One...two...three. Three.

First step in the "100 Pushups" routine was to take the test. The test was to see how many pushups I could do at one sitting. This would determine where I would begin. I knew the answer, but tried the test anyway.

"Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?"
"Well...let's see. One...two-hooo...three (crunch)." "Three."

Which was pretty much how it went. I went prone on to the floor, put my hands in the classic pushup position and...one, two, three........three. Three pushups, and my amrs were shaking on the last one.

Three pushups down, 97 to go.
2 class hours down, 98 to go.
0.5 hours practice down, 99.5 to go.

Boy do I have work to do...

A "300" challenge

100 Pushups By Christmas was the headline on the message board. I clicked open the post, and started reading. The fellow posting was a gentleman about my age, who had just begun his martial arts journey. His enthusiasm was infectious. He enclosed a link to a training regimen that was supposed to bring nearly anyone to the level of being able to do 100 pushups a day. The plan looked simple. Others liked the idea and were jumping on board.

"Nice," approved my colleague, R. I grinned. R often spoke openly about his battles with weight loss and fitness. The "100 pushups" idea seem to inspired him.

"Try layering it with something else." he pondered...as if he was saying it to me as well as himself. "One hundred pushups plus a hundred....jumping jacks. A hundred...miles on a bike. A hundred..."

"One hundred hours of instruction..." I wondered. "Yes, before the end of the year. 100 hours of instruction is what I want to reach for."

"Can y'get all that in between now and New Years?" R asked.

"Only one way to find out," I winked.

"And, one hundred hours of practice....or exercise....on my own...outside of class" I stammered, trying to express the racing thoughts flying through my mind. I was thinking of the times my instructor was trying to urge me to practice on my own...and all the times I sheepishly avoided his eyes, knowing I hadn't done as much of it as I should.

"So, 100 pushups, 100 class hours, 100 practice hours, all by the end of the year. One hundred, one hundred, one hundred. That makes...300," I commented dryly.

"Like the movie," R chuckled knowingly.

Ummmm...maybe not quite like the movie...



R described a plan of his own, one that involved getting to the gym more with his wife, and playing more ball with the kids. "And...100 g-ddamn pushups," he finished with a trace of disdain.

"If only I can do that without this job getting in the way," I muttered.

"Only one way to find out," he nudged.

I grinned back and we touched knuckles like boxers.

-------------------------------------------

I made my drive out to my school...and joined my teacher on the mat for an impromptu two-hour class.

2 hours of class time down. 98 hours of class time, 100 hours of practice time....and 100 g-ddamn pushups...to go.