I am just now beginning week 4 of the 6 week 100 push-up plan.  So far so good.  I did have to go from the top category to one with a more moderate progression but I am keeping pace with the schedule.

I’ve also rediscovered the exercise equipment hiding in the basement.  To be fair, it hasn’t actually been hiding.  Its been patiently waiting for me to notice it again.  But until I started doing push ups 3 times a week there might as well have been an SEP field around the bike and the eliptical trainer.  But with renewed activity it would seem that my eyes can focus on them again.  I’ve used the eliptical trainer 4 times last week and again today and I’ve noticed a weird thing happening.

Friday night I was ready to be a lazy bum.  Lie around the house sucking back pizza and watching whatever drivel was on the Turner Networks only to pass out in the middle of the movie as my body pulled every available ounce of blood to the digestive system in an attempt to cope with a whole large veggie pizza from Papa Johns. (I’m not a glutton, really, I just can’t resist those things if they’re in front of me.)  But somewhere around 9:30 I started getting restless.  Couldn’t sit still.  Actually considered going for a run.  WTF?  I thought back…. No caffeine today, not nervous about anything.  What is making me feel the need to move?

Routine.  We are all creatures of routine and I had been exercising between 9 and 10 most of the week.  Damn it, my body was robbing me of my blessed traditions of sloth!  So with an annoyed grumble I got up, threw on my shoes and decided to punish my body with extra time on the equipment.  45 minutes instead of 30 and since you’re so uppity tonight, we’ll try that “high performance” program instead of a nice leisurely calorie burn.

This had mixed results.

First, I learned the obvious.  Punishing your body is roughly the same as punishing yourself unless you have a lot more zen Buddist in you than I do.  Second, it is certainly possible that something as benign as an eliptical trainer can force you to exert yourself to the point of vomiting (I didn’t, but I absolutely know it can happen now).  And finally, watching Road House while exercising is oddly more enjoyable than sleeping on the couch while trying to watch Road House.

I came to a realization sometime in the last few months punctuated by a recent experience with a really unflattering photo taken of me this week.  I’ve gotten bigger.  Now, I’m not the Goodyear blimp or anything but the fact is, I’m about 50 pounds heavier than when I graduated high school. Its been a gradual thing and I’ve made all the usual excuses (most notably that I looked downright skeletal then) so I have no grand illusions about getting back to 150 pounds.

But something really needs to be done to get rid of the 20 or 30 pounds that is making me look less like a greyhound and more like Droopy Dog.  So I have undertaken a few initiatives that will hopefully combat my natural dislike of exercise.

The first is 100 push ups.  This is just a six week plan that will (in theory) guide you towards being able to do 100 consecutive push ups.  An admirable goal and something I’ve certainly never been able to do even when I was in great shape.  So instead of exercise it becomes a game to play.  I’m starting week three on Monday and I’ll let you all know how things progress.  So far I am up to roughly 5 sets of 15-20 push ups.

If this succeeds I’ll be tackling the Couch to 5K plan as another game. This one should be a bit easier since I can already run around 2 miles when the need or mood arises.  Until that plan starts I’ll be hitting the elliptical trainer in the basement to try and add some cardio work to my upper body adventure.

Now, as someone once said, there’s nothing more boring than another person’s diet so if reading about my sweat induced hysteria isn’t for you then feel free to ignore the fitness posts. If they do appeal to you, drop a comment and let me know what kind of things you have done that seemed less liek exercise and more like fun in your own quest to condtition.