So, if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen a few threaded tweets documenting my random decision to do 100 pushups a day for 30 days. I knew that after the holidays, I wanted to do some sort of fitness kick-start, not as a New Year’s Resolution (I don’t do those), but because, well, it was just time.

I came across this Buzzfeed (ugh) video one day, probably recommended to me on YouTube because I follow SixPackSecrets or whatever the hell that channel is called now, and doing 100 pushups a day for 30 days seemed like a thing that’s right up my alley: Pushups require no special equipment, they can be done anywhere, and I already could do a decent amount … or so I thought.

As I mention in the video here, I got off to a slower start than expected. I only hit 70 the first day, barely eked out 30 the second day, and didn’t ramp up to 100 until Day 6. I pretty much successfully did at least 100 per day for the duration, save for a couple of glitches due to work schedules and bad dietary choices. But even when traveling, I tried to stay on my game: I threw down a set in Terminal 3 of McCarran International Airport one morning, and did a set of 25 with my boss in the middle of a team retreat.

Over 30 days, I did 2,833 pushups total, averaging just under 95 per day. Yes, I know that technically, that’s not 100 per day. But given the rough start, it’s close good enough. And doing them, I felt better in general, especially the way I was breaking up the reps into smaller sets throughout each day. I had more energy, and felt just that much stronger. I even noticed my posture getting better, probably just because I was aware of it.

Of course, I haven’t done a single pushup in the week or so since the challenge ended. Part of this was because of my insane work/travel schedule last week. Part is because I jacked up my left shoulder somehow (see work/travel, above) and I’m trying not to put more stress on it (pushups primarily work your pecs and triceps, but also your upper back and shoulders, of course).

I work best with measurable, concrete goals over a fixed period of time, so the X-reps-per-day-for-X-days is really just the kind of structure I need. So I’m looking for the next “thing” to do that can fit in that format. Pull-ups? Squats? Lunges? Share your thoughts!