While conducting "wellness workshops" for National Guard personnel in more than one dozen states in the 80's I attempted to perform their prescribed fitness test. At age 50 my two mile run was stellar but my pushups numbered 11 - no mistake, I barely made double figures. Began six days a week pushups with a goal of at least 300 per week. I hit 75,000 about every five years. Still pushing at 89.
I feel like a lot of people fall into years of the same types of exercise (ie stationary bike, running) and it tricks you into thinking it’s enough. I was grateful I found pushups when I did. My favorite part about them is they don’t require any equipment and you can pretty much do them anywhere. I do them on days when I don’t lift and a couple when I do. But also working in some better rest days this year.
That you’re still cranking out hundreds a week at age 89 is a huge inspiration. Thank you for being here and sharing. Your son has reached so many folks in a positive way. 🙏
Push-ups definitely help with focus and confidence. I think they take the edge off, and you just get busy writing or doing whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. They really give you more of a boost that even coffee. I was doing them every day but now I do them here and there. I've never done 300 in a day. You're an iron man for that, Matt. I've done over a hundred in a day at least but they really help me, even on days I don't write and just want to be productive. I wonder how much more people would do if they chose push-ups over coffee and energy drinks and cigarettes and all the other habits. Maybe a future society will have push-up breaks. I bet the hospitals would be far emptier. I'm glad you got the ending knocked out. Awesome post.
Reminded of the quip: perfect is the enemy of done. At least with the writing. There is also something primal about our resistance at the end of a project--finishing means there is another step that we fear coming after (either reviewing our work or sending it out) and our inner safety mechanisms want to protect us from that regardless of whether we actually want to take that next step or not. Really great post!
Thank you Monica. Your post today was so good. More on that coming soon. Thanks for reading and writing this response too.
This is so true about the resistance. I can feel it in my revisions now. If I say it’s finished, I have to start querying, and how will I know if it’s finished well enough… I’m very fond of brackish / shades of gray phases in life and there isn’t one in a first draft. Once it’s done, you’re in the revision stage. Can’t really go back to an unfinished draft state. Thanks for writing about this in the way you did. Helps me be more aware of it and easier (not easy) to keep pushing forward. 🙏
“I wrote five different outlines across hand-written index cards and had bulleted lists of scenes with file names like “revised initial outline 2aB.”
There has got to be a word for it here addiction of outlining. I am afflicted. I don’t write long form pieces but it is a definite problem. Only in that I can get stuck in an outline loop. (Just ask my bosses at the law office, where I am a paralegal).
I like to freewrite poetry which sometimes yields good results, other times it’s just a pile of words . But I do it with pen and paper which I like until I need to transfer the words somewhere. I like writing this way though because I breathe differently when I write by hand than when I type.
Thanks so much for this comment and for reading. Wonderful to have you here.
You’re right about the outlining/planning. There’s an odd (false?) comfort in wallowing in the planning and pining over the notion I’ll line it all up right before I start. I still catch myself getting stuck in that but have gained awareness through more daily writing, and I’m finding I don’t stay stuck as long. Def a process on this part of writing.
Love that you enjoy and find calm in writing by hand. I’ve mostly abandoned writing by hand. I edit by hand and have an instructor who’s a big proponent of it. I’m just really slow writing by hand and still have trouble reading my own writing so the ROI isn’t there for me now. But I may try it again at some point.
I'm sure I borrowed the concept from someone else! But it definitely fits that over outlining thing we tend to do when we are intimidated by the writing :)
There were stretches of truly great writing in this piece, if you’re a story teller too I predict success for your novel. Well done on completing a quixotically daunting physical challenge. You may want to consider adding pull-ups to your routine in 2025–pulling after all the pushing might rebalance your physique and lower the risk of repetitive stress injuries. This is a good program to consider: https://officercandidatesschool.com/2010/05/27/armstrong-pull-up-program/
I’d love to know more about what happened to Tommy. Are you in touch with him? Did his gritty commitment to multiple Years of Pushups win him a contented life?
Chris, thank you so much for this thoughtful reply. I swore I responded back to this and clearly I didn’t. Sorry about that. The pull-ups is a great idea. My garage is packed with but adding a pull up bar is doable. It’s so funny, the time in my life when I could do the most pull-ups and did them regularly was my first summer working at Rex Lumber.
I didn’t keep in touch with Tommy, or any of the guys at the yard. It was before social media or cell phones and I was part of the transient workforce more than the regulars- the yard had plenty of guys come in via Manpower, a few got hired on but most didn’t. I do wonder about Tommy and some of the other guys when I’m back visiting my father in CT. The way some of those guys appeared to live life is something I still think about. They were good at the board in front of them, far more than I’ve ever been.
Matt, thank you for this, great pairing of the crazy challenge of the pushups with the challenge of writing a novel (which in terms of reward is even more unpredictable, as you point out). And then as a cherry on top, Tommy.
I especially liked these observations, taking them with me into my own fiction writing:
”Supermans and Triple-claps are not how you finish the Year of Push-ups.3 In my writing, I realized how damaging it is to get hung up on a single character or plot point.”
”When I sat down at night to read what I’d written that morning, I found myself looking for what I liked or could build on the next day vs. red-marking what to cut.”
Marie! Thanks so much. It’s funny, my time with Tommy was before the smartphone / take pictures of everything era. I remembered thinking as I was writing, with I could just show a picture of this guy. The work to find the right words when you don’t have a picture is at least some of what this writing thing is about. Appreciate you getting some good out of this for your writing too!
Sometimes relying on memory rather than a picture means other things stand out (or you find a picture and it shapes your memory in another direction). Would still have loved to see a photo of Tommy doing pushups in the lumberyard though.
Matt! Really resonated with how your physical discipline unlocked your creative breakthrough. I love the parallel between "Just finish it" and "Now you gotta finish" - sometimes the simplest advice cuts through our mental barriers. I should try this for myself!
Thanks KZ! So true on simple advice. In an earlier draft I had more on Mark and his questions to me when I started, why, what am I hoping to gain (ie strength, endurance, etc). My response was simple, I just wanted to finish it. I’d tried before and never did. Was a mountain to climb type thing. So when he gave that advice in Sept, I’m not sure if he remembered that original conversation- it was 9 months prior. But his response was pretty damn cool. I couldn’t have written it better. When the goal is to finish, put all your focus on what it takes to finish.
Outstanding! The original essay didn't need many tweaks, but the ones you made really put this over the top. The post is almost as impressive as the 75K pushups.
Thank you Claire for your read and help on this one. You and Rick spotted something I’d missed and it really helped me bring balance to the essay. Appreciate you!
Great piece, Matt, and what an achievement! Or rather, what achievements plural! Tommy sounds quite the character. I’m curious: have you been carrying on into a second year of push-ups since those first five on January 1st or do you only attempt the Year of Push-Ups when it’s a leap year? 👏
I did but won’t commit to every single day. It was a very cool mountain to climb. I’m focused on being more intentional this year about active rest days (walking, hiking, swimming) vs doing that much of the same exercise. Aim is for better overall health vs more of that particular challenge. I added in gratitude journal (list 3 different things each day) for my everyday goal this year. And thank you for reading here and in Write Hearted - appreciate all the support!
Matt. I laughed out loud several times - especially the I-ROC and mullet reference. And I found myself scrolling up to reread several passages for their poignancy and wisdom. And then you stuck the landing in the ending pal,
“They also helped me build a healthy habit for daily writing, a way to show up and quiet the voices every day—or let them be heard. Some of my favorite nights last year were me on the floor, against the clock, doing push-ups at 11:48 to finish 265 before the clock struck midnight. Favorite mornings? Pre-dawn, my laptop screen as the room’s only light, music on, coffee, and my dog at my side. The scary prose can run, but if you put in the reps and write through the finish line, the long shadow of the cave dies in the light of your words.”
An epic piece. I hope you feel as proud as the depth of its impact. 👏👏
Thank you James! Appreciate the thoughtful comments and grateful you enjoyed it. Those lumber yard guys were a hoot, man. Tried to get some of the good moments in this one but there certainly are more where those came from. Sincere thanks for the read and support.
Great stuff here Matt…it really spoke to me on having that daily physical movement/exercise routine, and how that carries over to my work and writing. Exercise the body to crank up the mind.
While conducting "wellness workshops" for National Guard personnel in more than one dozen states in the 80's I attempted to perform their prescribed fitness test. At age 50 my two mile run was stellar but my pushups numbered 11 - no mistake, I barely made double figures. Began six days a week pushups with a goal of at least 300 per week. I hit 75,000 about every five years. Still pushing at 89.
I feel like a lot of people fall into years of the same types of exercise (ie stationary bike, running) and it tricks you into thinking it’s enough. I was grateful I found pushups when I did. My favorite part about them is they don’t require any equipment and you can pretty much do them anywhere. I do them on days when I don’t lift and a couple when I do. But also working in some better rest days this year.
That you’re still cranking out hundreds a week at age 89 is a huge inspiration. Thank you for being here and sharing. Your son has reached so many folks in a positive way. 🙏
…duuuuuude…i’m in…
Thank you! So writing hasn’t always been easy for you either? Good to know. Great read!
I’m enjoying the athlete mindset and lessons.
Definitely not. I find it to be harder in different ways as time goes on. Writing with young kids is next level in terms of focus and efficiency.
Push-ups definitely help with focus and confidence. I think they take the edge off, and you just get busy writing or doing whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. They really give you more of a boost that even coffee. I was doing them every day but now I do them here and there. I've never done 300 in a day. You're an iron man for that, Matt. I've done over a hundred in a day at least but they really help me, even on days I don't write and just want to be productive. I wonder how much more people would do if they chose push-ups over coffee and energy drinks and cigarettes and all the other habits. Maybe a future society will have push-up breaks. I bet the hospitals would be far emptier. I'm glad you got the ending knocked out. Awesome post.
Reminded of the quip: perfect is the enemy of done. At least with the writing. There is also something primal about our resistance at the end of a project--finishing means there is another step that we fear coming after (either reviewing our work or sending it out) and our inner safety mechanisms want to protect us from that regardless of whether we actually want to take that next step or not. Really great post!
Thank you Monica. Your post today was so good. More on that coming soon. Thanks for reading and writing this response too.
This is so true about the resistance. I can feel it in my revisions now. If I say it’s finished, I have to start querying, and how will I know if it’s finished well enough… I’m very fond of brackish / shades of gray phases in life and there isn’t one in a first draft. Once it’s done, you’re in the revision stage. Can’t really go back to an unfinished draft state. Thanks for writing about this in the way you did. Helps me be more aware of it and easier (not easy) to keep pushing forward. 🙏
So glad today's post resonated. I love Substack for these connections it can generate. Good luck on your revision journey!
“I wrote five different outlines across hand-written index cards and had bulleted lists of scenes with file names like “revised initial outline 2aB.”
There has got to be a word for it here addiction of outlining. I am afflicted. I don’t write long form pieces but it is a definite problem. Only in that I can get stuck in an outline loop. (Just ask my bosses at the law office, where I am a paralegal).
I like to freewrite poetry which sometimes yields good results, other times it’s just a pile of words . But I do it with pen and paper which I like until I need to transfer the words somewhere. I like writing this way though because I breathe differently when I write by hand than when I type.
Thanks so much for this comment and for reading. Wonderful to have you here.
You’re right about the outlining/planning. There’s an odd (false?) comfort in wallowing in the planning and pining over the notion I’ll line it all up right before I start. I still catch myself getting stuck in that but have gained awareness through more daily writing, and I’m finding I don’t stay stuck as long. Def a process on this part of writing.
Love that you enjoy and find calm in writing by hand. I’ve mostly abandoned writing by hand. I edit by hand and have an instructor who’s a big proponent of it. I’m just really slow writing by hand and still have trouble reading my own writing so the ROI isn’t there for me now. But I may try it again at some point.
I call it procrastiplanning :)
good term!
Outstanding term. I’ll def use that and credit you ofc.
I'm sure I borrowed the concept from someone else! But it definitely fits that over outlining thing we tend to do when we are intimidated by the writing :)
There were stretches of truly great writing in this piece, if you’re a story teller too I predict success for your novel. Well done on completing a quixotically daunting physical challenge. You may want to consider adding pull-ups to your routine in 2025–pulling after all the pushing might rebalance your physique and lower the risk of repetitive stress injuries. This is a good program to consider: https://officercandidatesschool.com/2010/05/27/armstrong-pull-up-program/
I’d love to know more about what happened to Tommy. Are you in touch with him? Did his gritty commitment to multiple Years of Pushups win him a contented life?
Chris, thank you so much for this thoughtful reply. I swore I responded back to this and clearly I didn’t. Sorry about that. The pull-ups is a great idea. My garage is packed with but adding a pull up bar is doable. It’s so funny, the time in my life when I could do the most pull-ups and did them regularly was my first summer working at Rex Lumber.
I didn’t keep in touch with Tommy, or any of the guys at the yard. It was before social media or cell phones and I was part of the transient workforce more than the regulars- the yard had plenty of guys come in via Manpower, a few got hired on but most didn’t. I do wonder about Tommy and some of the other guys when I’m back visiting my father in CT. The way some of those guys appeared to live life is something I still think about. They were good at the board in front of them, far more than I’ve ever been.
Strong and resonant writing, I'm excited to hear about your book coming along!
Thank you Anne! Appreciate this and the kind words about the book!! 🙏
Matt, thank you for this, great pairing of the crazy challenge of the pushups with the challenge of writing a novel (which in terms of reward is even more unpredictable, as you point out). And then as a cherry on top, Tommy.
I especially liked these observations, taking them with me into my own fiction writing:
”Supermans and Triple-claps are not how you finish the Year of Push-ups.3 In my writing, I realized how damaging it is to get hung up on a single character or plot point.”
”When I sat down at night to read what I’d written that morning, I found myself looking for what I liked or could build on the next day vs. red-marking what to cut.”
Marie! Thanks so much. It’s funny, my time with Tommy was before the smartphone / take pictures of everything era. I remembered thinking as I was writing, with I could just show a picture of this guy. The work to find the right words when you don’t have a picture is at least some of what this writing thing is about. Appreciate you getting some good out of this for your writing too!
Sometimes relying on memory rather than a picture means other things stand out (or you find a picture and it shapes your memory in another direction). Would still have loved to see a photo of Tommy doing pushups in the lumberyard though.
Matt! Really resonated with how your physical discipline unlocked your creative breakthrough. I love the parallel between "Just finish it" and "Now you gotta finish" - sometimes the simplest advice cuts through our mental barriers. I should try this for myself!
Thanks KZ! So true on simple advice. In an earlier draft I had more on Mark and his questions to me when I started, why, what am I hoping to gain (ie strength, endurance, etc). My response was simple, I just wanted to finish it. I’d tried before and never did. Was a mountain to climb type thing. So when he gave that advice in Sept, I’m not sure if he remembered that original conversation- it was 9 months prior. But his response was pretty damn cool. I couldn’t have written it better. When the goal is to finish, put all your focus on what it takes to finish.
Outstanding! The original essay didn't need many tweaks, but the ones you made really put this over the top. The post is almost as impressive as the 75K pushups.
Thank you Larry for the help on it. Appreciate it. Grateful to be in Write Hearted with you!
Such a powerful piece – I’ll be thinking of this today, getting a little extra nudge.
“revised initial outline 2aB” – when I read things like this, it helps me visualise what is a behemoth of a task you’re taking on. So impressive.
PS – Tommy deserves his own series!
Thank you Claire for your read and help on this one. You and Rick spotted something I’d missed and it really helped me bring balance to the essay. Appreciate you!
Great piece, Matt, and what an achievement! Or rather, what achievements plural! Tommy sounds quite the character. I’m curious: have you been carrying on into a second year of push-ups since those first five on January 1st or do you only attempt the Year of Push-Ups when it’s a leap year? 👏
I did but won’t commit to every single day. It was a very cool mountain to climb. I’m focused on being more intentional this year about active rest days (walking, hiking, swimming) vs doing that much of the same exercise. Aim is for better overall health vs more of that particular challenge. I added in gratitude journal (list 3 different things each day) for my everyday goal this year. And thank you for reading here and in Write Hearted - appreciate all the support!
Matt. I laughed out loud several times - especially the I-ROC and mullet reference. And I found myself scrolling up to reread several passages for their poignancy and wisdom. And then you stuck the landing in the ending pal,
“They also helped me build a healthy habit for daily writing, a way to show up and quiet the voices every day—or let them be heard. Some of my favorite nights last year were me on the floor, against the clock, doing push-ups at 11:48 to finish 265 before the clock struck midnight. Favorite mornings? Pre-dawn, my laptop screen as the room’s only light, music on, coffee, and my dog at my side. The scary prose can run, but if you put in the reps and write through the finish line, the long shadow of the cave dies in the light of your words.”
An epic piece. I hope you feel as proud as the depth of its impact. 👏👏
Thank you James! Appreciate the thoughtful comments and grateful you enjoyed it. Those lumber yard guys were a hoot, man. Tried to get some of the good moments in this one but there certainly are more where those came from. Sincere thanks for the read and support.
Congrats on this milestone! Very impressive. It was there for the taking and you snatched it (albeit, not without difficulty lol).
Would've loved to see before/after pec measurements.
Thank you Tahsin! I’ll shoot you a note on some of the health stuff. It was a trip, to say the least.
Great stuff here Matt…it really spoke to me on having that daily physical movement/exercise routine, and how that carries over to my work and writing. Exercise the body to crank up the mind.
Love it. Thank you for reading! So glad to hear you’ve experienced similar positive benefits in your work and writing.