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What are the chances of you doing 1,000 push-ups in the next 7 days? Without changing your workout routine, at all?
How about the chances of you doing 62,400 push-ups in the next 365 days?
Pretty slim? Me too.
I know if I didn’t add this simple method to my weekly routine I would be accomplishing, maybe, a handful of push-ups each week, if at all.
And the push-up is one killer exercise! Push-ups will strengthen the core and upper body, expend a significant amount of energy and even increase your metabolic rate. Better-human movement, indeed!
I’m a huge fan of adding what little I can into my day which will add to my overall fitness level. It’s a fun game. I’ve even written about how to add bodyweight movements to a daily routine before, but this one is different…
It’s extremely simple and very effective.
But its effectiveness doesn’t rely on a single day’s worth of work. No, the success of this method relies on the domino effect.
Let me explain…
The Domino Effect…with Push-ups
You know about the domino effect, right?
How one small action can lead to a series of actions, or a chain reaction, which can produce a lot of momentum, power, and energy.
But it goes further than a simple chain reaction.
In 1983, Lorne Whitehead wrote in the American Journal of Physics that dominos can do much more than knock down a domino of equal size. Actually, the force from one falling domino can topple a domino which is 50% larger.
To put that in perspective, starting a chain reaction with a two-inch domino hitting one 50% larger each time; by the 18th domino you are looking at a domino close to the size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, number 23 would be taller than the Eiffel Tower, number 31 would be 3,000 feet taller than Mount Everest and by number 57 would almost be at the distance from the earth to the moon.
Wow! And that’s how fitness works.
You can add a little, but the momentum you get mentally and physically from a small win will be greater than 1+1 = 2. It’s exponential.
Ten push-ups today doesn’t mean eleven push-ups tomorrow. Health and fitness goes much deeper than that. A great workout today can speed up the metabolism, change your DNA, and motivate you to eat healthier.
So following that theory, let’s add a little to your current routine which will pay off big time in the end.
Are you ready? Let’s do it!
The Push-up Grid Method
Now, I’ll start by saying I can’t claim this method as my own. It was actually Robert McDonald who pioneered this ultra-simple method which can have a huge impact. Nonetheless, it is extremely powerful.
First, I don’t want you to change a bit of what you are doing. If you have a great fitness plan or program, this is in no way a replacement to any workout. This is simply a supplement. Here’s how to get it done:
Step 1: Draw a Grid
- Get a piece of paper and draw a grid of any size. 5×5, 7×7, 10×3, it doesn’t really matter.
Step 2: Fill the grid
- Now, you fill the grid with numbers (completed reps).
Throughout the day you will randomly do push-ups. It doesn’t matter if you do 1 push-up or 15 push-ups, each set. However, after you complete your push-up set, you put that number in the grid (one push-up done = one grid space with a one, or five push-ups in one set = one grid space with a five). A 10×10 grid would mean you need to do 100 sets, but the reps of each set are up to you. So draw your grid wisely.
The goal is the fill the grid completely by the end of the day.
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Example:
Say today I made a 10×10 grid square. Now, I need to fill it. Intermittently throughout the day I will drop and do a set of push-ups, and let’s just say I only do 3 push-ups each time.
- At the end of the day, I will have completed 300 push-ups!
- Do that four days a week and I have now completed 1,200 push-ups!
- Do that for a year and I will have completed 62,400 push-ups!
You can do this with a sticky note and pen, or do “insert table” of any size you would like in Evernote.
Mind you, this is only “extra”.
You know what the chances are of me doing 62,400 push-ups in the next year without adding this simple method to my routine?
ZERO!
A little extra can add up big time!
Having completed multiple grids already, I can tell you it is quite simple. You don’t feel like you are working out and it is very quick and easy. It is almost too simple not to do.
Tips for success:
- Start with a small grid
- Start with a few reps
- Focus on QUALITY
My very first grid was something stupid like 23×17, and I ended up doing over 1,000 push-ups in a single day.
But it also felt like my job. I was doing push-ups frequently and still by the end of the day I had to crank out numerous sets back-to-back to finish the grid.
Also, since you will only be doing a few reps each set, make them the best freakin’ push-ups you could possibly do. Keep your body tight and rigid, and make sure you go all the way down and reach full extension at the top.
I could argue this method is better than someone trying to accomplish 100 push-ups in the next five minutes.
Why?
Because, as fatigue sets in a lot of those reps will be trash-quality. If you do perfect push-ups every time, it will be more beneficial.
You don’t have to do 1,000 push-ups in a week, just do what YOU can and what YOU have time for. The main goal is to add something to your routine which you would never do, and it will really add up over the course of time.
If you don’t do this often, my challenge to you starting RIGHT NOW is to see if you can finish 1,000 push-ups using this simple method in the next 7 days.
What do you say? Are you in?
Drop down and give me…2? 3?
Let’s see how far we can push the earth. Here’s to becoming a better human!
-Jerred
Sources:
Push-up Energy Expenditure, Push-up benefits, The One Thing,
(NOTE: Want 31 Days of Bodyweight Training for free? Are you looking to step it up a notch? Want to do real training? Can you bring some intensity? 31-day Bodyweight Workout Program –> Get FREE access here.)