The thousand sit-up challenge!

BonsaiNut

BonsaiNut

iMTB Rockstah
So I'm trying something a little different this summer.

Back when I was in the Army, one of my buddies used to box for our unit. I only bring this up because many times when he would swing by my room to say hi he would lay down on the floor and do some sit-ups while we were talking. He did this because he made a point of knocking out 600 sit-ups every day.

I was thinking about it the other day when I realized how weak my core had become. So yesterday I did 10 sit-ups. Today I did 20. I'm going to increase the count by 10 each day to see how far I get... but my goal is to do it 100 days and make it up to the final day of 1000. Of course by the time I get to 200 or so, it should be pretty easy just to keep climbing the reps.

Anyone with me? :)
 
Faust29 said:
I used to do 50 before bed every night- along with 25 inverted pushups... I stopped after the Kokopelli crash and never got back to it... :thumbsdown:
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When I was in Basic and Advanced Infantry Training, they used to require you to do 10 push-ups every time you entered or left the barracks. By the time I got to Airborne School, it became 20 reps each time in or out. It adds up... morning formation, 40 push-ups; breakfast, 40 push-ups; training, 40 push-ups; lunch, 40 push-ups... etc. I don't even know how many I would do a day. Takes less than 15 seconds to do 20 good push-ups, so the point is to make sure you are always doing them :)
 
I joined the army at 18. I could do 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups and almost one pull-up. Two months in I was doing 60 push-ups, 50 sit-ups and 30 pull-ups. I could actually climb the rope with upper body strength only. I wish I could motivate myself into doing more core exercises. I doubt I could ever be in that kind of shape again but I know it would help tremendously.
 
UPSed said:
I joined the army at 18. I could do 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups and almost one pull-up. Two months in I was doing 60 push-ups, 50 sit-ups and 30 pull-ups. I could actually climb the rope with upper body strength only. I wish I could motivate myself into doing more core exercises. I doubt I could ever be in that kind of shape again but I know it would help tremendously.
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I think I have better endurance now... but nowhere near the short sprint / anaerobic capacity. I know that back then I wasn't going out for four hour bike rides :)
 
Any way that one can stay motivated is good! Numbers games can be fun.

I used to like situps. Three months after my appendectomy I broke my junior high record for situps in a minute with 66. Steep/overhanging climbing gives some thorough core exercising. Mostly because it's fun, and you don't realize the damage you're doing to your finger pulleys, rotator cuffs and elbow tendons... Moderation.

Spine condition not favorable for joining you, but I applaude your initiative and will likewise cheer for anyone making the effort!
 
IMO the slower you do the push up and sit-up the more effective then are.
Slow down and focus on form do 10 -6 pushup (or sit-up) per a minute, and you will realized that by slowing down the descent you are substantially increasing the difficulty of each rep.

(FYI - I'm not the guy in the clip ;-) )
 
HBkites said:
IMO the slower you do the push up and sit-up the more effective then are.
Slow down and focus on form do 10 -6 pushup (or sit-up) per a minute, and you will realized that by slowing down the descent you are substantially increasing the difficulty of each rep.

(FYI - I'm not the guy in the clip ;-) )
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Yup,
Or when you are down low in the pushup, hover there going up down an inch or so....
 
scan said:
There are many "core" exercises one can and should do, not limiting it to sit ups. Variety is refreshing and you can try to get more than just one part of the core.
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Trust me, I'm not trying to suggest this is a perfect core workout. Rather it is easy to do... easy to remember... and that means it just might happen. Too often I see people create the "ultimate" workout, but the moment it requires you to use equipment or step one foot out of your house, the participation rate plummets.

If you used to be able to do 100 good clean military sit-ups in 3 minutes, that means by the end of this challenge you will be doing 30 minutes of fast sit-ups every day. That's a LOT of high intensity sit-ups, I don't care who you are :)
 
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scan said:
There are many "core" exercises one can and should do, not limiting it to sit ups. Variety is refreshing and you can try to get more than just one part of the core.
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Bingo!
I teach/practice high plank, knee to nose 100x
Prone core workout is better for me as I tend to rely my hip flexors too much for sit-ups/ boat pose.
 
mountaingirl sara said:
Bingo!
I teach/practice high plank, knee to nose 100x
Prone core workout is better for me as I tend to rely my hip flexors too much for sit-ups/ boat pose.
Click to expand...

Much harder to do sit-ups if you place feet flat on floor and don't tuck them under anything, and feet can't leave the floor during exercise. Also, hands to either side of head - but not touching head and not interlocked behind the head. Then, smooth controlled motion up, stop, controlled motion down, stop.

Not telling you anything you don't know, but just like push-ups, the difference between a good sit-up and a bad one makes a huge difference in getting the most out of the exercise.
 
Today is 50 day... much harder to join once we get past this point :)

My sister is doing it, and my local biking bud. I'll let you knock when I can strike a match off my abs :)
 
Funny, I stumbled on this thread while doing my routine core/sit ups.
I’ll never get to 1000 and I’ll never have abs like Halle Berry, but as long as I’m on the floor doing crunches, sit ups and get to pet the dog I’m good with that.

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