I've Always Wanted To Do Push Ups

It is one of those strange but ill-defined goals that had been hovering in the back of my mind for years. More like decades, actually. Push ups had always seemed to me to be cool and tough. They were something strong, fit people could just do. And I’ve wanted to be able to do them for a long time. I had sort of attempted a few times in the past to learn, but it never stuck.

So when I turned up at my new Saturday morning Boot Camp a few weeks ago I had been turning over in the back of my mind ‘maybe now I’ll learn to do push ups’. Then our trainer announced that his goal for the group at the end of the six week course was that we would all be able to do 10 push ups each. It was one of those stars-aligning, universe-in-perfect-balance moments that leaves you smiling to yourself. Yes! Push ups! Ok, I’m weird. Ahem. Anyway...

He walked (or pushed?) us through the different levels of difficulty in push ups – from box push ups on your knees through to proper push ups on your toes. (There is a level above that called Marine push ups, but let’s just not go there, ok.) We were to start out on the middle or top level, do as many as we could, then ‘drop back’ to an easier level and finish the set.

I realised instantly where I had been going wrong in the past. I’d been completely ignoring everything I knew about personal goal setting and skill acquisition. It is a pretty simple formula once you know it:

I believe I mentioned SMART goals earlier in my blog? Well it stands for

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timing

Hence the vague but useless thought “I’d like to learn to do push ups” became the SMART goal “I will be able to do a set of 10 push ups on my toes in 6 weeks”.

Skill acquisition is an obvious process when you think about it, but the problem is you don’t consciously think about it. Well, teachers do, but students tend not to. It’s simple: Start with the basics. Practise them until you have mastered them. Then move up to the next skill level. Practise. Move up. Practise. Move up. Reach your goal.

This applies to everything. Absolutely everything. Did you spot the very important word I used there? Apply.

The first Saturday I did one push up on my toes. Just one. The rest were box push ups. The next day was the same. I’ve been doing push ups every day now for the last three weeks. Am I there yet? Yeeeeeeessss! Last week I managed not one, not two, but THREE sets of 10 push ups on my toes! Three times the goal in half the weeks? Yay me! Fist pump, happy dance and etc!

There really is no feeling quite as satisfying as working hard and achieving your goal. This feeling runs victory laps around your own self-doubt. It gives your self-esteem a stunning makeover. It dusts off your self-confidence and makes it shine.

I can do this.

I can do anything.