Sixteen weeks ago, I did 1 pushup.
I know, only 1 pushup. But that was the entire plan.
What’s the point in that? That won’t even accomplish anything.
*this is what someone actually said to me. he said I should start at 10 so it actually does something*
Anyway, I didn’t let that bother me. I just did my own thing.
Week 1: 1 pushup per day
Week 2: 2 pushups per day
Week 3: 3
You see where this is going…
Now I am at week 16. Sixteen pushups per day.
Am I transforming into a superhero? No. But I am transforming into someone who actually does the thing.
The problem I’ve always had isn’t effort. It’s scale. No, not the one that I stand on that tells me how heavy I am. And NO, not the ones on fish.
When the goal looks like a mountain, my brain immediately drafts a 47-step master plan, colour-coded and optimized within an inch of its life. I even make a spreadsheet for it. I take something fun and slowly engineer the joy out of it. Then I procrastinate. Then I feel guilty. Then I avoid it entirely.
So, I tried something different… One pushup.
It was too small to argue with.
There are rules:
- I can skip a day.
- But I have to make it up.
Today, I had to get caught up. That meant 80 pushups.
I felt like quitting twice.
There’s a phrase I like: Embrace the Suck. Not in a dramatic way. Just in a quiet, stubborn way. The discomfort isn’t a signal to stop. It’s part of the contract.
When I finished my 80th pushup, I felt satisfaction. Not because it was extreme, but because it was earned.
Along the way, I’ve added other strength exercises. I don’t do them daily. I let them accumulate and then hit a full workout session three or four days at a time. That structure works for me. It keeps things sustainable. Flexible, but not soft.
Will I add one pushup per day forever? Probably not.
At some point, missing a day would mean 200 pushups. Miss two and we’re at 300. That escalates quickly. This system will evolve. It has to.
But right now, the mindset is the point.
Incremental Gains removes the drama. It lowers the barrier so far that starting feels almost trivial. And once you start, momentum does what motivation never reliably can.
This mindset is bleeding into everything else. My photography. My projects. My tendency to overbuild systems until they collapse under their own weight.
I don’t need a heroic overhaul. I don’t need an overly structured, systematic approach. I don’t need to overthink think this.
I need one pushup. Then two. Then three…
That’s it.
Not flashy. Not extreme. Just sustainable.
And for once, that’s enough.
Progress so far:
- Pushups – 876 (week 16)
- Pushup into burpee – 75 (week 5)
- Squats – 75 (week 5)
- Leg lift thing 20lbs – 42 (week 3)
- Bicep curls 25lbs – 42 (week 3)
- Preacher curls 25lbs – 42 (week 3)
- Dumbbell rows 25lbs – 21 (week 2)
- Lateral raises 10lbs – 42 (week 3)
- Bench press 100lbs – 46 (week 4)