100 Sit-ups

It has been a bit over a month since I started my most recent run at getting in shape.  Phase 1 was 100 Push-ups, and at this point I am actually doing my 100 within ten to fifteen minutes.  I’m still a bit away from my goal of going it in three minutes or less, but I have definitely seen huge improvements.  So, I feel it is time to institute Phase 2: 100 Sit-ups.

Now, doing sit-ups is both going to be easier and harder for me.  My abdominal muscles are actually in pretty good shape… however, I have cleverly hidden them under a plump gut.  See, I actually use my abs quite a bit, getting on and off the couch, lifting things incorrectly, and other stuff, much more than I use the muscles in my arms (as a computer geek, my arms spend a lot of time resting on the desk while my fingers do all the real work).  That said, I did my first 100 Sit-ups last night in well under an hour, probably less than half an hour, but they were more crunches than sit-ups.  That gut covering my six-pack does a decent job of preventing me from completing the full sit-up (and I can’t touch my toes either).

I see getting through Phase 2 much more quickly than Phase 1, so I already need to start looking for a Phase 3… I’m thinking it is going to be some form of cardio… I do own an elliptical machine, so I might as well start using it.  The key here is that I am not currently in any life-threatening danger, but I do want to make sure I never am, so I want to add and make changes to my life a little at a time.  Small changes are easier to keep than drastic ones.

4 comments

  1. Have you checked this training schedule with somebody who has some knowledge in sports medicine? From what I know, you need to train muscles in pairs: if you train your abs, you need to train your back muscles as well. If you train your biceps, you need to train your triceps as well. Otherwise, you will end up with imbalanced muscles and might hurt yourself or even severely limit your range of movements.

    An injury can result if, in a particular exercise, the primary muscle is stronger than its stabilizing muscles. Building up slowly allows muscles time to develop appropriate strengths relative to each other.

    (from Wikipedia)

    This is one of the areas in life which is more complicated than RPG grinding even if it doesn’t seem so. 😉

  2. The things I am doing aren’t that strenuous. I’m not using weights, I’m not doing power sets. While I would agree that consulting someone in sports medicine would be a good idea if I was actually training for something, this is mostly to get my ass off the couch and to do some exercise. However, the way I am doing the push-ups does work the whole arm as well as the chest, and the crunches/sit-ups I’m doing will work the abs and back. The truth is that my exercise is more stretching with a little resistance than it is any sort of real workout.

    Believe me, the stuff I am doing is extremely slow muscle building.

  3. Next exercise to try would be pull ups although 100 is truly ambitious.

    The pull up will strengthen your middle back, adding balance to your ab routine.

  4. While pull-ups are kinda out of the question (no where to do them and unwilling to attach a bar to a doorway due to the damage it will cause), I do own a Total Gym, so I may try to find a low impact alternative to the traditional pull-up that will work the same muscle group.

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