Day 25: Things Finally Take a Turn for the Better
I’ve faced a lot of challenges over the course of this wild 30-Day Push-Up Challenge I gave myself as a birthday present, but nothing prepared me for the turnaround on Day 25. What started as apprehension after realizing that Days 25 through 30 would be the same number of reps I’d done on Days 1 through 24 turned into me, for the first time, actually thinking I could get through this.
A wild thought to have so far in, but a great feeling to get for the last push.
A few days ago, after going through Day 23 and remembering what started this challenge in the first place, I began predicting how the rest of it would go. Technically, I had already completed Day 23 and all the days leading up to it for this challenge. Day 24 on was uncharted territory.
It was around this time when I also started remembering the rules of this challenge were mine. I did Ascension and Descension throughout the challenge because the 23-minute challenge I did six years ago required them. I was past that now, so I could change the rules if I wanted to.
And I did.
Finding the Rhythm
Today wasn’t about fighting through the climb or clinging to the last bits of my energy while crawling across the finish line. It was about rhythm. Repetition. Symmetry.
Every interval had the same five-minute span. Every minute in those intervals had the same 13-count for reps. It felt like a mandala coming together from all sides. Everything had balance and equilibrium. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t try to outrun the workout.
I moved with it instead.
The intervals developed their own personality as I explored them. The first minute was about settling in, followed by the second, which established the pace. The third minute, the peak, became the moment to push a little harder, and the fourth minute became the checkpoint to see if I’d complete the required reps in this interval or not.
By the fifth minute, I knew for certain whether the interval would close with or without any make-ups leftover. As the minutes—and the intervals—kept passing, and as I kept completing the reps, I grew more excited.
A Strong Finish
After the third interval, I knew I was in a good position. After the fourth, I walked around the house stretching, massaging my arms, eating peanut butter for protein and jelly for a little sugar, doing everything I could to hype myself up for one final round.
By the time the fifth interval rolled around, I knew I would complete everything in the allotted time for the first time in over a week.
Not hoped.
Knew.
And that changed everything about the approach to my final days of this challenge.
A New Kind of Hope
When the timer stopped, I looked down.
325 push-ups. Every single one completed within the required time. No leftovers. For the first time since Day 19.
I couldn’t believe it. I thought the last days would be the hardest, and now it seemed that taking the average push-ups per minute would make the finish line far easier to cross than I’d ever dreamed.
For the first time, Day 30 stopped feeling like a monster waiting at the end of the month. It became a day I couldn’t wait to conquer.
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I’ve faced a lot of challenges over the course of this wild 30-Day Push-Up Challenge, but nothing prepared me for the turnaround on Day 25. What started as apprehension turned into my actually thinking, for the first time, that I could get through this.
I did Ascension and Descension throughout the challenge because the 23-minute challenge I did six years ago required them. I was past that now, so I could change the rules if I wanted to.
And I did.