Customer Reviews

7 Weeks to 100 Push-Ups: Strengthen and Sculpt Your Arms, Abs, Chest, Back and Glutes by Training to do 100 Consecutive Push-Ups

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I recommend this book to ANYONE who wants to get in the best shape of their lives. The book is so fundamentally sound that it puts any other bodyweight workout book to shame. The plan is brilliant: Take a "test" to see how many pushups you can do with proper form and then use that number to find the PERFECT workout to get you to 100! The workouts are very well balanced and don't feel like a chore to do.
I read the book and took the challenge seriously and was able to crank out 100 consecutive pushups just when the book said I should! On my 48th day of the program I was able to do 101 pushups and was so pleased to nail my goal.
I still follow the program even AFTER completing the "magic number" because pushups are such a great exercise for your core, arms & chest! There are so many variations that you can learn to keep your workouts interesting & fun.
Challenge yourself & get this book!

I first came to know of the author, Steve Speirs, independent of his book, and the first thing that should be said above all else, is that Steve has dedicated his life to helping others enjoy the fitness and health that he himself enjoys.

I myself and a swimmer/cyclist/runner/triathlete/singer/website creator/podcast host, and in keeping up with these activities on top of living as normal a life as possible, I am quite often hard pressed for the time I need to do smaller, stabilizing workouts. I should also say that, having somewhat of a background in lifting, and thus having quite a bit of muscle mass, in order to make myself a better endurance athlete, I needed to abandon weight training and become more lean while still maintaining the strength necessary for the myriad event in which I participate.

When I first began using "7 Weeks.." I forgot for a while that I was supposed to put down the book and put into practice the techniques within. The book is such an easy and informative read, I felt like I was gleaning just as much knowledge simply from reading about the advantages and different methods of "push-up-ology" (my word, I don't want to put such language on the author!) that I was getting a workout sitting and reading! Of course, that not being the case, I had to try the program for myself.

I began in one of the "advanced" programs set forth by the book, which was based on how many push-ups I could do prior to beginning the program (I believe I did 50 before crapping out). Without going into the minutiae of my personal journey (after all you need to read the book to see for yourself), let me say that the hardest part of obtaining the goal of reaching 100 push-ups in 7 weeks was stopping at the numbers given by the book! It was so incredibly simple to understand and follow that I truly believe that even some who claims to have no upper body strength would be able to complete the programs (from beginner to advanced) with no problem at all.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorite parts of the book; the little snippets of push-up trivia, scattered throughout the pages. They give you a sense of not only how long push-ups have been around, but how they have had a positive impact for so long.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I think that any person, young or old, male or female would have a great time reading and using the programs in "7 Weeks to 100 Push-ups" and would have a healthier, happier and better toned life for it.

Well I hope I'm just mistaken somehow but I find the kindle version of this book essentially immpossible to read. The text is fine but the workouts in the book appear as tables and when trying to read them they are unbelievably small. I tried to increase the font size but that has no effect on the tables. So if I'm wrong I'll change my review, but if not I'm rethinking kindle for books with any form of tabular information.

This short book is all about one thing and it makes no illusions about what that one thing is...so if you have no interest in integrating pushups into your workout plan, then this isn't the book for you.

If you _are_ looking for an easy and cheap to implement training plan to build up some strength, then the plans contained in this book are great. Suitable for beginners just getting into strength training or for experienced lifters that just want to try something different, this book contains a schedule for you.

I've been following one of the schedules for a few weeks now after about a year off from any non-running workouts and I'm already starting to feel the benefits of reintegrating strength training into my weekly life.

I'm not being critical of the book, even though I did not make it to the magical 100 milestone in the prescribed time.
A bit of background: when I started the pushup program last year, I was a 61-year old male, 6'1", 185 lbs., in good shape. I had always wanted to make it to 100 pushups (and 25 pullups) but for many years I lifted weights and did not bother doing high reps in any exercise. As a result, I think my entire body lacked in the area of endurance. For example, when I was lifting heavy--at least, for me--in my thirties, I think I did a single rep parallel bar dip with 200 lbs attached. Yet I could never do more than 25 dips, no matter how "strong" I got.
As I got older I began to cut back on the heavy lifting for two reasons: necessity (really, no choice here, as you age you just can't lift as much) and safety (why get hurt going for a heavy single on anything?). I realized the importance of cardiological fitness and endurance for a geezer like me, so that is why I was attracted to Speir's pushup program.
I think I did 27 pushups when I did the initial test, which determines where you should begin your program. Over the next seven weeks, I did hundreds and hundreds of pushups, and it truly was a wonderful feeling to see those numbers going up. I knew I was increasing endurance when I found myself doing 40 or 50 on my third and fourth set, compared to the 27 I did when fully rested for the original test. I adhered to the one minute rest periods for all sets. My pushup form was fairly strict, but I was really cranking them out to get as many done in as short a time as possible. By the time week seven rolled around, I thought I had a decent shot at 100; I figured I would at least be able to get to 75 or 80. Alas, I only got to 66 before I completely and utterly conked out.
Why didn't I make it to 100? I think it was several things: not taking enough rest between sets (Speirs tells you to take longer rest periods if you need to), not strict enough form (if you really crank at speed, maybe you are not enabling your body to build basic strength) and age (I hate to bring that up again, but an old dude like me just doesn't bounce back as quickly).
I'm not discouraged. I'm going to do the program again, and this time I will take two minutes between sets, and I might even wait two days between workouts, rather than the recommended single day. I will also do my reps more slowly and with more control. I will take longer to do the program--maybe ten weeks rather than seven.
The pushup is a great exercise because it can be done anywhere, requires no equipment, is safe to perform, and builds great upper body strength. Combine it with the pullup (see Speirs' 50 pullup book, highly recommended) and you will be pushing on one day and pulling the next, and will have your upper body covered, with no gym memberships or equipment to buy.
Getting fit and strong should not be complicated or expensive. Thank you, Steve Speirs.

Much of the value of this book resides in the tables describing the recommended progression through the weeks of training. The tables are virtually unreadable because of the small font size. They were not optimized for the device and hence cannot be enlarged. Buy the print version.

I've always done a variety of exercise programs and have found this one helps keep me on track. Not only am I consistently doing the hundred pushups program as spelled out on the website, but I'm more motivated to do my other fitness activities on the other days. It's nice to have everything all laid out for me, with real numbers and goals to focus on. Having those numbers help push me past the point where I may think I'm "exhausted." Three weeks ago, I maxed out on a single set of 17 pushups. Today I maxed out at 34 pushups, and that's after doing sets of 21, 25, 21, and 21 pushups. Obviously, the program works much better than if I had simply told myself to do as many as possible each day.

I started this program from the website before purchasing the book. Be forewarned that the workouts in the book don't seem to match up with the website (hence, my reason for 4 stars instead of 5). But, don't let that deter you. Stick with the book's workout or the website's workout, one or the other. I like the website because you can log your progress and even post it on Facebook if you want. Even though I'm following the website's pushups program, I'm still glad I got the book, which complements the website with motivational reading material and everything you ever wanted to know about pushups.

The hundred pushups book is inexpensive and well worth it. However, if you really want to be cheap about it, just go to the website and do the workout for free. I'm glad I bought this inexpensive book to help support the work that the author has put into developing a fine, effective exercise program.

My husband and I have only just started on this program, but already we are seeing a difference. What I like about it that it is very simple and straight forward: The exercises are well explained, it includes a proper warm-up and streching element to avoid injuries. I also like that it has a program for those that cannot do a single, proper push-up. For those, like me, there is a 4-week program before starting the 7 weeks to reach 100, which also works very well.
For those, that are already at 50+ push-ups, it includes good information on how to advance to 100+, as well as variations on the conventional form to target different muscle areas.
I also like the 'fun facts' of record achievements to illustrate how far you can go with the simple push-up. And, last but not least, it gives guidelines on maintaining the achieved level of fittness, after the 7 weeks are over.

Fantastic book. Inspirational and easy to follow. I'm 57 years old, recently had shoulder surgery (right) and wrist surgery (left), but find that I can still do the program (week 3 day 3). I especially like the emphasis on warm-up and stretching to help prevent injuries. My daughter and one of her friends are also doing the program.

4 stars instead of 5 only for two reasons: 1. neither the website nor related iPhone application use the same program as the book. This is confusing and unhelpful. Is the book more current or the website/iPhone ap? 2. The book fails to tell you how to test yourself once you have completed the 7-week program. This information is easy to find on the website, but it is a strange oversight.

As a fitness enthusiast and someone who spends a lot of time lifting weights and getting and staying in shape, I found this book well-written and the program easy for anyone to work into their lives. Push-ups are the perfect exercise. They work all your muscles. They are a compound exercise, which is the best kind. Moreover, you get one great cardio workout. Push-ups are tough. But if you work with this program, you'll work up to 100 plus push-ups and have lots of fun while you're at it.

Everything you need to do push-ups is in this book. You'll also discover how many a person your age should do to be in great shape and you'll learn the shape you're in now. (That might be a bit depressing.)

The author tells us on page 20, "Push-ups are functional, multi-joint, multi-muscle movements that mimic the actions and movements we perform on an everyday basis." I find this the very best form of exercise because it gives us a better quality of life while giving us lovely muscle. We also get useful muscle and a body that performs everyday tasks for us easily.

As the author tells us, "Push-ups don't have to be a chore and, in all honesty, they can be a lot of fun while also providing tremendous benefits. For this reason, the humble push-up is the most basic exercise used in civilian athletic training or physical education and, especially, in military physical training. Push-ups not only develop the upper body and the midsection as a whole, they also provide an effective cardio workout."

Now, I ask you, what more can you ask of an exercise that only requires one thing --- you?

- Susanna K. Hutcheson