"I wanted to give my body time to get acclimated to doing 500 pushups a day, and to be honest, it has not got used to it," he says on Day 8. "No matter what variation I do, my entire upper body feels so tight."
In order to help offset that tightness and soreness, Lewis begins alternating between regular and close-grip pushups on different days. But while that helps with his discomfort, it doesn't make the reps themselves any easier.
"I just think the number of pushups I'm doing every day isn't healthy at this point," Lewis says midway through the challenge. "My chest and my triceps are just exhausted."
ADVERTISEMENT
By the end of the month-long challenge, Lewis has noticed more visible definition in his chest and triceps, but ultimately concludes that it isn't a particularly effective or sustainable way of building muscle. He advises against anyone else trying it, saying it's "not feasible" and creates a lot of "wear and tear" in your shoulders and triceps.
"I definitely still feel the aftereffects," he says, "I still feel sore in my triceps and my chest... If you do want to challenge yourself with a bodyweight movement, I suggest maybe doing 100 pushups, or maybe 150, 200, something a little more modest, not 500."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7scHLrJxnppdkuaqyxKyrsqSVZLqmutJmn56ZnKm1cMPArZqhZaedrrV5x5qnqZ2emrFuw8eepWasmJ7AbrPUsmSdoZRignF8jKmsrKClpcBusdWeqbJllJbGbrLOq2SaZZ2ku7W0jp2asrChl7A%3D