No bread is an island

...entire of itself. (With apologies to John Donne!)
I live and breathe breadmaking. I’m an evangelist who would like everyone to make his or her own bread. I want to demystify breadmaking and show it as the easy everyday craft that it is. To this end I endeavour to make my recipes as simple and as foolproof as I possibly can.

I call my blog 'No bread is an island' because every bread is connected to another bread. So a spicy fruit bun with a cross on top is a hot cross bun. This fruit dough will also make a fruit loaf - or Chelsea buns or a Swedish tea ring...
I'm also a vegan, so I have lots of vegan recipes on here - and I'm adding more all the time.

Saturday 2 March 2024

PRESS UP CHALLENGES: 1 MILLION IN 10 YEARS - AND 100 IN A MINUTE

Sunday 1th March 2023
One more milestone reached, today - I've now completed 600,000 press ups - in just under five and a half years! Just 400,000 to go - and I've four and a half years in which to get them. I averaged 11,800 press ups a month over the past year, at this rate I'll finish my challenge sometime in my 89th year.

Friday 3rd March 2020
Another milestone reached, today - I've now completed 300,000 press ups - in just over two and a half years! Almost, but not quite, 10,000 a month. If I do 12,000 this month, I'll be on that track, and should achieve my goal a little early - at age 88 and four months. However, I'm still keeping fit, and healthy and strong, which was the other part of my goal. [Finally caught up with my target at the end of May - 32 months since I started, cumulative total 320,000]

Sunday 9th February 2020
Today I managed over 100 press ups in one minute - full story further down. Don't imagine they were all done with perfect form, but I'm working on it.

Sunday 4th August 2019
Today I was filmed doing my 1000 press ups in the centre of Bristol, by 'Friendsnotfood', an animal rights activist film-maker. It took me just under 40 minutes, as usual, but I found it a bit more difficult, doing it in the sunshine. I moved to some shade about halfway through.

And a couple of weeks ago I was filmed mucking about on the London Tube doing some chin ups.


I filmed 40 press ups - about 4 times, to try and get it right - uploaded it here - and now it refuses to play! Back to the drawing board :(
Very strange - I'll try again, of course, but in the meantime, I've managed to upload it to Facebook - so here's a link to that.



Number 2 in the series - My Fitness regime. My 9kg kettlebell routine. (Once again, the above video won't work on here, so I've linked it to my Facebook page.)

Every 3 days I do my kettlebell exercise: 
20 reps of the nine different exercises you see me doing here. Then repeated once more. The whole exercise takes less than 15 minutes, with a 5 minute gap between the two routines.

[Still not working - I'll post it on Facebook, then link to it from here. My kettlebell film on Facebook]
The story behind this challenge:
I turned 80 in September 2017, and, to provide some motivation to keep pushing myself, I decided I would challenge myself to see if I could complete 1 million push ups between my 80th and 90th birthday.
I worked out that if I did 2000 a week, 700 every other day (2000 x 50 x 10 years), I would reach my goal. 

However, after I'd begun, I thought I needed to get some 'in the bank' as it were, just in case I had an accident or something, and couldn't do the push ups for a while. So I upped my total to 1000 every other day. I've now been going just over 6 months - when my total was around 70,000. So my target is so far well within reach. At my present rate of progress, barring accidents, it's possible I could achieve 1 million p/ups in well under 10 years - I did 14000 in March 2018, for instance.

27th September 2019currently aiming for 10,000 a month

Oh, and I'd also like to be able to do 100 perfect press ups in 1 minute - that's my immediate goal.

20/1/19: I've now settled on a weekly routine, prioritising my press ups. So, Sunday - press ups; Monday - chin ups; Tuesday - kettlebell exercise; Wednesday and Friday press ups, with Thursday and Saturday being rest days.

As an aside, another reason I'm doing this is to show that vegans can be strong and fit into old age - should I ever get there! ;)



[Caveat: I have a rolled up towel on the floor, which I touch with my forehead on each dip. It's probably about 7-8cm thick. Gradually, I've been unfolding the towel - so my press ups are closer to the ground. Which is why, last time I tried it, I only managed 74 press ups in one minute. 
And now, in the last month or so, I've been just folding the towel and pressing my face into it. However, that's not every press up - tonight (29th Oct 2019) when I was going for how many I could do without stopping, they were all full press ups. When doing my set of 20 every minute, I'm doing them all as full press ups - until I get tired then first 15 as full press ups, and the other 5 not going all the way down. I calculated that 900 of the 1000 were full press ups.]

My efforts have come to the attention of a wider audience - here's an article about my 1 million challenge. It's been picked up by Plant Based News, and Somerset Live, an online newspaper - and I even got a mention on the Great Vegan Athletes Facebook page, which is crazy!



19th March 2023 

I've really neglected this post and I've got a lot to catch up on - but I've kept all my records, so here goes:

(There's an unexplained gap between the middle of November 2020 and the middle of February 2021 - so no press ups for that period. And then my records show more gaps - but I've only entered the figures I'm sure of.)

From now on I'm just going to post the monthly figures. And all my subsequent sets have been 1000. So:

Decided to do 1000 every day thru February, so, by today, the 29th Feb, I've done 29 sets, making my total so far 702,000

11 sets in January 2024 = 673,000

6 sets in December = 662,000

16 sets all told in November, so a further 6 = 656,000

10 sets by 16th November = 650,000

8 sets in October = 640,000

8 sets in September  = 632,000

0 sets in August = 624,000

7 sets in July = 624,000

5 sets in June = 617,000

1 sets in May = 612,000

8 sets in April = 611,000

2 more sets to finish out March 2023, so 603,000

Up to the 16th March 2023 7 sets - total 601,000. I'll be 85 years and 6 months old on the 28th of this month. At 100,000 press ups a year, at the moment I'm roughly 50,000 ahead of my target - with 9 days still to go. In the past I've exceeded my goals, thinking if I get injured, I'll have a bit of leeway, and that has stood me in good stead - when I broke my leg for instance. I'll carry on doing this - because you never know. I have 3 ultras planned for this year, so who knows what may happen?

February 2023 11 sets - total 594,000

January 2023 12 sets - total 583,000

December 2022 12 sets - total 571,000

November 2022 14 sets - total 559,000

October 2022 12 sets - total 545,000

September 2022 11 sets - total 533,000

August 2022 12 sets - total 522,000

July 2022 18 sets - total 510,000 (my best monthly figure)

June 2022 16 sets - total 492,000

May 2022 6 sets - total 476,000

April 2022 12 sets - total 470,000

March 2022 7 sets - total 458,000

December 2021 7 sets - total 451,000 

Broke my leg on the 28th December - cast came off in February, and I resumed my press ups in March

November 2021 11 sets - total 444,000

October 2021 14 sets - total 433,000

September 2021 12 sets - total 419,000

August 2021 3 sets - total 407,000

July 2021 8 sets - total 404,000

June 2021 16 sets - total 396,000

March 2021 1 set - total 380,000

February 2021 3 sets - total 379,000

(Gap between 18/11/2020 and 15/2/21 - no press ups registered)

18th November 2020 

Timing myself over these sets, 5 minutes apart: 50, 60, 70, 80, 90. 
I did the 60 in 36 seconds, the 80 in 48. Then I wanted to see how many I could actually do in a minute - but I tired after 70, so I rested for 2 seconds at 70, then again at 80 - and finished with the 90 inside 1 minute. Then sets of 50 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 376,000

I've found the press ups get easier with each set - up to about set 4. Maybe I could do better with a 10 minute gap. But, for the moment, next time, I'll see how many I can do in a minute with set 3.

16th November 2020 

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 375,000
11th November 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 374,000

9th November 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 373,000

7th November 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 372,000

3rd November 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 371,000

31st October 2020 

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 370,000

28th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 369,000

26th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 368,000

21st October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 367,000

18th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 366,000

15th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 365,000

12th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 364,000

9th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 363,000

7th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 362,000

4th October 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 361,000

30th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 360,000 - Now up to date with my target of 10,000 a month

27th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 359,000

24th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 358,000

21st September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 357,000

18th September 2020

30, 40, 50, 60, 40, 40, 50, 30 during the day, with perfect form, then

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 356,000

16th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 355,000

12th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 354,000


9th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 353,000

7th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 352,000

5th September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 351,000

2nd September 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 350,000


31st August 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 349,000


28th August 2020 

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 348,000


26th August 2020 

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 347,000

23rd August 2020 

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 346,000

20th August 2020 

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 

1000

Cumulative total 345,000


17th August 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes after every 100, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 344,000


15th August 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes after every 100, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 343,000


12th August 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes after every 100, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 342,000


9th August 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 341,000

7th August 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes after every 100, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 340,000

4th August 2020 

Sets of 50, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 600, then ets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 338,000

2nd August 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 337,000


30th July 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 336,000


27th July 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 335,000

24th July 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 334,000

22nd July 2020 

50, 60, 70, 50, 60, 80,  through the day = 370 then sets of 34 and 33, resting every for 2 minutes every 5 up to 1000

Cumulative total 333,000


19th July 2020 

25, 30, 40, 50, 50, 50, 55 through the day = 300 then sets of 40 every 2 minutes up to 1000

Cumulative total 332,000


15th July 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 331,000


10th July 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000




Cumulative total 330,000


8th July 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000




Cumulative total 329,000


4th July 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000




Cumulative total 328,000


2nd July 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 327,000


17th June 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 326,000


12th June 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 325,000


10th June 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 324,000



8th June 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 323,000



5th June 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000



Cumulative total 322,000

3rd June 2020 

Sets of 40, every 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000


Cumulative total 321,000


31st May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


[Finally caught up with my target of 10,000 a month. 32 months since I started.]

Cumulative total 320,000



28th May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 319,000


25th May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 318,000

23rd May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 317,000


20th May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 316,000


17th May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 315,000

12th May 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 314,000

9th May 2020 

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 313,000

6th May 2020 

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 312,000

2nd May 2020 

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 311,000

[Note: I've finally caught up with 10,000 a month - 31 months since I began this challenge. I shall aim to do 10,000 a month going forward.]

29th April 2020 

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 310,000


25th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 309,000



23rd April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 308,000


20th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 307,000


18th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 306,000


15th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 305,000


13th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 304,000


10th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 303,000



8th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 302,000

6th April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 301,000

3rd April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 300,000!

1st April 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 299,000

30th March 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 298,000

Note: I've now been doing these press ups for 2 and a half years - 30 months, so I'm just short of 10,000 every month. If I do 12,000 in April, I'll be up to speed, then I can just do the 10,000 each month - or roughly 1 set every 3 days.

26th March 2020


Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000



Cumulative total 297,000

24th March 2020

Sets of 50, 50, 60, 70, 97, 70, 73, 70, 70, 70 = 680, then sets of 40 3 minutes apart, up to 

1000
Cumulative total 296,000

22nd March 2020

Sets of 40, 40, 40 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 295,000

19th March 2020

Sets of 50, 80, 80, 97, 73, 80, 70, 70 = 600, then sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000


Cumulative total 294,000


16th March 2020

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 293,000

13th March 2020

Sets of 25, 2 minutes apart, right through to

1000




Cumulative total 292,000


11th March 2020

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 


1000

Cumulative total 291,000

9th March 2020

Sets of 40, in groups of 3 with 2 minutes rest in between, right through to

1000



Cumulative total 290,000

7th March 2020

Sets of 25, in groups of 3 with 2 minutes rest in between, right through to

1000



Cumulative total 289,000


3rd March 2020

Sets of 25, in groups of 3 with 2 minutes rest in between, right through to

1000



Cumulative total 288,000

1st March 2020

Sets of 40, in groups of 3 with 2 minutes rest in between, right through to

1000


Cumulative total 287,000

28th February 2020

Sets of 40, 50, 80, 50, then sets of 50, two minutes apart, right through to

1000


Cumulative total 286,000


25th February 2020

Sets of 25 up to 200, then sets of 40, in groups of 3 with 2 minutes rest in between, right through to

1000


Cumulative total 285,000


23rd February 2020

Sets of 50 up to 300, then sets of 40, all in groups of three, with 2 minutes rest between each group, up to

1000


Cumulative total 284,000


20th February 2020

80 (48 seconds)
90 (51)
80 (49)
105 (60)
80 (45)
90 (52)
55
580

Then sets of 50 in groups of three, with 2 minutes rest between each group, up to

1000


Cumulative total 283,000

18th February 2020

90 (56 seconds)
90 (53)
105 (60)
80 (47)
105 (60
100 (60)
570

Then sets of 50 in groups of three, with 2 minutes rest between each group, up to

1000

Cumulative total 282,000


16th February 2020

Sets of 40, in groups of 3 with 2 minutes rest in between, right through to

1000

Cumulative total 281,000


13th February 2020

60, 66, 83, 41, 40, 40, 60, 50 = 440
Then sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 
1000


Cumulative total 280,000


11th February 2020

At home today, so I thought I'd do the one minute challenge several times during the afternoon - gaps between 15 minutes:

85
95
70 = 250. Then I did a set of 50 to round it up to 300, then

Sets of 34, 33, 33 - rest for 2 minutes, repeat, up to 

1000

Cumulative total 279,000



9th February 2020

I found it hard to get into it tonight, took me about 3 sets before I began to feel comfortable. 

But then, at around the 700 mark, I felt pretty good and reduced the pause between 100s to 1 minute 30. And then, when I reached 900, I thought I'd like to see how many I could do in one minute. So I rested for 5 or so minutes, then went for it. 

Drum roll...

109 press ups, without stopping, in one minute. I have to be honest and say that I don't think I was getting down as far as I was at the beginning of my evening routine, but even so, I'm very happy with that. I now need to see how many proper press ups I can do in one minute when I'm fresh.

Cumulative total 278,000

6th February 2020

As before:

1000


Cumulative total 277,000


4th February 2020

As before:

1000


Cumulative total 276,000

1st February 2020

As before:

1000

Cumulative total 275,000

30th January 2020

Same system again - takes me about 50 minutes to complete, but I can do other things in the gaps.

1000

Cumulative total 274,000


28th January 2020
However, I wasn't happy that I was only hitting the hundreds every 300 with this system, so I thought I'd do sets of 34, 33, 33 = 100.
And, to make sure I wasn't slipping from good form, I thought I'd have a rest every 100, so I'd do 100, then set a timer for 2 minutes, another hundred, another 2 minute rest, and so on.

34, 33, 33 = 100 (times 10) = 1000

Cumulative total 273,000

26th January 2020
Recently, I've noticed that I have developed a sort of bounce back up. So there is a definite rhythm to my routine, now, and I'm getting my elbows at 90 degrees - mostly. And I've decided that I should increase the number of push ups in each set - so I thought I'd try going up to 30.

Sets of 30 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 272,000


22nd January 2020

Sets of 25 right through.


1000

Cumulative total 271,000

19th January 2020

Sets of 25 right through.


1000

Cumulative total 270,000



16th January 2020
Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 269,000



13th January 2020

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 268,000



10th January 2020
Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 267,000



7th January 2020

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 266,000



5th January 2020
Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 265,000



1st January 2020

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 264,000


30th December 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 263,000


22nd December 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 262,000


18th December 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 261,000


16th December 2019

Going for how many I can do in one minute:
95 (85 straight out), 82, 85, 70, 68 = 400, then sets of 25 right through.

1000




Cumulative total 260,000

12th December 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 259,000

10th December 2019

60, 77, 63, 60, 70, 50 = 380, then sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 258,000

8th December 2019

45, 50, 55, 50, then sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 257,000


6th December 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 256,000


3rd December 2019

Sets of 50 at intermittent times during the day.

1000





Cumulative total 255,000


1st December 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 254,000


29th November 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 253,000


27th November 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 252,000


21st November 2019

50, 70, 60, 60  = 240Then sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 251,000


18th November 2019

I've had a muscle spasm, leading to back pain for the past week or so - got back into it today with rolled up towel again, and sets of 20 throughout.

1000

Cumulative total 250,000 - or one quarter of a million. So I'm 1/4 towards my goal. That's taken me 2 years, 1 month and 3 weeks. At this rate I'll reach 1,000,000 in about another 6 years, 4 months. However, I'll try and reach the million within 8 years altogether.

5th November 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000





Cumulative total 249,000

3rd November 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000




Cumulative total 248,000

29th October 2019

40, 50, 70 (in one minute), 50, 65, 75 (in one minute) - at ten minute intervals - then sets of 20 up to 1000



Cumulative total 247,000

25th October 2019

Several times through the day I tried to see how many I can do before I have to pause, then continued with sets of 20 right through. This with my towel just folded - not rolled.


40, 45, 50  (at ten minute intervals) then sets of 20, up to 

1000




Cumulative total 246,000


21st October 2019

Several times through the day I tried to see how many I can do before I have to pause, then continued with sets of 25 right through.


35, 50, 40, 45, 40, 40  (at ten minute intervals) then up to 

1000






Cumulative total 245,000

17th October 2019

Several times through the day I tried to see how many I can do before I have to pause, then continued with sets of 25 right through.

40, 45, 50 then up to 

1000



Cumulative total 244,000




14th October 2019

A couple of times through the day I tried to see how many I can do in one minute, then continued with sets of 25 right through.

60, 63, then up to 

1000



Cumulative total 243,000


11th October 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 242,000




9th October 2019

Sets of 25 right through. Now, the first 12 of my 25 press ups are with my forehead touching the folded towel. My plan is to increase this proportion gradually, until the whole 25 are. Then I can start increasing the numbers in my sets as I've done earlier.

1000



Cumulative total 241,000



7th October 2019

40, 60, 63, 65 (how many I can do in one minute)

Then sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 240,000



5th October 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 239,000



2nd October 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 238,000


30th September 2019

Tonight I was seeing how many p/ups I could do without stopping, with my forehead touching the folded towel:

41, 43, 40, 46, 37 = 207 (sets 5 minutes apart)

Then 25 every minute.

1000



Cumulative total 237,000

28th September 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 236,000

My 82nd birthday today! So it's now two years since I began this challenge. At this rate of progress I will reach 1 million well in advance of my 90th birthday. 

26th September 2019

I changed the rolled up towel I was using to check that my head was getting to within 9cm of the floor, to a folded towel - with my head coming to within 4cm of the floor. I'm pretty sure my elbows are now forming a right-angle, which is a requirement for a correct press up. And did my sets of 25 every 2 minutes instead of every minute.

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 235,000

23rd September 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 234,000

19th September 2019

Sets of 35 up to 210, 30 up to 600, then 

1000




Cumulative total 233,000


16th September 2019

Initial sets of 100, 50, 40, then sets of 30 and 25 right through.

1000




Cumulative total 232,000


12th September 2019

Initial sets of 85, 100, 90, 95, 95 = 405, then sets of 40 ups to 600 and 30 right through.

1000




Cumulative total 231,000


10th September 2019

Initial sets of 70, 75, 80, 85, 95 = 405, then sets of 40 ups to 600 and 30 right through.

1000




Cumulative total 230,000


6th September 2019

Sets of 40, then 35 up to 330, then 30 up to 600, then 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 229,000


1st September 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 228,000


30th August 2019

Sets of 30 up to 300, then sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 227,000


21st August 2019

Initial sets of 60, 70, 65, 65, 65, 65 - 5 minutes apart - then sets of 25 and 30 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 226,000


19th August 2019

Sets of 30 up to 300, then 25 and 30 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 225,000


14th August 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 224,000


11th August 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000




Cumulative total 223,000


8th August 2019

Sets 30 up to 150, then sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 222,000


5th August 2019

Chin ups - 

10, 8, 8, 6 = 32 another PB

Sunday 4th August 2019
Today we finally got around to filming my press up routine, 1000 press ups - sometimes 3 times a week, but I'm aiming to do 10,000 every month. I found it hard work in the sun - and switched to the shade about halfway through. I still just about finished my last set of 25, which is not something that generally happens when I'm doing them at home - I generally finish pretty fresh. 

So, 1000 in sets of 25, in 39 minutes 41 seconds.


Cumulative total 221,000



3rd August 2019

Chin ups - 

9, 8, 8, 6 = 31 - a PB

1st August 2019

Sets 30 up to 150, then sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 220,000

31st July 2019

Chin ups - 


8, 7, 7, 6 = 28

30th July 2019

Sets of 30 up to 300, then sets of 25 through to 850, then 5 sets of 30.

1000


Cumulative total 219,000

25th July 2019

Chin ups - 


8, 8, 8, 7 = 31

24th July 2019

Sets of 25 right through to 850, then finished with 5 sets of 30.

1000


Cumulative total 218,000

22nd July 2019

Chin ups - 


6, 6, 6, 6 = 24 ( have let these go a bit)

21st July 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 217,000



19th July 2019

Began optimistically with 2 sets of 50, then sets of 35 up to 380, then sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 216,000


17th July 2019

6 sets of 30, then sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 215,000


15th July 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 214,000


9th July 2019

Began with 2 sets of 40, then a couple of sets of 35, then sets of 25 interspersed with sets of 39 as I recovered a little.

1000


Cumulative total 213,000



2nd July 2019

Sets of 35 up to 175, then sets of 30 right through. Finished under 33 minutes. My best attempt so far.

1000


Cumulative total 212,000


28th June 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 211,000

27th June 2019

Chin ups - 


8, 7, 7, 6  = 28

26th June 2019

Sets of 30 up to 450, then sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 210,000



24th June 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 209,000


21st June 2019

Started off with 5 sets of 30, then reverted to sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 208,000


19th June 2019

Sets of 25 right through to 900, then 5 sets of 20

1000

Cumulative total 207,000



18th June 2019

Chin ups - 


8, 7, 7, 6 = 28

17th June 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 206,000


10th June 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 205,000

6th June 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 204,000


2nd June 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 203,000


29th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 202,000


26th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 201,000


22nd May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 200,000 (Yoohoo! One fifth of the way to my goal!)

20th May 2019

Chin ups - 

7, 7, 7, 7 = 28


19th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through

1000 

Cumulative total 199,000


17th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through

1000 

Cumulative total 198,000

14th May 2019

Chin ups - 

8, 7, 7, 7 = 29

13th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 197,000


10th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 196,000

9th May 2019

Chin ups - 

7, 7, 6, 6 = 26

8th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 195,000

6th May 2019

Chin ups - 


6, 6, 6, 6 = 24


5th May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 194,000


1st May 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 193,000

29th April 2019

Chin ups - 

6, 6, 6, 6 = 24

28th April 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 192,000

22nd April 2019

Chin ups - 

6, 5, 6, 6 = 23

21st April 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000



Cumulative total 191,000


17th April 2019

Tonight I unfurled the towel I'm using as a guide about 6 inches, so my press ups were a little bit deeper. Had to take an extra minute break every hundred press ups after the first 500. 

Sets of 25 right through 

1000 

Cumulative total 190,000

16th April 2019

2 sets of kettlebell exercises.

15th April 2019

Chin ups - 

6, 6, 6, 5 - 23


14th April 2019

Sets of 25 right through

1000 

Cumulative total 190,000



11th April 2019

Sets of 25 right through

1000 

Cumulative total 189,000


8th April 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 188000


5th April 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 187000

3rd April 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 186000

1st April 2019

Chin ups - 

6, 8, 7, 7 = 28

31st March 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 185000


29th March 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000


Cumulative total 184000


27th March 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 183000


24th March 2019

Sets of 25 right through.

1000

Cumulative total 182000


22nd March 2019

Sets of 25 to begin with, then at 300 I went to sets of 20 - with through to the end, finishing at the 46 minute mark.

1000

Cumulative total 181000

17th March 2019

Sets of 25 to begin with, then at 300 I went to sets of 20 - with through to the end, finishing at the 46 minute mark.

1000

Cumulative total 181000

13th March 2019
Posting live, for a change:
Another PB - 2, actually - 100 press ups in one go, then 107 inside the minute. So I'm doing over 50 seconds before I have to stop - nearly there, folks! :)

107
80     187
85     272
Then sets of 35, 30 and finally 25 up to 

1000

Cumulative total 180,000

10th March 2019
Another tough workout - wasn't easy at all this time. So I didn't push myself too hard, giving myself breaks whenever I started struggling. The whole workout took well over an hour.

1000

Cumulative total 178,000

8th March 2019
Tonight I began with sets of 35 - up to 210, then sets of 30 up to 960 and finished with 2 x 20 to reach 1000. I did this in by far my best time - it only took me 32.11. If I keep this up, under 30 minutes for 1000 press ups is very achievable.

1000

Cumulative total 177,000

6th March 2019
Once again, I tried to see how many I could do in one minute. In fact, I can say I've accomplished one of my goals, that is, to do 100 press ups in one minute. I did 94 in one stretch, rested for several seconds, did a further 4, then another 4. But I won't be happy until I can do the 100 without any pause. After this I did 2 more flat out for a minute sets, then reverted to 30 every minute up to 620, then sets of 25 up to 1000.

1000

Cumulative total 176,000


4th March 2019
Chin ups - 7, 7, 7, 7 = 28

3rd March 2019
No one minutes worth to start with today, instead, I just did sets of 25 right through to 1000. Finish time 39:15. I found this much easier, there wasn't much strain, even towards the end.

1000

Cumulative total 175,000



1st March 2019

60 to start with, then sets of 30, up to 180; sets of 25 up to 730, then closed out with sets of 20. Finish time 46:14.



1000



Cumulative total 174,000

27th February 2019
Different approach again - this time I did as many as I could in a minute, rested, then another minute, and so on, up to 790, then I went to sets of 50, then 40, then 35 up to 1000 - I didn't do an overall time. So:

90 in the first set, then:
90
91 (a PB)
93 (another PB)
95 (PB again)
90
60
62
64
55
50
50
40
Plus 2 sets of 35 to finish off the 1000

1000

Cumulative total 173,000

25th February 2019

Press ups - 8, 7. 6, 7 =  28

24th February 2019
Began with 80, then sets of 25 up to 500, finishing with sets of 20 up to the 44 minute mark.

1000

Cumulative total 172000

22nd February 2019
Sets of 25 to begin with, then at 300 I went to sets of 20 - with through to the end, finishing at the 46 minute mark.

1000

Cumulative total 171000

20th February 2019
Today I did a couple of try-outs in the morning, to see how many I could do in 30 seconds. My first attempt, I did 55, the second time I managed 60. So I already had 115 under my belt before I began my evening ritual. I did the remaining 885 in sets of 25, finishing in just over 35 minutes.

1000

Cumulative total 170000

18th February 2019
Again a different approach - I decided I would just do sets of 25, to see if I could perhaps go right through - and indeed, I did. Doing it this way, I didn't feel any stress, so maintained sets of 25 throughout, finishing on 39.14.

1000

Cumulative total 169000


15th February 2019
Bit of a departure tonight - starting of with sets of 35, then dropping down as I tired - but only to sets of 20. Workout time, 37.11.

1000

Cumulative total 168000

13th February 2019
Again an improvement - 85 in the first minute, and the workout took a bit less time, 40:21.

1000

Cumulative total 167000

11th February 2019

Chin ups 7,  7, 7, 7  = 28

10th February 2019
Bit of an improvement - The workout took a bit less time 44:11, again it was hard work.

1000

Cumulative total 166000

9th February 2019

Chin ups 8,  8, 6, 7  = 29

8th February 2019
Similar story to the 3rd Feb - except I managed 85 in the first minute, but it was slow going again. The workout took a bit less time 46:09, but it was hard work.

1000

Cumulative total 165000

4th February 2019

Chin ups 8,  7, 6, 5  = 26

3rd February 2019
This was hard - and slow - work tonight! I got up to 60 in the first minute, and had to give it up - then I only did 4 sets of 30, before I had to drop down to sets of 25. Again I was only able to do 7 sets of 25 before I dropped it down to sets of 20.Then, after 720 press ups, I went down to sets of 15, which took me through to the end. The whole workout took 49:09, 13 minutes longer than the last time. I did not enjoy the workout at all! :(

1000

Cumulative total 164000

1st February 2019
Two more PBs tonight: I did 95 press ups in one minute (84 in one burst; rest for a few seconds, then 7 more; rest for a couple of seconds, then the final 4). And I took another five minutes off my time, completing the 1000 in 36:20. I am now able to maintain sets of 25 right up to 1000. 

1000

Cumulative total 163000


30th January 2019
Tonight I cut another couple of minutes off my time, completing the 1000 in 41:17. I am now able to maintain sets of 25 up to 870 - doing sets of 20 for the remainder. 

1000

Cumulative total 162000


29th January 2019

HIIT

28th January 2019


Chin ups 9, 9, 8, 7 = 33 - that's better, a PB!

27th January 2019
Wow - another PB! Tonight I cut almost 5 minutes off my previous PB, set only 2 days ago - completing my 1000 press ups in 43.30.
So, 85 in the first minute, then, after 2 mins rest, I did 3 sets of 30, then 25 every minute, up to 650. Then sets of 20 up to 870; and sets of 15 every minute right up to 1000 in 43:30. Interestingly, I felt able, whilst doing sets of 15, that I could throw in a set of 20 every now and again. I find it difficult to believe that I've improved by over 10 minutes, in just 7 days. And I'm wondering how long I can keep progressing like this. 

1000

Cumulative total 161000


25th January 2019

Another couple of PBs tonight. First I managed 90 press ups inside one minute; then I completed my 1000 press ups in 48:20.
So, 90 in the first minute (80 straight out, then another 10 after a few seconds rest), then, after 2 mins rest, I did 25. Thereafter I did 25 every minute, for 6 more minutes - up to 440. (Disclaimer: I had a 5 minute break for a phone call at the 240 mark.) Then I did sets of 20 up to 720 at the 30 minute mark. Then 15 every minute, and I was able to keep going right up to 1000 in 48:20.

1000

Cumulative total 160000



24th January 2019


HIIT


23rd January 2019

I seem to have discovered the quickest way to complete my 1000 press ups. Again I repeated the method I used on the 20th December, of doing a set every minute - after seeing how many I could do in the first minute. Tonight it took me just over 50 minutes. 
So, 81 in the first minute, then, after 2 mins rest, I did 24. Thereafter I did 25 every minute, for 6 more minutes - up to 255. Then I did sets of 20 up to 800 at the 36 minute mark. Then 15 every minute, and I was able to keep going right up to 1000 in 50:25.

1000

Cumulative total 159000


21st January 2019


Chin ups 8, 8, 7, 6 = 29

20th January 2019

Tonight I went back and repeated the press up exercise I did one month ago - on the 20th December - to see how much I've improved.
In the event, I did my 1000 full press ups in no less than 10 minutes shorter - taking me 54 minutes 27 seconds. 
So, 80 in the first minute, then, after 2 mins rest, I did 25. Thereafter I did 25 every minute, for only 4 more minutes - up to 205. Then I did sets of 20 up to 620 at the 29 minute mark. Then 15 every minute, and I was able to keep going right up to 1000 in 54:27.

1000

Cumulative total 158000

Note: I'm still aiming for 100 inside one minute - which is why I start off going flat out for the full minute. Tonight I did 60 straight off, rested for a few seconds, did another 10, rested again and did the final 10. My goal, obviously, is to do the 100 in one go. My second aim is to do my 1000 press ups every 3 days - on my way to completing one million press ups inside 10 years - as fast as I can. It is a chore, of course, and, as my wife will tell you, I want to finish my chores just as fast as I can!

18th January 2019

HIIT

17th January 2019

1000

Cumulative total 157,000

Another good session tonight: 
I began with 80 full press ups in the first minute (60 straight out, then two sets of 10 within the minute) - a PB- then I did 40 every 3 minutes up to 320, when I went down to sets of 35. This took me through to 570, when I went down to sets of 30. At 660 I went down to sets of 20,  which I maintained through to 1000. Took me 80 minutes all told


16th January 2019

Kettlebell exercise

15th January 2019

Chin ups 7, 7, 6, 5 = 25

Seem to be going backwards :(


14th January 2019

600

Cumulative total 156,000

Only 600 press ups tonight - wasn't really feeling like it, so I decided to even up the cumulative total - it's been bugging me for a while.

13th January 2019

Kettlebell exercises

12th January 2019

Chin ups - 7, 7, 7, 5 = 26

11th January 2019

1000

Cumulative Total 155400


8th January 2019

Chin ups - 6, 6, 6, 6 = 24


7th January 2019

1000


Cumulative Total 154400


5th January 2019

1000


Cumulative Total 153400


25th December 2018


1000


Cumulative Total 152400




23rd December 2018


1000


Cumulative Total 151400

20th December 2019

Tonight I did my 1000 full press ups in 1:04:12. 77 in the first minute, then, after 2 mins rest, I did 23. Thereafter I did 20 every minute up to 520 at the 24 minute mark. Then 15 every minute up to 770 at the 41 minute mark. Then 10 every minute, finishing the 1000 at 1:04:12. My best performance by far.

1000

Cumulative total 150400

15th December 2018

1000


Cumulative Total 149400

12th December 2018

1000


Cumulative Total 148400

9th December 2018

1000


Cumulative Total 147400

7th December 2018


1000


Cumulative Total 146400


3rd December 2018


1000


Cumulative Total 145400



28th November 2018

1000


Cumulative Total 144400

24th November 2018


1000

Cumulative Total 143400



21st November 2018


1000


Cumulative Total 142400



18th November 2018

1000

Cumulative Total 141400


15th November 2018

1000. Every 6 minutes I decided to do as many good press ups as I could in one minute. I don't do these all straight off - I might do 50, rest for a few seconds, do another 5 or 6, and so on:

00 - 67
06 - 63 = 130
12 - 65 = 195
18 - 60 = 255
24 - 65 = 320
30 - 65 = 385
36 - 60 = 445
42 - 65 = 510
48 - 65 = 575
54 - 60 = 635
60 - 50 = 685 (starting to tire, now!)
66 - 30 = 715 (decided to do 30ish every 3 minutes)
69 - 35 = 750
72 - 35 = 785
75 - 30 = 815
78 - 30 = 845
81 - 30 = 875
84 - 30 = 905
87 - 30 = 935
90 - 30 = 965
93 - 35 = 1000

So, 1000 press ups, every one of which my head hit the towel.

Cumulative total 140400

14th November 2018

Kettlebell exercises

13th November 2018

Chin ups -

7, 7, 7, 8

12th November 2018

1000 press ups in sets of 50

Cumulative total 139400

7th November 2018

1000 press ups in sets of 50

Cumulative total 138400

5th November 2018


Chin ups 9, 7, 8, 7 = 31

4th November 2018

1000 press ups in sets of 50

Cumulative total 137400

2nd November 2018

Chin ups -

9, 7, 7, 7 = 30

1st November 2018

1000 press ups in sets of 50

Cumulative total 136400

31st October 2018

8, 8, 8, 7 = 31

29th October 2018

1000 press up in sets of 50 - 668 of which were 'proper' press ups

Cumulative total 135400

27th October 2018

Kettlebell exercises

26th October 2018

Chin ups - 

7, 8, 8, 5 = 28

25th October 1208

1000 press ups in sets of 50 - first 31 of each set 'proper'ones

Cumulative total 134400

24th October 2018

Kettlebell exercises

23rd October 2018

Chin ups - 

7, 8, 6, 7 = 28

22nd October 2018

1000 press ups - 50 every 4 minutes, first 30 of each set 'proper' ones.

Cumulative total 133400

20th October 2018

Chin ups - 

9, 6, 7, 8 = 30

19th October 2018

1000 press ups - 50 every 3 minutes - first 30 of each set 'proper' ones.

Cumulative total 132400

17th October 2018

Chinups:

7, 7, 7, 7  = 28

16th October 2018

1000 press ups. Tonight I started early, doing sets of 60 proper press ups ever 9 minutes. Took me nearly 3 hours. But i get lots of other things done in-between.

Cumulative total 131400

15th October 2018

Kettlebell exercises

14th October 2018

Chin ups - from now on, all my chin ups will be full ones. In that my eyeline dips below my elbows each time.

6, 6, 7, 8 = 27

13th October 2018

00 - 40
03 - 80 
06 - 120
09 - 160
12 - 200
15 - 240
18 - 280
21 - 320
24 - 360
27 - 400
30 - 440
33 - 480
36 - 520
39 - 560
42 - 600
45 - 640
48 - 680
51 - 720
54 - 760
57 - 800
60 - 840
63 - 880
66 - 920
69 - 960
72 - 1000

Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 130400

12th October 2018


9kg kettlebell

2 sets of 9 exercises


11th October 2018

Chin ups:


15, 15, 12, 11

Wow! My best by far! Now I have no excuse, I need to start working on my form. ATM, I wouldn't say I've been doing full chin ups - so I need to go lower.

10th October 2018


Today's total 1000



Cumulative total 129400

9th October 2018


9kg kettlebell

2 sets of 9 exercises


8th October 2018

Chin ups:



11, 11, 9, 8


7th October 2018

I was filming some of today's sets - sets of 40 'proper, head touching towel' push ups, up until I got to 200. Then I did sets of 50, with 40 of them being full on, and 10 not proper pushups. After about 700 I went to 30 real push ups, out of 50, then finished off with half and half, up to 1000. Took me just over 2 hours from start to finish. There was no doubt it helped me, especially in the beginning, to have long pauses between sets, whilst I was setting the camera up, changing TV stations on my MacBook, and generally being unhurried.

Today's total, 1000 

Cumulative total, 128400

6th October 2018


9kg kettlebell

2 sets of 9 exercises


5th October 2018

Chin ups:


10, 10, 7, 7


4th October 2018


Today's total 1000




Cumulative total 127400


3rd October 2018


9kg kettlebell

2 sets of 9 exercises


2nd October 2018

Chin ups:


10, 12, 11, 9


1st October 2018


Today's total 1000




Cumulative total 126400


30th September 2018

Chin ups:




9, 10, 11, 9


28th September 2018


Today's total 1000




Cumulative total 125400


24th September 2018

Chin ups:



12, 12, 8, 10


23rd September 2018


Today's total 1000




Cumulative total 124400


21st September 2018

Chin ups:


12, 9, 8, 9


20th September 2018


Today's total 1000



Cumulative total 123400


18th September 2018

Chin ups:

10, 10, 8, 6


17th September 2018


Today's total 1000



Cumulative total 122400


14th September 2018


Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 121400


12th September 2018

Chin ups:

8, 9, 8, 9


11th September 2018
Okay, this is getting a bit ridiculous. From now on I'll just post the totals for every day I do my press ups.

So, today I did my usual 1000 - roughly 40 every 3 minutes - took me an hour and 21 minutes.

Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 120400


8th September 2018

00 - 20
01 - 40
02 - 60
03 - 80
04 - 100
05 - 120
06 - 140
07 - 160
08 - 180
09 - 200
10 - 220
11 - 240
13 - 280
14 - 300
15 - 320
16 - 340
17 - 360
18 - 380
19 - 400
20 - 420
21 - 460
22 - 500
(Short break)

32 - 520
33 - 540
34 - 580
35 - 600
36 - 620
37 - 640
38 - 660
39 - 680
40 - 700
41 - 720
42 - 740
(Another break)

(Now taking a 2 min gap)
52 - 760
54 - 780
56 - 800
58 - 820
60 - 840
62 - 860
64 - 880
66 - 900
68 - 920
70 - 940
72 - 960
74 - 980
76 - 1000


Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 119400


7th September 2018

2 x 9 sets of kettlebell exercises


6th September 2018

Chin ups:

10, 10, 7, 10 = 37

Notes: There was around 15 minutes between the first 2 sets, then only 4 minutes between sets two and three - then another 30 minutes before the last set. Once I can manage 4 sets of 10, I shall start reducing the gaps between them. Once I get the gaps down to 1 minute, still doing sets of 10, I shall start working on my form. At the moment, I don't go all the way down before coming back up again.

5th September 2018

(Posted in real time)

00 - 20
01 - 40
02 - 60
03 - 80
04 - 100
05 - 120
06 - 140
07 - 160
08 - 180
09 - 200
10 - 220
11 - 240
13 - 280
14 - 300
15 - 320
16 - 340
17 - 360
18 - 380
19 - 400
20 - 420
22 - 460
24 - 500
26 - 540
28 - 580
30 - 620
32 - 660
34 - 700
36 - 740
38 - 780
40 - 820
42 - 860
44 - 900
46 - 940
48 - 980
50 - 1000


Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 118400

1st September 2018

Chin ups:

9, 9, 7, 8 = 33

(Back to normal)

31st August 2018
(Posted in real time)


Today I made a real effort to get my form right. I am well aware that my press ups are not perfect. So today, for the first 600 I made sure that my forehead touched my rolled up pacamac each time. After 600 I found this a bit too much, so reverted to my 'imperfect' press ups.

00 - 20
01 - 40
02 - 60
03 - 80
04 - 100
05 - 120
06 - 140
07 - 160
08 - 180
09 - 200
10 - 220
11 - 240
12 - 260
13 - 280
14 - 300
15 - 320
16 - 340
17 - 360
18 - 380
19 - 400
20 - 420
21 - 440
22 - 460
23 - 480
24 - 500
25 - 520
26 - 540
27 - 560
28 - 580
29 - 600
32 - 650
34 - 700
36 - 750
38 - 800
40 - 850
42 - 900
44 - 950
46 - 1000


Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 117400

29th August 2018

Chin ups:
7, 7, 5, 6 = 25

(Slipped back a little, since I haven't been doing them regularly)


28th August 2018
(Posted in real time)


00 - 50
02 - 100
04 - 150
06 - 200
08 - 250
10 - 300
12 - 350
14 - 400
16 - 450
18 - 500
20 - 550
22 - 600
24 - 650
26 - 700
28 - 750
30 - 800
32 - 850
34 - 900
36 - 950
38 - 1000
40 - 1035



Today's total 1070


Cumulative total 116400

(Aiming to round up the cumulative total - but gradually.)


24th August 2018
(Posted in real time)

00 - 50
02 - 100
04 - 150
06 - 200
08 - 250
10 - 300
12 - 350
14 - 400
16 - 450
18 - 500
20 - 550
22 - 600
26 - 700
28 - 750
30 - 800
32 - 850
34 - 900
36 - 950
38 - 1000


Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 115330


22nd August 2018
(Posted in real time)

00 - 50
02 - 100
04 - 150
06 - 200
08 - 250
10 - 300
12 - 350
14 - 400
16 - 450
18 - 500
20 - 550
22 - 600
24 - 650
26 - 700
28 - 750
30 - 800
32 - 850
34 - 900
36 - 950
38 - 1000


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 114330


19th August 2018
(Posted in real time)

00 - 50
02 - 100
04 - 150
06 - 200
08 - 250
10 - 300
12 - 350
14 - 400
16 - 450
18 - 500
20 - 550
22 - 600
24 - 650
26 - 700
28 - 750
30 - 800
32 - 850
34 - 900
36 - 950
38 - 1000


Today's total 1000




Cumulative total 113330



18th August 2018 


2 sets of kettlebell exercises



17th August 2018

Initial set of one hundred - in 59 seconds.

Then sets of 50 every 2 minutes for 34 or so minutes


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 112330


14th August 2018
(Posted in real time)

00 - 90
02 - 70      160
04 - 60      220
06 - 50      270
08 - 60      330
10 - 50      380
12 - 50      430
14 - 50      480
16 - 50      530
18 - 50      580
20 - 50      630
22 - 50      680
24 - 50      730
26 - 50      780
28 - 40      820
30 - 40      860
32 - 40      900
34 - 40      940
36 - 40      980
38 - 20     1000


Today's total 1000



Cumulative total 111330

13th August 2018 

2 sets of kettlebell exercises



12th August 2018

Chin ups, 4 sets:
9, 8, 9, 8 - total 34

11th August 2018

Sets of 40 every minute up to 600, then:
Sets of 30 every minute.


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 110330


9th August 2018

Chin ups, 4 sets:
9, 8, 9, 9 - total 35

8th August 2018

Push ups: Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000


Cumulative total 109330

5th August 2018

Push ups: Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)



Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 108330



2nd August 2018

Chin ups, 4 sets:
7, 7, 8, 7 - total 29

1st August 2018

Push ups: Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 107330


30th July 2018

Chin ups, 4 sets:

6, 6, 5, 5 - total 22


29th July 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 106330

25th July 2018

Chin ups, 4 sets:
8, 7, 7, 6 - total 28


24th July 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 105330


18th July 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 104330
17th July 2018

2 sets of kettlebell exercises



16th July 2018

Chin ups, 4 sets:
7, 7, 7, 4 - total 25


15th July 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 103330


13th July 2018

Kettlebell HIIT:

8 sets of 2 handed swing for 20 seconds - with 10 seconds rest



12th July 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 102330


11th July 2018

2 sets of kettlebell exercises


10th July 1018

Chin ups: 7, 7, 6, 6 - Total 26


9th July 2018

HIIT first, then sets of 20 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 101330


7th July 2018

Sets of 25 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 100330

Notes:
Since my goal is to complete 1 million press ups in ten years - between my 80th and my 90th birthday - equating to 100,000 every year - I'm presently approximately 12 weeks ahead of schedule.

I'm aware that my form was not very good in the beginning, and it still isn't perfect. But it's a lot better than it was at the beginning. I'm meeting with a trainer shortly to help get my press up posture as it should be.

I've been asked several times if I ache after doing these exercises - and I have to say, generally, I don't. I'm always glad to have finished, and the last 2 or 3 hundred can be really hard work. But there is no muscle pain - either directly after, or the next day.

However, since I recommenced my chin ups, I've found doing the push ups the day after can be very hard work. I've been advised to leave three days between push ups, to allow my body to rest. As I get more used to both these exercises, it might be that I can resume every other day push ups and chin ups - if I do this, I'll do the kettlebell exercises on the same day as my chin ups.
3rd July 2018

Sets of 25 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 99330



2nd July 2018


Chin ups: 6, 6, 6, 5 - total 23

1st July 2018

Sets of 25 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 98330


29th June 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 97330


24th June 2018

Sets of 34/33 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 96330


22nd June 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 95330


19th June 2018

Chin ups: 7, 5, 5, 5 - total 22


18th June 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 94330


11th June 2018


Chin ups: 7, 6, 6, 6 - total 25


10th June 2018

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 93330

8th June 2018



Chin ups: 5, 6, 5, 5 - total 21


6th June 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000



Cumulative total 92330



4th June 2018

Chin ups: 5, 5, 4, 4 - total 18


3rd June 2018

Sets of 40 every 20 seconds (HIIT) - 320

Then sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000




Cumulative total 91330



2nd June 2018

Chin ups: 4, 3, 3, 3 - total 13



1st June 2018

Sets of 40 every 20 seconds (HIIT) - 320

Then sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 90330



31st May 2018

Just installed my new chin up bar, so:

Chin ups: 3, 3, 3, 3 - total 12

Not bad for a first effort.



27th May 2018

Sets of 40 every 20 seconds (HIIT) - 320

Then sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 89330



25th May 2018

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 88330



21st May 2018

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 87330



18th May 2018

Sets of 40 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 86330


16th May 2018

Sets of 50 every 2 minutes (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 85330


14th May 2018

Sets of 33/34 every minute (roughly)


Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 84330



10th May 2018

Began with HIIT - 8 sets of 40, then:

Sets of 33/34 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000

Cumulative total 83330


8th May 2018

Began with HIIT - 8 sets of 40, then:

Sets of 33/34 every minute (roughly)

Today's total 1000



Cumulative total 82330



6th May 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000



Cumulative total 81330




4th May 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000



Cumulative total 81330



1st May 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000


Cumulative total 81330





29th April 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000


Cumulative total 80330



25/4/18

30 every 2 minutes for 72 minutes. roughly

Total 1000




Cumulative total 79330


23/4/18

50 every 2 minutes for 40 minutes

Total 1000



Cumulative total 79330


21/4/18

50 every 2 minutes for 40 minutes

Total 1000


Cumulative total 79330


17th April 2018

At home all day today, so, in between spending time in the kitchen, I did a few sets several minutes apart, making sure that each one was as perfect as I could make it:
11:25 - 11:48 4 sets of 25 = 100
11:54 - 12:08 3 sets of 34, 33, 33 = 100
12:13 - 13:05 5 sets of 40 = 200
Sub-total = 400

That meant I only needed to do 600 in the evening -
100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

6 blocks of 100 = 600

Total 1000

Cumulative total 78330

15th April 2018

20 every minute for 50 minutes 

Total 1000

Cumulative total 77330


13th April 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 76330


8th April 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 75330


6th April 2018

25 sets of 20 every minute = 500

Then 100 every 3 minutes for 15 minutes = 500

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 74330


3rd April 2018

10 sets of 40 over 10 minutes = 400

Then 12 set of 50 every 90 seconds = 600

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 73330



1st April 2018

10 sets of 40 over 10 minutes = 400

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 72330


29th March 2018

10 sets of 40 over 10 minutes = 400

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 71330


27th March 2018

10 sets of 40 over 10 minutes = 400

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 70330


25th March 2018

HIIT over  3 minutes, 40 every 30 seconds = 320 

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

2 x 40 = 80

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 69330


23rd March 2018

Relaxed session - over 40 minutes, sets of 50 every 2 minutes

40 x 50 = 1000

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 68330


21st March 2018

HIIT over  3 minutes, 40 every 30 seconds = 320 

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

2 x 40 = 80

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 67330


19th March 2018

HIIT over  3 minutes, 40 every 30 seconds = 320 

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

2 x 40 = 80

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 66330


17th March 2018

HIIT over  3 minutes, 40 every 30 seconds = 320 

So, 6 blocks of 100 (100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34) = 600

2 x 40 = 80

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 65330


15th March 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 64330


13th March 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 63330


10th March 2018

100 every 3 minutes in sets of 33, 33, 34 = 100

So, 10 blocks of 100 = 

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 62330


7th March 2018

30 press ups every minute for 33 minutes = 990 

Total = 990

Cumulative total 61330


5th March 2018

Working hard on form

Over 34 minutes:
7 x 20   = 140
20 x 33 = 660
5 x 40 = 200

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 60340


2nd March 2018

HIIT 320

2 sets of 80 = 160

9 x 60 = 540

Total = 1020

Cumulative total 59340


27th February 2018

HIIT 320

Introduced a bit of variety - started a little earlier and working on form

5 x 30 = 150
6 x 40 = 240
1  x 50 = 50
4 x 60 = 240 
Total = 1000

Cumulative total 58320


25th February 2018

HIIT 320

6 sets of 80 = 480

2 sets of 67 & 1 set of 66 = 200

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 57320


23rd February 2018

HIIT 320

6 sets of 80 = 480

2 sets of 67 & 1 set of 66 = 200

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 56320


20th February 2018

HIIT 320

6 sets of 80 = 480

2 sets of 67 & 1 set of 66 = 200

Total = 1000


Cumulative total 55320


Sunday18th February 2018

HIIT 320

6 sets of 80 = 480

2 sets of 67 & 1 set of 66 = 200

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 54320



Wednesday 14th February 2018

HIIT 320

6 sets of 80 = 480

2 sets of 70 = 140

1 set of 60

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 54320



Saturday 10th February 2018

HIIT 320

8 sets of 80 = 640

1 set of 40

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 52320


Wednesday 7th February 2018

HIIT 320

6 sets of 80 = 480

2 sets of 70 = 140

1 set of 60

Total = 1000

Cumulative total 51320


Monday 5th February 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 50320



Sunday 28th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 50280


Tuesday 23rd January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 49240


Saturday 20th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 48200



Thursday 18th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 47160



Tuesday 16th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 46120



Saturday 13th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 45080



Thursday  11th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 44040



Tuesday 9th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 43000


Sunday 7th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 41960


Friday 5th January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 40920


Wednesday 3rd January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 39880



Monday 1st January 2018

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 38840



Thursday 28th December 2017

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 37800



Friday 22th December 2017

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 36760


Tuesday 19th December 2017

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 35720


Sunday 17th December 2017

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total 34680



Friday 15th December 2017

HIIT 320

12 sets of 60 = 720

Total = 1040


Cumulative total 33640


Monday 11th December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320

Then 12 sets of 60 every 2 minutes  = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total = 32600



Saturday 9th December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320

Then 12 sets of 60 every 2 minutes  = 720

Total = 1040




Cumulative total = 31560


Saturday 9th December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320

(I'm trying to improve my form by going deeper into each press up, so I'm now doing sets of 60 every 2 minutes. I can still do this routine whilst watching the Sky newspaper review followed by the BBC paper review on iPlayer.)

Then 12 sets of 60 every 2 minutes  = 720

Total = 1040



Cumulative total = 30520

Thursday 7th December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320
Then 12 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 720

Total = 1040



Cumulative total = 29480

Tuesday 5th December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320
Then 12 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 720

Total = 1040



Cumulative total = 28440

Sunday 3rd December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320
Then 12 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 720

Total = 1040



Cumulative total = 27400

Friday 1st December 2017

HIIT in 3:50 = 320
Then 12 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 720

Total = 1040


Cumulative total = 26360

Wednesday 29th November 2017

Change in routine today - I've decided to increase the HIIT portion of my workout to 8 sessions of 40 every 30 seconds - so:

HIIT in 3:50 = 320
Then 12 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 720

Total = 1040

Cumulative total = 25320

Monday 27th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020


Cumulative total = 24280

Saturday 25th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020


Cumulative total = 23260

Tuesday 21st November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020


Cumulative total = 22240

Saturday 18th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020


Cumulative total = 21220

Wednesday 15th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020


Cumulative total = 20200

Monday 13th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020

Cumulative total = 19180

Saturday 11th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020

Cumulative total = 18160

Thursday 9th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020

Cumulative total = 17140

Tuesday 7th November 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 13 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 780

Total = 1020

Cumulative total = 16120

Sunday 5th November
Had a few days break - 3 of them walking in the Wye valley, Herefordshire, with some good friends. 

As is our custom on these weekends (this was our 58th - my 32nd), we had a charity collection and it was decided that I was to be the recipient.

To express my thanks, I did a demo of my press ups, achieving 109 in one minute. In the evening I did my usual HIIT and then continued with sets of 60 every 90 seconds while the evening newspaper reviews lasted.

25 (as a warm-up)
109
240
660

Total 1034 + 14066 =

15100 cumulative total 


[31st Oct 2017 - I've done it! Here's the BBC's report on it - pics and interview.

I absolutely smashed my original 100 target, achieving 127 press ups inside 60 seconds on my third set. Total so far = 14066. Story below.]

In July 2016, I managed 1175 press ups in 1 hour, raising £850 for the local YMCA and Taunton Association for the Homeless. I did this by doing a set of 20 press ups every minute, roughly, for the hour. 

I’ve kept practicing and my plan for this year's challenge is to see how many I can do in one minute. To my surprise, I’ve built up to over 100 in one minute.

I turn 80 in a few days or so, and my intention is to raise more money for charity by getting a 1 minute video of my efforts up on to YouTube. I'm still improving, and there's no doubt I'll smash my 100 press up target.

I also intend to do 1 million press ups between my 80th and 90th birthdays. To accomplish this I need to do 100,000 a year, approx 2,000 a week. I want to leave a day’s rest between my efforts, and have Sunday off, so a routine of 650 on 3 days of the week is what I'm aiming for.

BBC film and interview on my challenge.

Tuesday 31st October 2017 - THE DAY!

All went well - I had three attempts at a record:

00-01 109
05-06 119
10-11 127

Total 355

All three were filmed, both by BBC Somerset (see report above) and the YM. As soon as I do, I'll post a link. I was given good support from the YM team, who provided both a timer and a counter. I had an audience of around 30 people (including one vegan!) who were very encouraging. 

This evening I did the rest of the thousand I'm doing every other day: 

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 7 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 420
With the 355 from earlier in the day, that equates to: 

Total = 1015


Cumulative total = 14066


Sunday 29th October 2017

Thought I needed to do a dress rehearsal before my challenge attempt this coming Tuesday - but I didn't want to do it the day before. So I need to do it today.

00-01 102 press ups
04-05 111
08-09 116
12-13 126
16-17 130

Total 585

I was very happy with that - I feel I'm in good shape for Tuesday.

Cumulative total = 13051

Saturday 28th October 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 11 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 660

That gave me 900. Finally I did 123 press ups in 60 seconds.

Total = 1023


Cumulative total = 12466

My original target was 2000 a week - roughly 700, 3 days per week. So, 4 weeks in I'm over 4000 ahead of schedule. But I'm conscious that at any time I could suffer from something that stops me exercising. That's one reason I've upped my exercise routine - the other reason is that I like to push myself - and 1000 is a nice round number. Takes me round about 22 or so minutes. As I progress, no doubt I'll reduce the time between each set.

Wednesday 25th October 2017

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 11 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 660

That gave me 900. Finally 2 sets of 50.

Total = 1000

Cumulative total = 11443

Monday 23rd October 2017

Smashed my first target of 10,000 tonight - 100th of the way to 1 million!

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 11 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 660

That gave me 900. Finally 2 sets of 50.

Total = 1000

Cumulative total = 10443

Saturday 21st October 2017

Bit of a change tonight - I decided to leave a longer gap between sets (after I've done my HIIT) to allow me to improve my form. I want there to be no doubt about any of my press ups when I go for my one minute challenge - in only 10 days, now!

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then 11 sets of 60 every 90 seconds  = 660

That gave me 900. In the final set, I then went for a full minute to see how many I could do - and managed 128.

Total = 1028

Cumulative total = 9443

Thursday 19th October 2017
HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then sets of 60 every minute x 10 = 600

Then sets of 60 every 70 seconds x 3 = 180

Total = 1020


Cumulative total = 8415.

Monday 16th October 2017
HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then sets of 60 every minute x 5 = 300 

Then sets of 60 every 75 seconds x 6 = 360
Then sets of 50 every 75 seconds x 2 = 100

Total = 1000

Cumulative total = 7385.

Saturday 14th October 2017
HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then sets of 60 every minute x 7 = 420 
Then sets of 60 every 90 seconds x 4 = 240

This gave me a total of 900 - since I was aiming for 1000, I thought I'd do the last 100 in one go.

Whilst I was doing this last set I thought, "Why not  do a full minute and see how many I can manage?"

So I kept going - and finished with 130 in 60 seconds, a new personal best!

Today's total 1030.

Cumulative total = 6385.

Thursday 12th October 2017
Out to the Brewhouse theatre tonight - no beer involved - to see Ronnie Scott's All Stars Quintet. Once again a fabulous night's entertainment!

HIIT in 2:50 = 240
Then sets of 60 initially every minute x 3 = 180 
Then sets of 60 every 75 seconds x 8 = 480
Finally sets of 50 every 75 seconds x 2 = 100


So, 240 + 180 + 480 + 100 = 1000

Cumulative total = 5355. 


My projected target is 650 every other day,  so I'm ahead by about 800, which means I can miss the odd day or so if necessary.

Tuesday 10th October 2017
Bit tired tonight - I had had a beer in the interval of the play I was watching at the Tacchi-Morris Theatre*. That possibly affected my initial performance.

So my HIIT was 30 press ups every 30 seconds x 6 = 180.

Then I did 50 every 60 seconds x 14 = 700 (once I got going, I was fine, so I just kept going until the end of the BBC paper review)

180+700=880 (in 17:25)


Cumulative total = 4355 

That's 2 weeks, now, so I'm 355 ahead of my target.

It's definitely getting easier. That's the thing about these press ups - my progress is measurable, almost every session!

(*Brainstorm - production by Heathfield Yr 11 pupils. It was brilliant, can't praise it too highly!)

Sunday 8th October 2017
I've now decided, for my HIIT, to go for 6 sets of 40 every 20 seconds. This makes it a lot easier to work out, and each set takes me roughly 20 seconds.

HIIT = 240
Then sets of 60 every 75seconds x 8 = 480

So, 720 inside 14 minutes

Cumulative total 3475

Thursday 5th October 2017
HIIT = 236
Then sets of 60 every 75seconds x 8 = 480

So, 716 in around 15 minutes

Cumulative total 2755

Tuesday 3rd October 2017
My HIIT - (20 seconds flat out, 10 seconds rest x 6)
00:00-02:50  = 230 within 3 minutes 
05:00-15:00 every 75 seconds I did 60 press ups = 480

I added an extra set of 60 today, so 8 sets;- and I was a bit more relaxed about timing. I want to stay ahead of my weekly target just in case anything happens sickness, holidays, etc. I shall aim for 700+ each time, just to give me that leeway. 


Today's total = 710


Cumulative total 2039 (So 39 up!)

Sunday 1st October 2017
My HIIT - (20 seconds flat out, 10 seconds rest x 6)
00:00-02:50 = 230 within 3 minutes 
05:00-13:00 every 75 seconds I did 60 press ups = 420


Today's total = 650


Cumulative total = 1329

Friday 29th September 2017
Well, a few days late, my challenge has begun. 

679 press ups today:
I did one minute at the YMCA, to get the folks down there to check on my form. Two fitness experts there told me I was spot on, no need to worry. 

I managed 109 in the minute.
This evening I did my HIIT - flat out press ups for 20 seconds, then rest for 10. Repeat 5 more times. This gave me 218 within 3 minutes. I followed this up with 50 every 75 seconds - 352.

109
218
352
Total = 679

So, day one  - 679, on track!

Sunday 17th September 2017


Preparation for one million press ups:
A couple of days ago, on Thursday 14th September, I did 600 in 12 minutes. My usual modus operandi is to begin my routine with 6 sets of HIIT press ups - so, flat out press ups for 20 seconds, then rest for 10. Repeat 5 more times. I average about 33 press ups in each 20 seconds, so I’m up to 200+ in under 3 minutes. I rest for 1 minute and then go for 50 every minute. I’ve done 8 of these in the past - (8x50=400) - so another 50 should be well within my reach, and that’ll give me 650.

As you can see, each day's routine is only going to take about 13 minutes, so it's not going to take a huge chunk out of my day.

(I tend to do my exercise at 10.30 in the evening, when both Sky and BBC news do their paper reviews.)

Tonight, Saturday 16th, I’m aiming for 1000 - just to see if I can do it. I should be able to do this inside 20 minutes:
200 in 3 minutes doing my HIIT;
Rest for one minute;
50 every minute for 16 minutes;

= 1000.

Update:
I did it - 1000 press ups in 20 minutes. It was hard, but I know now, if I wanted to see how many I could do in an hour, I could manage 3000 - it's within my reach, I feel sure. But that's not on my horizon at the moment - I've got the 100 in 1 minute challenge first (which I've already done several times whilst practicing), followed by the 1 million between my 80th and 90th birthdays.

I must confess that, towards the end of my routine, since each set of 50 takes me less than 30 seconds, I put back the start of each set by 5 seconds - so that instead of finishing my routine tonight at 19 minutes 30 seconds, I finished it just inside on the 20 minutes.  

As an aside, I've just checked my VO Max:
Given my age, my VO Max should be 32 - but apparently, I have the fitness level of a 49yr old and my VO Max is 45.

4 comments:

  1. I couldn't even do one press up! Good luck, I'll be cheering you on.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Amy, been over a year, now. I'll answer your other post later tonight. :)

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  2. Watched your video on Facebook of the 40 press-ups. You did them quite easily. Very impressive. 1000 in 20 minutes is difficult for anyone at any age.

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  3. Thank you for your positive comments. Since I made the video my form has improved, and my pushups are getting lower. I'll make another video when I think I've got them just right. Thanks again.

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