I started with 25. Ten in the morning, then the other fifteen later, usually right before bed. Even that was hard to stick to.
Before this, I didn’t exercise much beyond the occasional outdoor activity. I thought getting into better shape meant weights, a gym membership, maybe a trainer. A few push-ups on the bedroom floor didn’t seem like enough.
But it was something I could actually do.
Doing them first thing helped. I would get out of bed, use the bathroom, then get down on the floor. If I left them until later, I still had to find the will to start. Getting some done early made the rest easier.
After a couple of weeks at 25 a day, I increased the number. Around a month in, I reached 100. I had to build up to it.
When I first wrote about this, I had been doing it for about nine months. My arms looked more defined and my torso had tightened up. I was surprised by how much had changed from something so simple.
The part that interests me most is how familiar the lesson is. Delivering papers, cooking, managing a restaurant: showing up has served me well. This was another place to put that into practice.
I think about it like investing. A small amount repeated over time becomes something you can see. One hundred a day adds up to 36,500 in a year. That arithmetic doesn’t promise a particular body. It does put a small daily effort in perspective.
I’m writing about what worked for me. I started well below the number in the title, and the habit took time.
Twenty-five was enough to begin.
I don’t do the hundred push-ups a day anymore. I’ve since switched to tai chi and exercises from traditional Chinese medicine. I wanted a calmer morning. That’s really all there was to it.