One of my goals for this year is to do 500 pushups a day as part of my daily routine. More specifically, my goal is to BUILD myself up to the point where I can do that many a day, and still do other things without feeling completely winded. Sort of like my 1500 jumps a day goal, which was significantly easier to achieve (for me) - and no, I don't do that many on a daily basis now - but is sure is a nice feeling to know I CAN do that many if I want or need to.

Now, I CAN do 500 pushups if I want to even now - I wrote a bit about that here: - http://rahulmookerjee.com/index.php/blog/item/47-500-pushups-a-day. But I'm bushed after that and barring a few core exercises (a FEW), I'm not going to be doing much more - and truth be told, I wouldn't NEED to do much more after doing that many pushups in one workout. But, goals are goals, and it's always fun to set TOUGH goals - as accomplishing a real toughie makes the effort required to accomplish that goal more than worthwhile.

For those of you that are wondering, I made the pushup goal a month or so ago - it was NOT a "New Year resolution". Don't believe much in those anyway, those type of resolutions seem to be the first to fall by the wayside as soon as the festive season ends.

Anyway, I'm working on getting there, and things seem to be going good so far. I'm pumping out an average of 300 pushups daily at this point (in one workout) - give or take a few. So I could do 297 today (my numbers for today) and hit 320 tomorrow, and an even 300 the next day and so forth. After this I'll usually work on some bridging, rope jumping, core exercises, handstand pushups and pull-ups - but thats AFTER my pushups.

Some of the things that I've noticed after incorporating these many pushups in my regimen are: -

- My breathing has improved vastly - sinuses, blocked noses and the like are very much a thing of the PAST. And this is due to the deep breathing that accompanies a pushup workout.

- Vastly improved core strength and digestion - I'm not doing as many core exercises as I did before, but am still getting a better core workout.

- Improvement in pull-up numbers (sounds strange, huh?)

- Improved wrist and forearm strength, without doing a single direct grip exercise

And those are just a few - it proves a point that I make repeatedly - that pushups are an OVERALL body exercises that build strength and conditioning throughout the ENTIRE body.

Now, am I saying pushups are all you need to do? Not at all - you still need to include core movements and pulling movements into your workout (and don't forget about working the legs!) - but if your just starting out, you might find it quite hard to do anything else after a 100 or so pushups.

And last, but not least, I feel way more alive throughout the entire day after doing a lot of pushups. Not sure why - I believe the deep breathing purifies the lungs while also working the muscles of the diaphragm, chest and rib cage at the same time - which leads to automatically breathing deeper through the entire day, and a feeling of increased clarity and awareness. I'm not sure how else to explain it - the best way to experience it would be to do the pushups yourself, and then see how you feel! 

Anyhow, thats a goal I thought I'd share with you. Will keep you posted on my progress!

Best regards,

Rahul

PS: Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will you do 500 pushups in a day without working up to it. But, work up to it you CAN - and Fast and Furious Fitness will show you just how.