The 10,000 pushup challenge is 10,000 pushups in 30 days — about 333 per day — and as of this episode it is a perpetual challenge you can start anytime. No more waiting for February. Text the word PUSHUPS to (305) 930-7346 to get in, keep track of your reps on any kind of score sheet, send it to me when you finish, and I will send you a certificate. In this Physical Friday I share the strategies that actually get people through it.
Watch now: press play above, or listen in the player on this page.
It is 10,000 pushups completed in 30 days, which breaks down to about 333 per day. There is also a 3,000 pushup version — 100 a day for thirty days — for anyone not quite ready for the full number. Either way, you choose a goal, commit to it, and follow through, which is more than most people will do.
Text the word PUSHUPS — no quotes, just pushups — to (305) 930-7346 to let me know you are in. Then keep track of your reps on any kind of score sheet: paper, a spreadsheet, notes on your phone, anything you can send me later.
You can start anytime. It does not have to be the month of February, and you do not have to wait a year for the next round. If you are not ready right now but might be in a couple of months, no problem — start whenever you want, grab some friends, and do it together.
Send me your score sheet when you complete the challenge and I will send you a certificate. I got a little aggressive printing them, so they say 2020 — but if you do it, I will change the year and the date and initial it myself so you know it is legit.
Break them up through the day. Thirty-three sets of 10 gets you there. Throw 25 or 50 into your warm-up, do 25 between sets of whatever else you are training, and substitute pushups for movements like burpees during the challenge. I like to stack as many as I can in the morning — 50 in my warm-up, sets of 10 or 25 between stretches, more inside the workout, and 50 in the cool-down. Some days my whole number is done before breakfast.
Run three miles and do 300 pushups, broken up any way you want, for time. You could run to a telephone pole, do 10 pushups, and repeat, or knock out 150 before and after. I ran a half mile, did 100, another half mile, did 50, then sets of 25 every quarter mile on the way back — finished in 34:31. My best is around 27 minutes. Feeling great? Make it 5 miles and 500 pushups.
Because the hard part is not the pushups — it is starting when you are tired and sore. Once you knock out the first 10 or 25 for the day, the soreness works itself out and the rest comes easier. If you can do something uncomfortable over and over because you committed to it, that ability translates to everything: chores, hard phone calls, getting started on work. That is the real reason we do this.
Here is the strategy playbook from the episode.
A lot of people heard about the challenge late and wanted in, and there is no good reason to make them wait a year. The calendar was never the point — the commitment was. Now anyone can start the day they decide to. I explain the thinking and the certificate situation in the episode, so press play above.
There is a physical achievement at the end, no question. But the bigger payoff for me has always been mental. After doing something uncomfortable every single day for a month, I am more disciplined, and that immediately shows up in every other part of my life. That is the reason the challenge exists at all. I go deeper on this in the episode — press play above.
Ten thousand sounds like a big number, and broken into 333 a day it becomes a habit instead of a feat. The discipline to start each day is the whole game.
If you are halfway through, congratulations — keep going. If you are just hearing about this, start today, start next month, start whenever. Text PUSHUPS to (305) 930-7346 and get after it. Press play above for all the strategies.
10,000 pushup challenge · 3,000 pushup challenge · 3 miles 300 pushups workout · pushup strategy · discipline · upper body strength for runners · challenge certificates · Physical Friday
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the workouts, nutrition habits, and mindset tools that keep guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong on the water and in the field for life.
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