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I'm noticing some back pains on my pushups. Here's a video: https://www.jotvid.com/video/gLV6fHUL_qA. Trying to figure out what to adjust to prevent injury.

Brief Background 3 Years and two pregnancies can do a lot to breakdown a persons fitness level. So I've gone from being able to do 100 consecutive push ups to barely being able to do 3. I want to come back stronger and fitter than ever. I've currently got about an extra 10 pounds of fat, that I want to be rid of, but I know if I just focus on building strength and stamina, it'll go away without me focusing too much on it. I am currently exclusively breastfeeding, so while I'll be trying to make the best food choices I can, my diet for the most part won't change. Game Plan -To rebuild a solid foundation - I will be doing the Darebee Foundation Program - It's light, quick and hits all those foundational points I'll be focusing on for the next four weeks, easing back into fitness. - Daily Dares & Weekly Quests - This is like an injection of fun into my days -Mon, Wed, Fri Push ups- Week 1 - 5x5 (x) Week 2 - 10x5 () Week 3 - 15x5 () Week4 - 20x5 () I've really tried to keep my plan challenging but still easy and quick, with a baby and a toddler, I'll be pressed for time. Life Quest Genesis (x) Exodus () Leviticus () Numbers () Matthew (x) Mark (x) Luke () John () I'm not expecting this to be too difficult. We will see. That's all for now.

UPDATE!!! Now with actual goals!! MY LIFE IS CRAZY THIS WEEK and I will write the actual text of this as I think of it/have time. Consider me a place holder!!! WOO WOO go go endless dance rehearsals! Show opens on Friday and I am in...13? pieces or so. We have rehearsed 22 hours in the last 3 days and I anticipate we rehearse from 5pm to 1am daily now through Thursday. I also have a 45 second or so costume change from a GoGo outfit into a layered rock n roll badass outfit with 2 shirts, a skirt AND stockings I need to attach to garters sooo MY LIFE YOU GUYS. BUT I LOVES ITTT! LOOK LOOK A KITTY GOALS This challenge will focus on regrouping and getting back to old habits since I had to cut out pretty much everything except dance for this show (stupid human bodies and their limits!!) Goal 1: HANG-ten, man! -- I have spent barely any time hanging from things this past month -- aerial OR pull up/chin up work. UGH. I bet my gains I was making are like LOL NOPE now. I would like to hang from things at least 3x per week. Goal 2: Don't PUSH me, brah! -- My push up work has been not quite as neglected as hanging (easier to bust out a random push up mid rehearsal since it requires no equipment), but I still have not been doing enough dedicated push work! I would like to work push ups at least 3x per week! (Burpees also count for this since I do burpee push ups. And I still have a TON of those I owe for money spent on clothing and then I couldn't do any of them without jeopardizing my ability to be useful at rehearsal..woops...) Goal 3: LIFT ALL THE THINGS! -- I really wish I could fit this in more per week, but I really am enjoying working with a trainer to give me active feedback on this because it's so new to me and I want to REALLY nail my form! Since trainer is expensiiiive I would like to work powerlifting once per week with trainer! (since my bodyweight push/pull work also works some of the same muscles I am still noticing gains in spite of only doing this once per week. Woot woot.) Goal 4: RUN AWAAAAAAAY! -- I haven't been able to run or hike because yeah dance = impact all the time. I want to either run or hike once a week (or both!!) For a run any length counts because my body is NOT used to that shit anymore and I will have to rebuild. For hiking I don't count it unless it is at least a 3-4 hour hike. I feel like there was a 5th goal I had in mind but I can't remember right now sooo....

Once again I hate to be boring buuut I am still working towards the exact same things! Plus one extra! And my life goal is new! Wheeeeeeee! My theme will be me posting ridiculous things that make me laugh.... so pretty much my usual! !! GOALS !!! 1. Handstand push up progressions - I would like to work this at least 3x per week. I joined a gym and days I do bench press will count towards this as well! 2. Straight leg straddle and other adv core progressions - I plan to do core work at least 5x per week. This round I want to do tons of toe to bar since it's something I can work at home whereas I don't have enough room with my pull up bar to work on straight legged straddle! 3. Pull up progressions - I want to work pull progression work 3x per week. If I could get to where I could do two dead hang chin ups in a row I would be SO HAPPY! 4. Continue pistol squat progression - Continue to work squats 3x per week. At least one of these should be assisted pistols or shrimp squat variations! 5. Handstand work! - In addition to required strength, I will need to have a solid handstand to do handstand push up! I will aim to work this at least once per week. Current difficulty I can do for this is a wall handstand. Life Goal --Getting Fancy! I own a relative hoard of lipstick, eyeshadow, and fashion accessories that I pretty much never wear. Last challenge I got in the habit of using my massive perfume stash, so this time I will aim to use these! At least three times a week I need to either wear lipstick or eyeshadow or wear an accessory.

I have my first ever aerial showcase coming up on September 26th and 27th. Since rehearsals and show prep will rule my life for the next three weeks (AND THEN CAMP CAMP CAMP YASSSSS) I am not going to make any specific goals other than to kick ass at rehearsal and show stuff! AKA SHOW TIME YA'LL! AKA TIME FOR PERFORMANCE INSPIRED GIFS! Other non-show goals coming after October 5th and to include getting a damn pull up and more push ups!!!! I am back from camp and performance is done! Now time for some non-show related goals! Woohoo!: GOALS Work push-ups at least 3x per week. I'd like to get to 30 in a row but I suspect that will take a few challenges. (This is inspired by my drunken push up fest at the Rubik's cube party. Will do push ups for a drink, thank you very much!)Work Pull-ups at least 3x per week. This goes right along with the pull ups PVP I'm working on. I'd like to get to getting 1 real pull up by the end of the challenge. I think I can do that AND more by then but these go notoriously slow in progression for me so we'll see!Work on pistol squats at least 3x per week. I took the advanced bodyweight class and got tons of different progression stuff for working on pistols. These will be mine! I have the mobility and just need a little more strength. I'm thinking silks assisted pistols are going to be a thing.Sub goal: rehab left hammy. I mildly strained my left hamstring in a drunken split contest with one of the instructors at camp (which I won, BTW!) It's not too angry and I can walk fine and I already have more I can do today without it hurting than I could yesterday. I'm going to baby it the rest of the week/ until it's back to 100%. Clearly this means ALL THE RIGHT LEGGED PISTOLS WOOOOWork on inverted straddle climbs at least 3x per week. I'm going to count both working on the actual climb as well as any inverted straddle work on other non-silk apparatus for this as well since it all helps. Especially if I do said work straight legged w/out the froggy up. I'd like to get to a solid single climb up on each side with good form. If I can get to 2 on each side and also being able to do the slack drop from this that would be extra cool!Work on ground inversions at least 1x per week. At camp I realize I totally do not work these enough. I would like to get a real, non-wall assisted handstand! (I did manage to press up to a headstand from tripod and I am sooo proud of that but yeaah handstand I do not have at all yet!)I should be able to work on all the arm stuff on my aerial days and then do pistol work and some running on off days between aerial days...so: M/W/ F or Sat = aerial, (push, pull, straddle climbs, ground inversions) T,R,Sun = pistol work, running/walking, also opportunity for ground inversions if I didn't squeeze it in on aerial days

Hello Assassins! Even though I am a monk at heart, I've decided to do a whole lot of body weight training this time around, thus putting me with you crazy lot I'm really excited, I'm not going to lie. Without further ado, here's what I have in store for the next round of badassery: Coulson is my spirit animal. Shut up. Falling off the cliff is not an option. [+3 STR +3 STA] I want to be able to do a pull up and I want to learn how to do so before end of the year. At the beginning of the challenge I can lift myself only an inch or two, so I want to build up strength to do a real pull up. I am not expecting myself to be able to do it in 6 weeks, though, just improve a lot Acceptable forms of training: negative pull ups at homeassisted pull ups at the gymTRX (or a playground) body weight rows4 sets of 10 per session on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday A - 3 days +3 STR +3 STA B - 2 days +2 STR +2 STA C - 1 day +1 STR +1 STA F - 0 days +ZERO Look at my arms. They are firm and shapely-like. [+3 STR] I need to increase my strength, period, and push ups are a fantastic way of doing so. 50 push ups on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday A - 3 days +3 STR B - 2 days +2 STR C - 1 day +1 STR F - 0 days +NONE FOR YOU! Hold on! It's going to be a ride! [+2 DEX] Grip is one of those skills that gets under-rated constantly. It's necessary in pull ups/chin ups. It will come in handy when I participate in Spartan next May. So, here comes my grip training! There's a whole bunch of different grip exercises but after some talking and researching, I decided to start 'easy' Do grip training for a total of at least a minute each time, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Acceptable exercises: Dead hangPlate pinches (let's see what actual weight I can get my hands on) Fingertip planksHex holdsA - 3x week - +2 DEX C - 1-2x week - +1 DEX F - 0x week - +DO YOU EVEN TRY? Please ignore the leg I'm wrapping around your trachea. I promise it won't kill you. [+2 DEX] And I wonder why people at work are afraid of me... With all this strength training and muscle building I need to remember to keep my flexibility going as well. I already stretch after each workout, but I need to amp up my yoga game. Here comes Youtube to the rescue! I will do one yoga video per week [PASS/FAIL] It won't really matter how long the video is, but I'll try to do something longer. I want to increase my flexibility after all Hablas español? [+2 WIS] Well, I sure don't speak Spanish, but it's about time I changed that. I have access to Rosetta's Stone for Spanish so I will give it a try and see if it'll help me learn the language. I've heard mixed reviews of the software, but it's still better than nothing. Two lessons of Spanish per week (roughly an hour) [PASS/FAIL] Do or do not, there is no try. I really do like living dangerously ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ REWARD: - Belgian waffles from International Pancake House - Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks: it's a bit of a weakness of mine, but I should be fine if I only do it once every 6-8 weeks, right? - Make mini Nutella cheesecakes and eat them (duh!)

Hi guys, I've been on radio silence recently (I'm sorry!) just because I've fallen behind with stuff as I finished up at my previous job and before I start for the next one. As I've let everything fall by the wayside and I feel like I've lost most (if not all!) of the fitness I've gained over the last few months (but I don't think I've put all the weight back on) I'm actually going to hit the reset button on my levels. So I've changed up my signature to show my previous high score (my highest level previously) but now I'm starting from scratch at level 1! Onto the challenge! Long Term Goals: Turn this: Into this: More seriously my general long terms goals are really just aesthetics and stamina. Specifically I'd love to run an ultra-marathon some day (Specifically the Spartathalon) and I did run a half-marathon a few months ago. So I know it's possible! Goal 1: Nutrition Eat ~2000 calories a day - +2 CON +1 WIS We all know that our diet is the base we build our health and fitness on, so that's why the Wisdom is up there! After my half marathon I just let everything stop, which included dieting. I haven't been going overboard with the amount of food, but it's not been good food! Bonus points for 75%+ paleo! (Measured by amount of calories per day) Goal 2: Resistance Training 3 times per week Resistance training 2-3 times per week - +3 STR + 1 CHA Starting a new job means I'll have a new routine to work exercise into. I used to leave work early to exercise when I got home but I don't think that's possible now. BUT! I won't have to get the train will 7:48 which gives me a whole lot of room before hand where I used to get up early to get to work! So the plan is to get up every weekday nice and early and do some push ups! (And other stuff) and then once over the weekend head to the gym to lift some heavy things. I'm going to head to the gym later to get the numbers and then on Tuesday I'll post up how many push ups and things I can manage in a set. Goal 3: Run 2-3 times per week Run 2-3 times a week +2 STA +1 DEX Again, using the wonderful time that I can use before I head out to work. My 5km route takes half an hour, plus shower which would actually still leave me a good half an hour before I would have to leave the house for the train. Goal 4: Continue Writing Write at least 5 days per week - +2 WIS +2 CHA I completed a book a month ago but that doesn't mean I can stop! I did plan for NaNoWriMo and started that but I'm not feeling that story as much as I was when I had the idea. So I may try and write that a bit more and then move onto something else after a while. We shall see! So that's my challenge! Brock is waiting for me at the end of the six weeks and it's up to me to make sure I'm ready to challenge him!

One of my Mini-quests is to do 100 push ups 4 days a week. Saturday I did my first set (20, 20, 20, 15, 5, 15, 5). I guess I was scared of them..LOL. But I did them and am still sore today, which feels great! I also hope all the Dads had a great day yesterday! Part of my Father's day activities was that I watched Star Wars Episode I with both my daughters and they loved it(it was their first time). It is part of our Daddy/Daughter Mini Quest of watching all six episodes before we leave for Disney.

It’s been a long and embarrassing issue of mine that I’ve never been able to do a pushup. At six foot five and over 100 kilos I'm a big guy with weak shoulders. And I’ve never been able to do a push up. Not in high school, not when I was a kid, never. So three weeks into my six week challenge which has been alternating weight lifting and running six nights a week (or trying to at least) I tried and managed to do a push up. I was pretty damn excited with myself. Then last night, after my run I came in the door, got down on the floor and did five push ups, then did five more, then after a breather a final shakey five. Then I basically lay there, floating in a sea of golden liquid satisfaction. Also getting back up off the floor was really hard. I can’t remember the last time anything felt that awesome. Next on my list of things I thought I would never ever be able to do, a pull up!

Welcome! Hi I'm Xena and this is my first challenge. I am active on Nerd Fitness and with my lifestyle change since 3 weeks. My overall priority goal is to lose weight, so far I've lost about 3 lbs. I achieved that by sticking to this 3 subgoals: My main goal for this challenge is: lose 7lbs.I've lost a pound per week so far but since this is a challenge, I wanted to push myself a bit. So by losing 7lbs I would lose more than usual and it's doable. This I want to achieve by modifying/ heading to the next level with my previous 3 subgoals: One meal per day shall have a decent amount of vegs/fruitsAt least a handful, for salad and stir fry's two hands full. Eating at least a small amount of veg or fruits on the other meals. 23.09.: changed to: Eat more than 1500 kcal every day! (for all meals it's still including veg or fruit but amount doesn't matter.) By the end of the challenge, be able to do 5 proper push ups!At the moment, I am doing 2 circuits of BBWW 3 times a week and can do 4 wannabe push ups (can move about 2 inches downwards...). I will continue to do 3 workouts per week, working my way up to 3 circuits. Everything else workout-wise besides this is for fun (like my weekly "let's go swimming" with my friends - that's more gossiping than exercise anyway ). Yeah, 5 push ups are quite tough, but this is a challenge and I NEED a challenge to fire me up. Reduce junk food to two days a weekThat's pretty much self-explaining. This week I felt like 3 days of junk food is too much and 'stealing away' my success. So let's go for less! Life side quest: Improve at talking to people!I am somewhat awkward and shy when talking to people. Not always! But sometimes this I-am-unable-to-speak-properly side takes over. And I notice how I slur, stutter and don't get the right timing for saying something. One could think this may be because I am not from the UK (where I am living since 6 months) and this is not my first language. But this happens to me in my own language as well. A lot. There is a history to that. As a kid, I was very shy, scared of almost everything and barely talked. Between 8 and 13 I had problems with lisping and stuttering. It improved, I luckily needed no therapy for it but sometimes.... I just can't talk and am ridiculously nervous. Though I have a lot of friends and am described as charismatic and self concious and nice, I still get this episodes. I am just like that, it's part of me. I am good in thinking, not in talking. But that doesn't mean I can't improve So yesterday I've read this article on Nerd Fitness and I am going to make it a goal to get a weekly score of 10 (Concious attempts) and look up one book or article per week to give me new "working material" My motivation: Ok, now it's getting cheesy. Yes, I did this and no, I am not six years old. But Pictures are just soo much better than plain text. Even crippled ones. They'll get into your head! Please don't judge my ability to succeed in this challenge by my drawing abilities Don't know if it's readable but it says: "My 6-week challenge motivation: Short term: - My rain jacket should fit (bit too tight at the moment, can't move freely) In between: - Want to fit into my leather jacket again! (currently, it's more like a corset... 8 inches to go!) Long term: - No more worries for my beloved ones about my health!" This is now hung up next to my bed, I am sure it keeps me motivated! In addition to that, I've got quite a long list of motivation in my battle log. There you'll also find my reward and punishment system that keeps me accountable and my crisis plan when things go wrong. I am going to post my starting infos like weight etc. on Monday, doesn't make sense to step on the scale now That's it, let's begin!

It's finally heeeere! I'm so excited about this challenge. So I'm not going to write a lot of stuff, first challenge can be found in my signature, to the goals we go! Overall goal! Prepare to beat my boyfriend. In a non-violent way. The only thing that may be getting hurt is his pride. By "beating my boyfriend", I specifically mean being able to do more pull ups and push ups than he can do. That means I'd have to do at least 4 pull ups and at least 12 push ups. At the moment, I can do not a single one of either. Since I don't believe it's realistic to go from zero to that within 6 weeks, I'll work specifically towards that goal, even if I can't reach it! Ideally, I'd be able to do at least one push up and one pull up - the more the better! Breaking it down into 3 goals 1. Keep up with my routines from Challenge #1 For those of you who haven't been following that - for my last challenge, I ate paleo and went to bed at 10pm. I want to keep up with that. I won't be as strict, but I've noticed tons of changes in my body during that challenge - and changes for the worse when I stopped doing it just for two days after the challenge, so I want to keep this in my life. I'm setting it as just one goal because I've had time to get used to it. I will not be as strict, though, because paleo can be very expensive, and some of its components especially so, like almond milk that's 2.70€ per liter. Since I don't drink much milk anyway, it won't be much of a problem. But I'll allow myself little slips and 3 un-paleo meals per week, if I want to. Being in bed by 10 pm is something else I will be not as strict as last time. I'll allow myself being in bed by 11pm twice per week, because it really bothers me when there's a movie on TV at prime time and I have to go to bed 15 minutes before it ends and can't actually watch how it ends! Grading (breaking this up into 2 parts that will be combined to one grade then!) A:Nothing more than 3 non-paleo meals B: 5 non-paleo meals max. C: 6 non-paleo meals max. D: 7 non-paleo meals max. F: Anything more than 7 non-paleo meals. A: At least 5 nights 10pm Everything more than 5 nights pulls the paleo-grade down one letter. If I'm not in bed at 11pm more than twice, it's an auto-fail. 2. More strength! This includes going to the gym at least 3 times per week. I'm currently still in my beginner's strength workout but will get a new training plan after the first week of this challenge, where I'll work towards push ups and pull ups. This goal is pretty straight-forward, so the grading system will reflect that. A: Go to the gym at least 3 times a week and do all the exercises on my plan. B: Go to the gym and leave out max. 2 exercises F: Everything else 3. Do my homework: On at least 3 days per week, do training at home. I'll mostly be concentrating on stretches this time around, because I'm about as flexible as a dry potato, but may slip in a bodyweight workout or a run as well. Generally, I want to do one type of exercise (bodyweight, cardio, HIIT or something else) to get properly warmed up before I do my stretches. The difficult thing here is that I don't have a stretching routine, but want to stretch for at least 30 minutes at a time. A: Do homework 3 times a week, stretching at least 30 minutes B: Do homework 3 times a week, stretching at least 20 minutes C: Do homework 3 times a week, stretching at least 10 minutes D: Do homework twice a week F: Anything less than that. Whew! Sounds like this challenge is going to be harder than the last time, but I love it. It's definitely more specific. Now, my side goal. Get a new job Ideally that would be a full time job, which would make my goals much, much harder to achieve because I'm currently only working a few hours every week.But my current job has been causing me so much frustration, anger and sucks all the joy out of me. Just this week, I've found it so hard to drag myself to the gym after work that I simply didn't do it most of the days, and I don't want that. A: Send out at least 5 apps per week B: 4 apps per week C: 3 apps per week D: 2 apps per week F: Anything below that Of course, that goal would be an insta-win if I got a job sometime during the challenge. Motivation Pudding arms begone, huzzah! Stats, if successful Goal 1: +2 CON, +1 WIS, +1 CHAR Goal 2: +3 STR, +1 STA Goal 3: +1 STR, +2 DEX, +1 CHA Life quest: +2 CHA, +1 WIS Edit 1 to add stats Edit 2: My grades are per week - just in case that wasn't clear. Will then add up to the end grades!

So, for someone who's really out of shape, my first goal has switched from losing 120lbs to just focusing on getting stronger and letting the weight loss just happen. First goal? I want to do a push up, really badly! D: I keep trying, starting with modified push ups and moving up to one or two 'full push ups' but that's where i'm stuck. I just can't seem to do a full push up! I can get my arms bent down to about a 100 degree angle (about a foot off the ground for me) and then they give out on me. Should I focus on my biceps specifically or just keep doing what i'm doing for as long as it takes? Any suggestions on how to get where I want to be?

I was wondering what the benefits are of fisted push ups vs. open-handed push ups