The number of push-ups is often used as a yardstick to measure oneself against other (strength) athletes. The "magic limit" is 100 - anyone who achieves this number of repetitions is "super athletic and well-trained. However, you can't simply achieve this physical feat off the cuff. Instead, specific training is required.
You want to do 100 push-ups in the shortest possible time? In this article you will learn everything you need to know!
Digression: How 100 push-ups affect the body
The push-up is an extremely effective whole-body exercise that targets many muscle groups simultaneously (see below). With the horizontal pushing movement you not only build muscles, but also improve your coordination and sense of balance. It also improves mobility in the shoulder/chest area. And because the workout strengthens the supporting muscles, 100 push-ups ensure a healthy posture and an upright gait. Of course, always provided that you perform the exercise correctly!
These muscles are trained
- Large pectoral muscle (= target muscle)
- Triceps
- Front part of the deltoid muscle
- Cartilage muscle
- Front saw muscle
100 push-ups: execution and what to consider
To perform push-ups correctly, get on your knees and support yourself with your hands in front of your body (at about chest level). The hands are slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
Now extend your legs backward to place your feet on your toes. Build body tension so that your torso, head and legs form a straight line. Your head is in line with your spine and your gaze is directed towards the floor.
Once you have assumed this starting position, perform the 100 push-ups as follows.
- Lower your body down (keep the tension!).
- Your elbows point outward and the force comes exclusively from your chest and arms.
- Inhale during the downward movement.
- As soon as your nose almost touches the floor, exhale while pushing yourself back up.
- Important: Avoid so-called press breathing and when returning to the starting position, make sure that your elbows are not fully extended. In other words, there should always be a slight bend in the elbow joints, otherwise the joints will quickly become overstressed.
Video for perfect execution:
Save your wrists!
Many exercisers perform the 100 push-ups with their hands flat on the floor. However, this leads to an overextension of the wrists, which can lead to great pain in the long run. In addition, the strain on the chest muscles is not optimal with this hand position.
For these reasons, it is recommended to perform the push-ups on the fists. This keeps the wrists in a straight position during the workout. However, it must be said that the pressure on the fingers in this position can cause pain. In this case, you should get a pair of push-up grips, also called push-up bars also called push-up bars. This equipment is probably the best option for your chest workout!
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In rest lies strength
Another problem regarding the topic of 100 push-ups: many people claim that they can do this number of repetitions with their left hand. Often, however, the push-ups are only performed halfway or much too quickly - goodbye training effect!
So always lower your body all the way down and don't return to the starting position halfway through; one repetition should take at least two seconds.
More tips about 100 push-ups
1) Before the push-up challenge, make sure the exercise is performed correctly (see above). This will help you prevent incorrect stresses and injuries.
2) Allow your body sufficient regeneration. Otherwise, the goal of achieving 100 push-ups is doomed to failure.
3) Your training should always be holistic: train also the opponents (back, biceps, ...) to avoid muscular imbalances.
Furthermore, you must always warm up properly before training - as before any workout! Circle your shoulders, wrists, etc. to prepare muscles, tendons and bones for the upcoming load.
100 push-ups: useful preliminary exercises
If you are still far away from the 100 push-ups, i.e. if you can't manage too many push-ups yet, you can make use of the following pre-exercises.
Push-ups with knees.
This exercise variation reduces the load from the body weight, so you can do more repetitions right away. The execution remains the same, your knees just rest on the floor.
Push-ups on the wall
You can also push off the wall at an angle (while standing) to reduce the load of the body weight. Or you can take the classic position and support yourself with your hands on a slight elevation (e.g. stair step or chair).
- Note: The above variations are a good way to keep you motivated if you can't do too many "real" push-ups yet.
Body tension is key!
Regardless of how far away you are from doing 100 push-ups, you must have sufficient body tension for the exercise. During the push-ups your body only has contact with the floor in two places (hands and toes) - there is a great danger of falling into a hollow back or similar. A good preliminary exercise in terms of body tension:
- Stand upright and shoulder-width apart.
- Build up tension in your legs.
- Tighten your buttocks to the maximum (imaginary help: wedge a penny between the buttocks).
- Pull your belly button inward (à your lumbar spine becomes "flatter"; opposite of hollow back).
- Pull your shoulder blades back, down; your sternum straightens. This stabilizes the shoulder girdle.
- Pull your chin inward so that the cervical spine also experiences stabilization.
- Note: 100 push-ups are a great challenge for body and mind. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you master the exercise perfectly and have good body tension.
How to train correctly
Before you learn how to work towards the enormous number of repetitions of push-ups in the next section, here are a few general tips:
Know that you'll never reach 100 push-ups if you always just do as many reps as you can manage. And training in "classic" sets (e.g. three sets of 12 reps) is also not very helpful. Instead, you can make use of these methods, for example:
Pyramid.
Increase according to the repetition pattern 5 - 10 - 15 - 20. Once you have completed the last push-ups, you reverse the whole thing: 20 - 15 - 10 - 5 repetitions.
Blocks of 10.
Perform 10 x 10 push-ups. And do them in a period of 15 to 30 minutes.
Reducing load.
First perform 25 negative, then 25 "conventional", 25 kneeling and finally 25 push-ups on the wall.
It should be noted that too much frequency in training - whether 20 or 100 push-ups - creates a tremendous risk of injury. So stick to the rule of thumb that a repetition should last at least two seconds (1 s down, 1 s up).
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Your individual training plan
The following training plan will help you achieve 100 pushups. Since everyone starts with a different performance level, you have to adapt the plan to your individual requirements.
A training session basically consists of five sets. Each of these sets has its own training level.
- Note: The plan presented here is only a suggestion. This means that there are other ways to achieve the 100 push-ups (see above).
Overview: Sets for your training plan
Set |
Explanation |
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
|
5 |
|
- Important: To achieve the long-term goal of 100 push-ups in a row, you should pause for about 60 seconds between each set.
To avoid stagnation, you must increase from training session to training session. The extent of this increase depends on your starting level before the first workout:
Maximum repetitions of push-ups |
Increase per training session |
Up to 10 |
+ 1 |
Between 11 and 20 |
+ 2 |
21 to 40 |
+ 3 |
41 till 60 |
+ 4 |
Between 61 and 70 |
+ 5 |
71 to 80 |
+ 6 |
Everything above |
+ 7 |
If you don't manage 100 pushups at the beginning of your training, but for example ten repetitions, this means the following for your plan.
Training day |
Set |
Push-up repetitions |
1 |
Test |
maximum |
2 |
Regeneration |
- |
3 |
1 2 3 4 5 |
5 8 6 6 max. (classical position + kneeling) |
4 |
Regeneration |
- |
5 |
1 2 3 4 5 |
6 9 7 7 max. (classical position + kneeling) |
6 |
Regeneration |
- |
7 |
1 2 3 4 5 |
7 10 8 8 max. (classic position + kneeling) |
8 |
Regeneration |
- |
9 |
Regeneration |
- |
10 |
Test |
maximum |
- Addition to the 100 pushups training plan: Day 10 is "equated" with day 1 of your training plan, i.e. on this day a new maximum test is performed. The next day you take a break and then continue with the corresponding number of repetitions (on day 12 or 2).
Note that there should always be at least (!) 24 hours between two training sessions. This is the only way your muscles can recover from the strain and you will be powerful enough again to work towards the 100 pushups.
The best time of day for the workout has proven to be the morning. If you don't manage to complete a training day in its entirety, you should repeat it after recovery. Always increase only when you have completed all five sets!
- Excursus on the subject of push-ups every day: Experienced athletes know that it does not make sense to train (the same muscle group) every day. Especially if the goal is to build muscle. To achieve this, it is sufficient in principle to address each muscle group only once a week. If this is not enough for you, you can, for example, do narrow push-ups once a week and wide push-ups once a week.
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More advanced tips to perfect your push-ups.
You can add some more exercises to your workout plan to develop more strength and reach the goal of 100 push -ups:
Push-up Plank Hold
You know the push-up and you know the plank (forearm hold). Combine these two exercises by getting into the push-up starting position and holding it (e.g. 3 x 30 seconds). In this way you improve your body tension; strong core muscles are a prerequisite for correctly performed push-ups.
Plank-to-Push-up
With this exercise (also known as forearm push-up) you also promote core stability and strengthen your abdominal muscles - the best prerequisites for achieving 100 push-ups!
- Position your knees and forearms on the floor; your elbows should be under your shoulders.
- Extend your legs back, place your toes on the floor and bring your entire body into a straight line.
- Tighten your abdominal muscles and be careful not to buckle at the hips; your gaze is directed towards the floor.
- Maintain body tension and push up with one arm.
- Pull the other arm to support yourself off the floor with both arms (like a push-up).
- Now return to the starting position in a controlled manner by placing the "first" forearm back on the floor; the other arm remains extended.
- Place the second forearm on the floor as well.
- Perform the next repetition.
- Note: In order to train the trunk evenly and to achieve the 100 push-ups, change the order of stretching the arms every now and then.
Reverse push-ups
This means that you do not focus on the push-up, but on the downward movement of the push-up. That is, get into the starting position of the push-up and lower your body down as slowly as possible (for at least five seconds). Once you reach the bottom, briefly put the weight down to continue directly with the next repetition. Perform three sets of ten repetitions. This will improve the overall strength of your chest muscles.
Conclusion: Do 100 push-ups...
... with our tips you can do it in no time! Well, it's not that easy, i.e. you have to train diligently and "keep at it". But if you stick to our tips, you'll make quick progress and soon amaze your friends with a "top performance".
- Final tip: Depending on your training level and your willingness to experiment, you can complete the 100 push-ups in different "disciplines" (diamond push-ups, wide push-ups, one-arm push-ups, elevated push-ups, ...).
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