Reflections after doing at least 100 pushups a day for 3 months
I've been doing 100 pushups a day since the May and I have seen massive gains in my triceps and chest that I even got accused of taking steroids.
My routine in the beginning was to do 10 sets. In the beginning it was really hard to do all 10 sets without taking progressively longer breaks each time, that it would take me 20 minutes in total to get 100 pushups down. Eventually after a month, I was able to do 100 pushups in 10 minutes. Now, I've started the 100 pushups in 5 minutes challenge, and I'm not there yet but close since I've been able to do 90 pushups. It's insane how I only started doing 20 knee pushups every other day in april since I was so weak. But now I can pump out close to a 100 pushups in 5 minutes every single day. All in about 3 months.
Here are some concerns I will address if you plan on doing the program
Don't you need to take rest days
I don't ever feel sore the next day. My arms may feel 10% tired in the morning, but not the same kind of pain when being sore. If you have a certain base level of strength, you shouldn't be extremely sore and your body should eventually adapt. I think the problem with some people doing this challenge is that they attempt it without having any foundation. Like if you can't even do 5 real pushups in a row, I suggest you working on getting 10 pushups in a row before trying to do 100 pushups. Like I said, I was first only able to do 20 knee pushups and only started the 100 pushups a day challenge when I did 30 pushups in a row. Ironically, when I took a rest day I felt that I got weaker, as if my body was so used to doing pushups everyday and wanted it.
Will doing lots of pushups wear out your joints
Not necessarily. If you have poor technique, that will wear out your joints. Also, if you have poor muscle imbalance like weak rotator cuff muscles, I think you may wear out your joints. But that has to do with the fact that your muscles are imbalanced and not necessarily because you are doing a lot of pushups. If you plan on doing 100 pushups in the long term I recommend doing 50 pullups as well. I've been doing this challenge for 3 months and I don't feel any joint point or had any injury. Ironically, I've only gotten injured from attempting other things like lifting weights.
If you want to get big, should you lift weights instead of doing a lot of pushups
Most people are not trying to be mr olympia and doing pushups is more than enough to get a good physique. To make the program more challenging, you can try to do more reps in a shorter amount of time, have shorter breaks, have more reps in a set, harder variation. The people doing calisthenics in the park and prison are proof that you don't need to lift weights to be ripped.
How should you do your pushups and how should you feel after every workout
I do every pushup with perfect form. I don't do the fake pushups nonsense where I go as low or high as I want. I make sure my chest touches the ground and arm straightens back up for the full range of motion. If you don't do the full range of motion and try to cheat more reps you are only cheating yourself. Every time I do this challenge, by the 5th set out of 10, my whole body is already shaking on the last 3-5 reps but I still manage to complete the full range of motion and I repeat this again for the last 5 sets which shows how hard you have to push yourself if you want gains. This is the most important part of the challenge. If the intensity is not there, you are not getting enough stimulus on the muscle, therefore weaker hypertrophy response.
If you have more questions, comment in the post and I will answer.