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I Was a Guinea Pig for a New Trend – 100 Walking Push-Ups Daily Challenge: Results are Really Worth Sharing
One good thing about walking push-ups is that this variety of exercises can help you work your chest, shoulders, and core areas without having to lift a single dumbbell. Here the push-up type doesn’t focus merely on giving your upper body a hard time but it also makes your core muscles and shoulder joints participate fully by moving from left to right.
I decided to take this challenge on, so I did 100 walking push-ups for seven days straight. It was nothing but the body weight and my perseverance, no gym, no equipment used. My plan was straightforward: can I do 700 sets in a week to check the progress I’ll make (or the potential pain I’ll end up feeling)?
Let us clarify that walking push-ups (or traveling push-ups) is about moving the hands to the side during the usual up-and-down movement. You push up, move one hand to the side and repeat. These actions are not only for the triceps and pectoral but also for the ones in the core area to keep the balance and direction especially if a surface such as an uneven one as the yoga block or the balance trainer is used.
The first day proved to be a tough beginning. Even after doing a lot of push-ups before, it was still a shock for me how quick the pain approached. My triceps and shoulders felt like they were on fire, I was all but sure I could wash my hair only after several days.
When day three is over, I probably would be feeling that my muscles got really used to becoming sore later than the exercises’ time. I planned to turn this challenge into a well-structured EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) workout by doing twelve reps for each minute so I could have the rest of the seconds for a break. It’s a good way of keeping myself on track, I found, as it also makes the volume more approachable.
It sure felt like a long day in the middle of the week. I exchanged the balance trainer for something less stable like the yoga block to generate more instability and that would make every rep a little harder. But what really got me was how my obliques and especially lower abs were activated so much. It was the imbalance of the lateral motion that had my whole torso engaged like never before.
By the sixth day, I started to feel that my right side was much more active than the other, this is more so since I am right-hand dominant. It was obvious that the left arm suffered more during the exercises transitioning from side to side laterally. This incontinence literally turned out to be a positive thing as it showed clearly that you could use unilateral exercises to get rid of the muscle asymmetries in the most efficient way possible.
The last day really made me focus more on the execution. When you are doing 100 reps per set, you are at a greater risk of losing your correct form or of overextending your hips. I had to take everything easy and ensure that my core was engaged, the hips were well-positioned, and the shoulders were in a straight line over my wrists. It’s absolutely important to realize that doing this kind of exercise won’t benefit your overall health if you can’t maintain a stable position in the center or if you move too fast. It actually can harm your back and not give you the expected results.
So at the end of the day, are the 700 walking push-ups a good exercise or the routine must be changed? This practice destroyed my upper body, and due to the way the upper body was trained it was indeed a desirable outcome. It does not fully substitute a typical strength training workout, but it surely gives the body loads of energy if combined with a workout that does not involve weights. I won’t wake up in the morning with a brand new, muscular chest like Superman, but I will have my arms and core feel like they have got a grip, strength and coordination.
If the area where one cannot use any equipment is being sought, and also a challenge for the upper body that encourages functional strength and improves the control of the shoulders is in question, then this may be just the solution. You are advised not to neglect the important role recovery, stretching, and the inclusion of some pulling exercises play in your workouts. You’ll be grateful even if you don’t realize it at the moment.
