6-Week Push-up Quest
If you have not read my post on the importance of push-ups please read that first by clicking here.
Once you are convinced that you want to increase your push-up capacity, this 12-week program should help you reach your goals. One goal is for men to be able to do 40 push-ups as research conducting by the Harvard School of Public Health.
So how many push-ups should you be able to do? You can find many different suggestions regarding how many push-ups you should be able to do. Each military branch has differing numbers, the Academy of Sports Medicine also has its own numbers as does the YMCA (see below).
Our goal with this program is to help you reach your goals to help you obtain a level of Health & Wellness via upper body muscular endurance. This is only one facet of a holistic approach to Health & Wellness, but research is clear that upper body muscular strength and endurance is critical for Health & Wellness.
Table: Push Up Test norms for MEN*
| Age | 17-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60-65 |
| Excellent | > 56 | > 47 | > 41 | > 34 | > 31 | > 30 |
| Good | 47-56 | 39-47 | 34-41 | 28-34 | 25-31 | 24-30 |
| Above average | 35-46 | 30-39 | 25-33 | 21-28 | 18-24 | 17-23 |
| Average | 19-34 | 17-29 | 13-24 | 11-20 | 9-17 | 6-16 |
| Below average | 11-18 | 10-16 | 8-12 | 6-10 | 5-8 | 3-5 |
| Poor | 4-10 | 4-9 | 2-7 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 1-2 |
| Very Poor | < 4 | < 4 | < 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Table: Push Up Test norms for WOMEN*
| Age | 17-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60-65 |
| Excellent | > 35 | > 36 | > 37 | > 31 | > 25 | > 23 |
| Good | 27-35 | 30-36 | 30-37 | 25-31 | 21-25 | 19-23 |
| Above Average | 21-27 | 23-29 | 22-30 | 18-24 | 15-20 | 13-18 |
| Average | 11-20 | 12-22 | 10-21 | 8-17 | 7-14 | 5-12 |
| Below average | 6-10 | 7-11 | 5-9 | 4-7 | 3-6 | 2-4 |
| Poor | 2-5 | 2-6 | 1-4 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Very Poor | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Source: adapted from Golding, et al. (1986). The Y’s way to physical fitness (3rd ed.)
The Quest
The quest can be started at any time. All of the information below are guidelines and suggestions. If you have not been exercising, you should always consult with your physician first.
THE PUSH-UP QUEST is a 6-week, 12 assignment quest to help you reach your goals of increasing your push-up capacity.
Pacing: Each week has two assignments. The 1st assignment of each week is a test, and the second assignment of each week is a work-out to help you reach your goal.
You need at least 2 days of rest in between each assignment. Here are some suggestions of how to break these down:
- Monday & Thursday
- Tuesday & Friday
As long as you keep a minimum of 2 days rest in between each assignment, you will be fine. And you may find that your schedule changes from week to week.
This quest is designed for you to perform at home with little to no equipment and if any equipment is used, it is equipment that you should find in your home (like a chair, a stack of books, etc.).
ASSIGNMENTS
| Week | Workout# | Assignment | Example Results | |
| Week 1 | # 1 | As many push-ups as possible | 43 | |
| # 2 | Take the number of push-ups performed in assignment #1 and perform 3 sets of half of that amount and a 4th set with As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) | 3 x 22 1 x 33 (AMRAP) | ||
| Week 2 | # 3 | As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) Whether you are only doing push-ups or you are on this Quest to increase your push-up capacity, today is As Many Reps As Possible Day. If you have a current fitness routine (jogging, treadmill, home gym workout, etc) warm-up and start your work out with today’s assignment. | 48 | |
| # 4 | Super slow. Preferable performed with a stopwatch (or metronome) • Start in push-up position. • Begin stopwatch • Lower yourself for numbers 1-9 • Push-up back up during 10 • Lower yourself for numbers 11-19 • Push-up on 20 • Continue until you cannot perform any more push-ups • Rest for 2 minutes • Repeat this for 3 more cycles (4 sets total) | 6,5,3,2 | ||
| Week 3 | # 5 | AMRAP As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) Whether you are only doing push-ups or you are on this Quest to increase your push-up capacity, today is As Many Reps As Possible Day. If you have a current fitness routine (jogging, treadmill, home gym workout, etc) warm-up and start your work out with today’s assignment. | 50 | |
| # 6 | Incline Push-ups • Take the number of push-ups performed on your last AMRAP work out to determine your goal for the first three sets (ex. If you cranked out 14 earlier this week, you will be performing 3 sets of 7 for today’s workout followed by set to failure (AMRAP) • Find a chair, table, stool, yoga blocks, two large phone books, or any STABLE surface where you can perform push-ups with your feet on the floor and your hands on the elevated surface. • NOTE: the higher the elevation, the easier the exercise, so find an elevation that works best for your current fitness level. • Perform 3 sets striving to get to half of your most recent max. • Rest as long as needed in between (1-2 minutes) • For set 4, do As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) • Right down this number. Share any positive numbers! | |||
| Week 4 | # 7 | AMRAP As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) Whether you are only doing push-ups or you are on this Quest to increase your push-up capacity, today is As Many Reps As Possible Day. If you have a current fitness routine (jogging, treadmill, home gym workout, etc) warm-up and start your work out with today’s assignment. | ||
| # 8 | Decline Push-ups • Take the number of push-ups performed on your last AMRAP work out to determine your goal for the first three sets (ex. If you cranked out 14 earlier this week, you will be performing 3 sets of 7 for today’s workout followed by one set to failure (AMRAP) • Find a bench, chair, low table, stool, or any STABLE surface where you can perform push-ups with your feet on the elevated surface and your hands on the floor. • NOTE: the higher the elevation, the harder the exercise, so find an elevation that works best for your current fitness level. This can be from a few inches to a couple of feet high. • Perform 3 sets striving to get to half of your most recent max. • Rest as long as needed in between (1-2 minutes) • For set 4, do As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) • Right down this number. Share any positive numbers! | |||
| Week 5 | # 9 | AMRAP As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) Whether you are only doing push-ups or you are on this Quest to increase your push-up capacity, today is As Many Reps As Possible Day. If you have a current fitness routine (jogging, treadmill, home gym workout, etc) warm-up and start your work out with today’s assignment. | ||
| # 10 | 4 Sets Today 1. AMRAP (as many reps as possible) 2. Super slow As Many Reps As Possible (see workout #4 for instructions) 3. Diamond Push-ups AMRAP 4. Diamond Push-ups AMRAP Diamond push-ups are very similar to regular push-ups except you place your hands in a position where your thumbs and pointer fingers are touching (this will create a diamond shape). This movement will stress the back of your arms more than a regular push-up. Modifications: If this movement is too difficult or hurts in a not good way, you can bring your hands closer together than a normal push up but not touching your thumbs and fingers or you can change this movement to an incline and perform it with your hands on a sturdy chair or bench. | |||
| Week 6 | # 11 | AMRAP As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) Whether you are only doing push-ups or you are on this Quest to increase your push-up capacity, today is As Many Reps As Possible Day. If you have a current fitness routine (jogging, treadmill, home gym workout, etc) warm-up and start your work out with today’s assignment. | ||
| # 12 | 100 push-ups. Perform 100 push-ups. Take as many sets as you need but perform 100 push-ups today (preferable in one sitting but take as much time as you need). If this is too easy then make it 200 or more. The point. for today’s quest is to do a ton of push-ups. | |||
| FINAL | AMRAP As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) Whether you are only doing push-ups or you are on this Quest to increase your push-up capacity, today is As Many Reps As Possible Day. If you have achieved your goal, CONGRATULATIONS!! If you want to continue to improve. and want more variations to help you get to your goal email me (chris@chrisparkswellness.com) |
