Man DOMS & Hundred Push Ups Update

You will be familiar with Man Flu, the medical phenomenon whereby a man with a cold will suffer at least 10000% more than a woman with the same symptoms. Turns out there is also a thing called Man DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is when you hurt like a bastard a few days after a strenuous workout. Naturally if you're a bloke, it's so much worse.

"I've got DOMS," Gareth announced, two days after hiking up two very pointy mountains in Glen Coe. "Severe DOMS. So whatever you do, don't poke my legs."

"When I had DOMS after the Moonwalk you did nothing BUT poke my legs."

"Yeah but I did it with a touch of class. It wouldn't be funny if you did it."

"I want my revenge!"

"No way man! I'm in agony!"

"When I was so DOMS-ed out after 26 miles that I couldn't walk you dragged me around the living room saying, Dance! Dance! Dance, Shauna! Dance!"

"Aye but you just went for a wee stroll in the dark. That was minor DOMS. My walk was really hard."

"So what've you got then? DOMS majora?"

"Yeah. You just had... DOMS trivialatum."

. . .

Hundred Bloody Push Ups Challenge Update #3

(Apologies if you're bored of push-up talk!)

I'm still stuck on Week 2 of the Hundred Push Ups Challenge (HPC). I reckon I could now pass the 16+ reps test in order to move to Week 3, but I want to improve the quality of the repetitions. I've got a dodgy shoulder from an old injury so my last few sets can get shaky and painful.

My solution was to move up to the next level of Week 2 - each week has three levels of difficulty depending on how many reps you perform in the initial test. I've finished Week 2, Level 2 and now I'll do Week 2, Level 3. Taking it slower means the six week challenge is going to take more like six months, but I'd rather do that and make sure I can do strong, deep push ups and not screw up my shoulder again.

Are any fellow Push Uperers finding it difficult to fit the three weekly sessions around your other exercise? How do you make sure you've got enough arms left? Right now I can only manage two sessions because they keep throwing in push ups at kickboxing and Body Pump. I can only take so much pushing up dammit!

If I've done the HPC the night before class I shake like a shitting dog. This makes me feel like a sissy in front of the hardcore kickboxers. I spose I could protest, "Let me explain violent femmes! I'm not a wuss, but there's this internet challenge thing..." but I'd rather resign myself to slower HPC progress and have enough arms for everything.

Comments

[1 · Posted by kathryn · August 06, 2008 at 01:28 PM]

Yeah, got to save those arms. I hate it when you go to a class and it's like it's in a vacuum, no credit for the all the stuff you do outside of class!

[2 · Posted by dg · August 06, 2008 at 01:30 PM]

AHH KATHRYN i love you, you always have the right words :) I sat here for hours trying to explain. Yes, it's a vacuum!!! Nobody cares that you did a marathon the night before the class. grr.

[3 · Posted by goodbyetoallfat · August 06, 2008 at 02:02 PM]

Hilarious !!!

[4 · Posted by ginna · August 06, 2008 at 02:15 PM]

I have been stuck on week 2 forever! I was going along pretty well, but hurt something in my shoulder a couple of weeks ago, so I have to start again.
About the vacuum thing...I've done some triathlons, including Ironman, and the key to the whole thing is amnesia.

[5 · Posted by dg · August 06, 2008 at 04:13 PM]

Ginna! My condolences. This challenge will be the death of us.

Guess what, I just realised you are comment #10,000 on Dietgirl... woohoooooo :)

[6 · Posted by Zanna · August 06, 2008 at 04:24 PM]

Shake like a shitting dog!!!! And here's me with a very pictorial imagination - rolling around the floor laughing. Take care Z xx
ps the real Zanna doesn't shake when she shits!!!

[7 · Posted by SeaBreeze · August 06, 2008 at 05:21 PM]

I must admit I am only doing Level 1 of each week, but I do it immediately after my cardio before any of my other weight work. Tends to help me keep from shaking and I do my abs inbetween sets...

[8 · Posted by Andrea · August 06, 2008 at 05:26 PM]

I don't think I'll ever get tired of pushup talk! The shitting dog thing is HYSTERICAL. :)

[9 · Posted by SeaShore · August 06, 2008 at 05:38 PM]

I hope you poked him... repeatedly.

[10 · Posted by Alex Costa - minimizeme.tv · August 06, 2008 at 05:53 PM]

I will try the HPC but I will do the alternative push ups because to lift 370lbs it's not easy :)

[11 · Posted by Gracie · August 06, 2008 at 06:41 PM]

I must say (totally unrelated to your post) I love how you Aussies say "reckon". Southern United States people also say reckon... but we're considered "redneck" for saying it. So of course I always manage to use every "Southernism" I can just to annoy the rest of the US.

My favorite line I love to use: Well, I reckon I'll tote these [ ] over to [ ].

Ya gotta love "reckon" and "tote"!

[12 · Posted by ginna · August 06, 2008 at 08:50 PM]

10,000! Wow! that's cool:)

[13 · Posted by tokaiangel · August 06, 2008 at 09:16 PM]

Doing 3 Body Pump classes a week (at awkward intervals) is the excuse I gave reason I quit the Push Up Challenge. I had permanent jellyarms and hated looking like a pansy in front of my class!!

TA x

[14 · Posted by Marshmallow · August 06, 2008 at 09:48 PM]

You just had... DOMS trivialatum

Tell Dr G it's his fault that I now have green tea all over my computer screen.

[15 · Posted by Cara · August 06, 2008 at 11:08 PM]

you have been tagged, missus

[16 · Posted by sally · August 06, 2008 at 11:21 PM]

still giggling over the shaking like a shitting dog thing :o)
I shake like that doing yoga before I laugh and fall over!
You rock!!

[17 · Posted by Cath · August 07, 2008 at 02:19 AM]

>>I love how you Aussies say "reckon".

My US friends thought that was funny too, plus we say "heaps" when we mean "a lot".

When my US friends left Australia I hung up a banner at the airport saying "I reckon we will miss you heaps!". A very aussie farewell!

And Shauna "shaking like a shitting dog (in a vacuum)", pure gold once again :)

[18 · Posted by Meg · August 07, 2008 at 03:06 AM]

I finally managed to make it to week six, and have resigned myself to repeating week six again already. I'm having the same problem as you, scheduling push up time so it doesn't conflict with other workouts, leaving my arms with days off (hopefully) although mostly my issues have been time related...how do you find time for everything?!

[19 · Posted by Kada · August 07, 2008 at 06:24 AM]

I postponed my 100 pushups challenge for now. With my current mindset and fitness level it was more important for me to continue swimming.

Especially after last week when the old sheilas doing water aerobics created such a whirlpool that even with my arms doing a whirling dervish and me kicking faster than a one legged man in an arse-kickin' competition...I went nowhere.

Seriously, I had to angle my body, practically swimming sideways to go in a straight line and had to walk the last 1/4 lap. Coming up the pool the other way though was awesome!

[20 · Posted by Americanlass · August 07, 2008 at 07:31 AM]

"shake like a shitting dog"...heehee!!

I just re-did week 2, and since I convinced hubby to join me, he's had to re-do week 3 twice. From watching him struggle, week 3 it looks really hard! I'm looking forward to it though...

[21 · Posted by LBTEPA · August 07, 2008 at 07:38 AM]

That is too funny - DOMS trivialatum. DID you poke his legs?

[22 · Posted by dg · August 07, 2008 at 09:44 AM]

HELL YEAH I poked his legs, just to hear him yelp, "Don't touch my DOMS!" as if the DOMS were a three dimensional thing.

Kada - That sounds hilarious. And would definitely add another degree of difficulty to the workout :)

Cara - thanks for the tag! I have a backlog of meme thingies... eek :)

I think "shake like a shitting dog" is another Dr G phrase but it's a winner.

[23 · Posted by Cat · August 07, 2008 at 12:58 PM]

We should be in week 6 now but have repeated week 3 & are repeating week 4 at the moment... can't empathise with you on working around all the other exercise m'dear, this feels like enough to me thanks :D

[24 · Posted by Gareth · August 07, 2008 at 03:39 PM]

I have to admit I got "shaking like a shitting dog" from Peter Kay. Painting pictures with words!

[25 · Posted by Isabelle · August 07, 2008 at 04:52 PM]

I have to admit that I haven't made a study of this, but do shitting dogs shake particularly? Or only when they're doing this out of fear?

[26 · Posted by dg · August 07, 2008 at 04:55 PM]

Just watch a dog do its business sometime, Isabelle... definitely trembling involved :)

[27 · Posted by Marie · August 07, 2008 at 06:37 PM]

Oh Shauna, got to confess I never got to do even the initial test.
But I DID run 10k several times. Or is that in a vacuum as well?

Oh well.

[28 · Posted by dg · August 07, 2008 at 07:00 PM]

No way man... multiple 10K totally beats shaky pushups in the living room :)

[29 · Posted by monica · August 07, 2008 at 09:29 PM]

I'm just finishing week two of the pushups program and am pretty happy about it. My other exercise is swimming, walking and cycling so I don't really have any excuse for being too tired for the pushups. Actually, one of the things I like is that I can fit in the pushup workout around the rest of my day and I can pretty much do it anywhere. We'll see how I feel next week, though. Sounds like I'm in for some wobbles!

[30 · Posted by Joc · August 08, 2008 at 08:09 AM]

Hi Shauna, I'm doing week 2 again, for the third time... got caught up in a bout of flu, and also shoulder pain, dont want to push too hard. Like you I would rather get there slowly and uninjured.

[31 · Posted by Marla · August 08, 2008 at 12:39 PM]

Oh that Dr. G is so bad. He is older than you, right? I think you'd better start threatening him with what will happen when he's old and slow and can't get away from you.

That's one reason I didn't take up the pushup challenge - I already do upper body work (including pushups!) and there just wasn't time for recovery. I don't want to give up an effective routine for something that's sort of like a stunt.

[32 · Posted by BeckStein · August 08, 2008 at 03:47 PM]

Hey love hurts...good job on the poking ;)

[33 · Posted by the new girl · August 09, 2008 at 05:48 PM]

HA HA!

Man DOMS and shaking like a shitting dog...still laughing at both of those.

[34 · Posted by M. · August 09, 2008 at 08:36 PM]

I just found your blog, and it rocks. :)

As for the not getting past week 2 of your pushups, don't do any for a week or revert to week 1. You'd be surprised at how important resting and letting your muscles fully recover is... you'll probably be able to come back and pop out more than before. :)

It works for me with fencing... sometimes you have to walk away from it and rest.

[35 · Posted by Lauren the Lurker · August 10, 2008 at 08:08 PM]

Following the concept of Man Flu, there needs to be a term for this situation:
1) Man claims to be impervious to some sort of ailment or condition. (EX: "I don't get sunburnt!")
2) In a twist of fate, said condition turns out to be HIS GREATEST WEAKNESS. (EX: *moooooooaannnn* "This is the worst sunburn of my life!!!"
3) This circumstance is often times accompanied by refusal of sensible treatment. (EX: "Get away with that aloe, I'll just lay in bed for 3 days.)

Is there a term for this? Perhaps the evidently conversational in Latin Dr. G can use his creativity on this challenge too ;)

[36 · Posted by debby · August 11, 2008 at 04:43 PM]

Okay, I'm not gonna repeat it, but the doggie comment was very funny, and BTW, true. I'm glad people can't see me doing my pushups, or they would be pointing at me and saying, "look, she's ________ ____ _ _______ dog!" I'm on week 3, and boy is it hard. But what I do, is I tend to let go of some other area of workout when I'm doing one of these challenges. So, right now, I actually stopped my heavy weight lifting. I like the challenge thing though. It keeps me going.

[37 · Posted by Fun Husband · August 12, 2008 at 04:32 AM]

I'm starting it this week. So far so good, but I do anticipate some problems. I did not realize you had to do each level on each level. I just thought you did the same column on each level.

It is going to take a long time.

[38 · Posted by dg · August 12, 2008 at 09:29 AM]

Fun Husband - You don't have to do each level! As I mentioned in the entry, I am just doing that because I need to build up more slowly.

Good luck and hope you enjoy it :)

[39 · Posted by briy · August 24, 2008 at 07:04 AM]

Props to you for spelling out what DOMS is, as I'd been curious all morning. :)

[40 · Posted by Sheila · September 17, 2008 at 05:21 AM]

DOMS Majora / DOMS Trivialatum!

CLASSIC!

That is hilarious.
I am so glad I found your blog.