One Thousand Push-ups to a new life

"1000 Push-Ups to a new life" is found at 1000PushUpClub.blogspot.com. Personally I prefer the blog's address title to the actual title. I like the idea of joining a push up club. Or indeed any club that will have me. In truth I doubt I'd do well in the 1000 push up club. I can't even manage ten.

This blog, like any worth reading, is very strange. It tracks the progress of a man who is planning to do 1000 push ups. As a consequence it's a bit specialised. I'm reminded of a Bill Hicks routine where Bill mocked fitness expert Jim Fixx who wrote a book about jogging:

"Now, what do you f**kin' write about jogging? 'Right foot, left foot, faster, faster, oh hell, I dunno, go home, shower.' Pretty much covers the jogging experience, I do believe."

However there's a certain humanity to the idea of a blog like this. It has a clear goal and tells a straightforward story. Also unlike a book this blog offers the possibility of a community developing around the author's task. There is an open comments section where other "push up fans" can contribute their thoughts. Do more push ups? Do less? I'm not sure how that conversation would go but I imagine there is one to be had.

The author was (at the time of review) having difficulty with increasing the number of push ups he did as he worked towards his goal and I'm sure extra advice from knowledgeable readers would be more than welcome.

This blog's strength lies in in the simplicity of its remit, which lends it a charm that other more ambitious blogs lack. My suggestion would be that it could be improved by sticking even more clearly to that remit by, for example, printing a total number at the bottom of each blog entry telling the reader how many push-ups our hero has done on that particular day. Also a little bit more personal information would help us to empathise with him and his struggle to hit the 1000 push up per day total. Little details like his forthcoming child add to the experience of reading it and I feel more of this couldn't do any harm.

Overall: I suspect a casual reader might enjoy this blog more than they'd expect. An odd joy to read.

http://the1000pushupclub.blogspot.com/