50,000



I must admit, this last week my motivation and my energy took a hit. It’s the first time after two months in the team that I struggled with resistance. The cause for that is rooted in a few circumstances, for one it was spring break which meant an interruption in our routine, no official classes and therefor less engagement. Spring has also sprung and that means a lot of finishing ups while simultaneously planning and starting a ton of new things, my brain is exploding basically. And as if that wasn't enough my hormones have been out of wack and made life difficult for while. I experienced a few moments of guilt as I did less repetitions of my forms, there were a few walks missing as well and as for my 50,000s, I didn’t always get my numbers in. 

Feeling finally like I'm bouncing back I realize there are some reasons to celebrate. While I felt things were slipping and nothing seemed enough and thoughts of questioning, if I can do this after all slipped in, I’m proud to say I never skipped two sets of push-ups and sit-ups, my first in the morning and last before I went to bed. Those two have become the "must do" and its actually my ego that won’t let me not do them. 

So why are my 50,000s as I like to call them so significant? Well, its the giant number that puts this requirement front and centre every day, because not doing them one day and than another and god forbid another, is like pulling a block from the bottom of the tower. I guess to me its like the foundation of all my commitments.

When I joined the team two month ago, I started with 20 push ups- 7 times a day, and 50 sit ups 4 times a day. That was doable and for the first little while worked great. I quickly realized though that keeping this going 7x a day is very inconvenient especially when life gets busy and it's not even enough to make up for “rainy days”. So how to establish this new habit? I learned a while ago that the best way for me to stick to a new routine is to attach it to an old one that I never stray from. Well two things I always do are getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. Naturally those two became the stable and reliable sets I would always do and never forget. I found other habits through out my day's that I attached some of my requirements to but 7 is just too much, it takes me more energy to convince myself, let alone remind myself 7 times a day, than actually doing them.

After realizing this, I pushed myself to do 30 push ups in a set and I learned that taking a few seconds in between and breath through it, makes this possible. This was great news because I now I reduced my sets to 5 times a day and I get a few if not many extras to build a bit of a cushion. Than two weeks ago it hit me again, I found myself feeling great about my 200 sit ups a day in only 4 sets plus the reserve I built up already and I just really wished I could somehow do the same with my push ups. But with thirty being a challenge already (and I do need to take the break to finish them) there is no way. Or is there?

Well turns out that while the problem seems unbearably difficult the solutions is really super simple. I now do 30 push ups followed by 50 sit ups followed by another 20 push ups 4 times a day. I found that the time it takes me to do my sit ups give my arms enough rest to add another 20. And just like that I accumulate 200 reps each day. Well, ideally each day but even if I, for what ever reason miss a set I’m now still ahead of the game.

Thank fully I discovered and started this before I was consumed by all these distractions mentioned above. And while I didn't get all 200 every day, I didn’t have a single day with less than a 100, thanks to 2 sets a day. And looking at my numbers in hindsight I did not fall behind last week even though I had some crappy days.

Honestly while there were some negative thoughts bouncing around in between, coming out of this lull I feel rather proud and if anything it confirms I can do this, even if I take a bit of a hit on some numbers. Having some tools in place helps and sometimes even a little bit of ego!

 






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