But keeping fit does not have to be a time-consuming task. Believe it or not, no matter how busy you are, you already have all the equipment you need to stay fit and healthy.

And the good news is that you don't have to quit your high-paying job, give up fun, or sacrifice family and friends. Push-ups are some of the easiest and most effective all-purpose exercises that benefit people of all ages, from teenagers to the elderly. The workout program in this book is designed to help you improve your fitness in just 7 weeks so that you can do 100 push-ups in one go.

The beauty of this plan is its simplicity. The workouts are designed for people with any level of fitness and do not require any special equipment. You can do push-ups anywhere and, most importantly, absolutely free - you do not need to buy expensive equipment or a year's subscription to the gym.

Classical push-ups have been tested by time; they are the most effective exercise for strengthening the chest, arms, lower back, abs and buttocks at the same time. In other words, it takes the same effort to raise the body up and lower it down, and just these controlled movements are best for the growth of a variety of muscles that have to perform three types of contractions: concentric, eccentric and isometric.

Push-ups are useful in many ways. They increase the endurance of your upper body muscles, strengthen your muscles and bones, increase your muscle mass, which leads to better metabolism, and, needless to say, help you stay fit and healthy. If you simply want to form a great musculature of the chest, arms, and shoulder girdle, you will not find anything better than this program. On top of that, I can guarantee that the muscle strength of your midsection, or center, will increase many times over.

As a fairly old, but still performing runner, I belatedly admit that I have neglected upper body strength development in the past. Recently, however, I realized the importance of developing muscular strength and endurance, so I searched for exercises that were uncomplicated but fairly time-consuming.

The solution I soon found was good old-fashioned push-ups, a classic compound exercise for developing endurance in my chest, shoulder girdle and arms. The logic I followed was simple: increasing my upper body strength would help me improve my potential as a runner, and in the final stretch of the course, when running becomes tremendously difficult, my overall strength would help me cross the finish line. I especially liked the simplicity of this type of exercise, and the fact that push-ups can be done anywhere and without any special equipment. I spent some time researching various existing plans and training techniques, and the rest, as they say, was a matter of technique. Each year an adult loses up to 2 percent of their muscle mass, and as a result they can lose up to 50 percent of their muscle mass over their lifetime, which results in decreased strength, increased risk of injury, and increased fatty deposits. However, the good news is that regular exercise increases muscle fibers and helps prevent body degradation by building up the strength of the remaining muscles. In addition, strength training has been scientifically proven to reverse the aging-related loss of muscle mass and bone density in many cases.

I'm well aware that the scariest thing to do is to take the first step. That's why this book includes, among other things, information on basic warm-up and stretching techniques, and the program itself is presented in several variations for different fitness levels and age groups. Besides, you will find here motivation tips and description of correct technique of push-ups, and at the same time you will get acquainted with some alternative ways of doing push-ups that can be useful too.

Still not sure if this program is right for you? Read testimonials from people who did 100 push-ups in one go after seven weeks, and who have actually experienced the impact regular strength training had on their lives.

About the book

Without focused effort and disciplined execution of a plan, it's impossible to achieve fitness improvements. After an initial test to determine your fitness level, this book will help you successfully overcome the challenges of a seven-week program at the end of which you will feel like a new person. Hundreds of people just like you have already gone through this program and have been amazed at the results. All it will take from you is a desire to succeed, a strong determination, and some time to practice.

This book has four parts, each with a specific goal.

PART 1 offers an overview of the seven-week program, the proper way to do push-ups and their effectiveness, and the benefits of following a structured workout program. It includes feedback from those who have successfully completed the program, answers to the most popular questions and a description of the steps to take before starting the program.

PART 2 contains six different workout plans: two ten-week programs for beginners, two seven-week intermediate programs for intermediate athletes and two seven-week programs for advanced athletes. It also includes an easy-to-follow fitness plan to help you stay at the peak of your newfound strength. PART 3 introduces several alternative types of push-ups that may be of interest to those who have mastered traditional techniques and are ready to try more advanced variations.

Information inserts on record-breaking push-ups are scattered throughout the book.

Do you think 100 push-ups is cool? On October 5, 1965, Chuck Lin-ster performed 6,006 push-ups in a row. On Feb. 5, 1976, Robert Lewis Knecht bettered his achievement by doing 7,026 push-ups; A year later, on Sept. 1, 1977, Henry Marshall did 7,650 push-ups. In October 1980, Japan's Minoru Yoshida surpassed them all by doing 10,507 push-ups without stopping.