy to sustain. But as you graduate to the full behavior, it grows and you risk jeopardizing your progress.
To prevent this from happening, chunk the habit down into smaller manageable segments.
When I arrived at Week 20, for example, I chunked my 20 push-ups into two sets of 10 with a one-minute rest time. As behavior change writer James Clear says, “Do things you can sustain.”
4. Set milestones (and celebrate them)
If you’re a long-time reader, you’ll know I’m a strong advocate of “gamifying” habit development and playing “small, addictive games” (HT: Daniel Coyle). When building a habit, there are many milestones you can celebrate including:
- Doing the habit once
- Doing the habit two days in a row
- Doing the habit seven days in a row
- Doing the habit 30 days in a row
- Missing one day but resuming the next
- And so on.
You can also celebrate achievements related to metrics. For example, doing 10 push-ups was a milestone for me, as one 25 and, of course, 50.
Remember, if you can count it, you can turn it into a game.
5. Focus on perfect processes (not outcomes)
Most people, when making changes in their lives, focus on that perfect outcome they’re trying to achieve. Losing 14 pounds. Writing 10,000 words. Deadlifting 150 pounds. Seldom, though, do people strive for a perfect process.
When I was developing my daily push-up habit, I wasn’t thinking about a number I wanted to move toward; I was thinking about each individual push-up and perfecting it to the best of my ability. You don’t set out to build a wall; you say, “I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid.”
6. Use existing habits as cues
Almost all cues fit into one of five categories:
- Location
- Time of day
- Other people
- Emotional state
- Immediately preceding action
An immediately preceding action, in my experience, is the most reliable cue. Why? You can use an existing habit as a trigger (read: Habit Stacking). Writer Tynan suggests using constant cues as triggers for new habits. These are behaviors that happen every day such as waking up, eating, going to the bathroom, etc.
I chose to do my daily push-up habit immediately after showering because it’s an activity I do every day. Fifty weeks in, it hasn’t failed me once.
7. Self-discipline is knowing when to stop
Most people think of self-discipline as something to rely on to start a habit. Saying, “I don’t have the self-discipline to go to the gym” is a common example.
What I’ve come to realize, though, is self-discipline is something that we rely on to stop a habit as well. When I was developing my daily push-up habit, in the beginning, I had to rely on my self-discipline to not do more than I was capable of.
This requires a lot of patience and if ignored, can be your undoing.
Further reading: Discipline is Knowing When to Stop
8. Labeling makes a big difference
When you decide to make a change in your life, do you say you have to do it or you get to do it? When you label a behavior as something you get to do, rather than something you have to do, it becomes a choice, a reminder of how lucky you are.
Labeling goes beyond reframing, too. When I began building my daily push-up habit, I labeled it as an “experiment.” I was gauging what was working, what wasn’t and what could be improved. As far as I was concerned, I couldn’t fail – I could only learn from feedback.
9. Get others involved
Around Week 12, my wife, Luba, got involved. She would critique my form, encourage me, and remind me if I forgot to do my habit. Sometimes she would even join in. Sharing my experience with a loved one made it far more enjoyable.
If you’re trying to help a loved one make a change in their life, do it with them – it’s one of the most effective ways to inspire them to change.
10. Keep going
I never planned on doing 50 push-ups. I just decided to run a habit-forming experiment. When you engineer systems into your life and business, change comes more easily. It simply becomes a by-product of what you’re already doing.