What Happens To Your Body After 100 Push-Ups a Day For 30 Days

Introduction

This tutorial explores what happens to your body when you commit to doing 100 push-ups a day for 30 days. Push-ups are an effective exercise for building upper body strength, primarily targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Here, we'll break down the expected results, potential side effects, and tips for a successful push-up challenge.

Step 1: Understand the Muscles Involved

Before starting, it’s essential to know which muscles will be engaged during the push-ups:

• Chest (pectorals)
• Triceps
• Front shoulders (deltoids)
• Core
• Serratus anterior (muscle on the side of the chest)

Proper push-up form is crucial to maximize muscle activation and minimize injuries. Consider watching a push-up form video to ensure you're performing them correctly.

Step 2: Prepare for Initial Discomfort

As you begin the challenge:

• Expect delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in the first week, particularly in the chest, shoulders, and arms.
• If you're new to push-ups, you may need to do several sets to reach a total of 100. Aim for smaller sets of 15-20 push-ups to start.

Tips for Week 1

• Warm up before starting your push-ups to prepare your muscles.
• Stretch after your workouts to help alleviate soreness.

Step 3: Manage Recovery in Weeks 2 and 3

During the second and third weeks:

• Be aware that doing 100 push-ups daily doesn’t allow adequate recovery time. Muscles typically need around 48 hours to recover.
• You may notice increased fatigue and a decline in performance as your body struggles to keep up with the volume.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Ignoring fatigue signals from your body can lead to overtraining and injuries.
• Focus on form to prevent strain on your wrists and elbows.

Step 4: Address Potential Posture Issues

By week 4, you may begin to experience:

• A hunched posture due to stronger front muscles overpowering the back muscles.
• Strain on joints from repetitive motion.

Solutions

• Incorporate back exercises into your routine to balance muscle strength.
• Consider alternating push-ups with other upper body exercises to allow for muscle recovery.

Step 5: Measure Your Progress

At the end of 30 days, assess your results:

• Expect some muscle growth, although it may be less than anticipated due to insufficient recovery.
• Compare your results to a study where subjects did push-ups twice a week and saw significant growth over eight weeks.

Key Findings from the Study

• Subjects experienced an 18.3% increase in chest muscle thickness and a 9.5% increase in triceps thickness.
• If you perform 100 push-ups daily, you may not see as much growth due to lack of rest.

Conclusion

Committing to 100 push-ups a day for 30 days can have benefits but also poses risks, especially regarding recovery and posture. It's not the most effective method for sustained muscle growth. Instead, consider a more balanced approach that includes rest days and variety in your training regimen. Look out for future content that may provide a better way to approach the push-up challenge for optimal results.