How to Do More Pushups – Increase Pushup Reps
So you’ve decided to challenge yourself to do as many repetitions of pushups as possible, but the reps aren’t as high as you would like them to be. If you want to improve your pushup count quickly then you’ve come to the right place. Try these tips to do more pushups.
1. Use Proper Pushup Form
To be able to increase the number of pushups so you can do as many repetitions as possible, you need to make sure your form is in check.
This is because incorrect form makes the movement inefficient to perform by causing you to rely on weaker muscles. Overall, this make the exercise harder and causes you to perform fewer reps.
Fix your form by making sure you:
- Are keeping your abs and glutes tight to keep your body straight.
- Placing your hands are shoulder width apart and under the level of your shoulders.
- Keeping your shoulders and scapulae are pulled back.
- Don’t flare your elbows out to the side and keep them tucked closer to your body.
2. Gradually Do More Pushups
Your goal is to be able to do more pushups. You won’t be able to drop down and increase your pushup count to 100 overnight, but if you take things slow you’ll get there one day.
Therefore, you should always be gradually increasing the number of pushups you are performing. You can do this by increasing the total number of pushups you are doing:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Every Set
You should always be seeking to increase the total number of pushups you are performing, but how fast you increase this number is entirely up to you. It doesn’t matter if you can increase repetitions by 100 or by 1. The important thing is you are consistently progressing.
3. Do Pushups more Often
If you’re looking to improve your pushups then you need to practice it. This will teach your body to recruit the most efficient motor units for the exercise, therefore it will become easier to perform over time.
With more practice, your form will improve and the exercise will become easier, so you will be able to perform more repetitions of pushups.
By training the pushup more often you will also be able to stimulate growth in the muscles used for pushups more often, leading to further improvements in the exercise.
Try to work on your pushups at least 3 days per week, with a day between workouts to rest and recover.
4. Train until Failure to Build Pushup Endurance
If your goal is to do as much pushups as possible, then you are already aiming to train until failure. Therefore, by training until failure more often, your body will get used to the pain, fatigue and lactic acid burn you will experience when doing higher repetitions.
Training until failure will also give your muscles a strong stimulus to grow and adapt to this style of training, so when they return they return stronger and less likely to fatigue sooner
This makes you more likely to get those extra reps you need to increase your pushup count.
5. Include Eccentric Pushups
This is the negative part of the pushup where you are lowering your chest to the floor. This is also the part of the exercise which stimulate muscle and strength development the most. You can easily perform the eccentric part of the pushup when you are already fatigued to push your muscle past failure.
This will translate into more muscle growth and more reps of pushups over time. Aim to take around 3 seconds when you are lowering your chest to the floor.
6. Include Isometric Pushups
An isometric contraction is where a muscle is contracting without changing its length. An isometric pushup will involve holding a pushup position, either in the top, bottom or middle of the pushup.
This is easier to perform and can be used to stimulate further growth after your muscles are already fatigued from pushups. Try to hold an isometric pushup for as long as possible so that you build muscle endurance for those high reps of pushups you’re aiming for.
7. Add Resistance to your Pushups
This can be in the form of a weighted vest, a backpack or resistance bands. Including resistance makes the pushup harder, but allows you to stimulate more muscle growth.
You won’t be able to do as much reps with the added resistance, however, over time the extra muscle built will help you perform more repetitions when you remove the resistance.
8. Include Pushup Variations
Pushup variations will allow you to train the muscles involved at a different angle, giving them more room to grow. They will also address any muscle imbalances that may be holding back your pushup performance.
You can use harder variations to reach muscle failure sooner and stimulate more muscle growth. Easier variations can help you to push past failure when your muscles are already fatigued and build the endurance you need to perform more pushups without getting tired.
9. Perform Pushups Faster
By performing pushups faster you will ignore the eccentric part of the exercise which causes muscle damage. This delays fatigue to allow you to perform more repetitions.
However, this will not be optimal to build the strength and muscle to assist in improving the pushup. Therefore, faster reps should only be used when you are testing the maximum number of reps you can perform.
10. Rest Between Sets
If you rest for longer periods between your sets of pushups you will be less fatigued and be able to perform more pushups in your workout. This increases your total training volume which leads to increased strength and muscle growth.
Additionally, because every set will have higher repetitions your body will get more accustomed to high rep training. All of this will help you to increase your pushup number over time.
11. Focus on Recovery
Your workouts damage your muscles. When they recover, they come back bigger and stronger, and able to do more pushups. However, if our muscles don’t recover then they will be too tired and weak to perform optimally. Several things improve recovery:
- Sleep- this is where your muscle is growing and repairing itself so aim for at least 8 hours per night.
- Nutrition- the food you eat supplies the energy for you to move and the building blocks for your muscle so aim to eat a balanced diet.
You should aim to take a day of rest between your pushup workouts so that your muscles recover between each workout. That way you’ll be able to perform more reps in the next workout and continue progressing.
12. Strengthen the Muscles Used in Pushups
If you grow and strengthen the muscles that are used for pushups, then they will be stronger when you are doing pushups. By improving one you will improve the other.
Perform exercises that build core strength and upper body strength. The main muscle groups I will focus on would be:
- Chest- perform chest presses and flys
- Shoulders- perform shoulder presses and lateral raises
- Triceps- perform triceps extensions
- Abs- perform planks and situps
These muscles would already be developed using pushups and pushup variations, so only include these additional exercises if you know that they are a limiting factor in your pushups.
13. Do Cardio
Higher reps of pushups are not only taxing on your muscles but on your cardiovascular system as well. You don’t want get out of breath in the middle of your set of pushups.
Therefore, make sure your heart can supply your muscles with enough oxygen and nutrients to perform more pushups by including some form of cardiovascular exercise in your workout program.
Putting it All Together
Follow a sensible training program that trains your muscles effectively and allows them to grow and recover stronger. This will allow you to continue progressing and do more and more pushups. To make sure you are increasing your pushups in your training program:
Set a Baseline
Before you start using all of these tips to increase your pushup number, it is important to be able to monitor if you are progressing. Get down on the floor and do as much pushups as you can. Take a note of it and compare it whenever you test your maximum pushup count again.
Record your Progress
You won’t always be maxing out the number of pushups you’re doing on your program. But it’s important to note that you are progressing by getting stronger and building muscle. Record the number of repetitions, variations, resistance and how easy the exercises feel to be able to gauge your progression.
You can compare your progression on a daily basis, weekly or even monthly. As long as you are continuing to progress and improve your pushup strength in some way, your pushup number will increase.
Beginner Program to Increase Pushup Reps
This is a sample beginner program to help you put together all of the tips I’ve given you. Remember to set a baseline before you begin. Workouts are on 3 days of the week. These can be any days, as long as there is a day to rest in between.
| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| A | Rest | B | Rest | A | Rest | Rest |
Workout A– This is a high repetition day where the focus is to go for as much reps as possible to build muscle endurance. Aim to increase reps between Monday and Friday.
- Pushups – 3 sets until failure
- Incline Pushups- 3 sets until failure
- Eccentric Pushups- 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Plank- hold for as long as possible
Workout B– This is a day between the high repetition workouts where you focus on building muscle strength. The lower repetitions will help you recover between high rep workouts.
- Weighted Pushups- 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Decline Pushups- 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Diamond Pushups- 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Pushups- 2 sets of 20 repetitions
Follow all of these tips and you’ll be sure to increase the number of repetitions of pushups you can perform. If you like this workout, make sure to check out more Beginner Chest Workouts and The Best Chest Workout at Home without Equipment.
References:
Adams, G., Cheng, D., Haddad, F. and Baldwin, K., 2004. Skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to isometric, lengthening, and shortening training bouts of equivalent duration. Journal of Applied Physiology, 96(5), pp.1613-1618.
Hsiu-Hao Hsu, et al. Effect of Push-up Speed on Upper Extremity Training until Fatigue. (2010). Journal Of Medical And Biological Engineering, 31(4), 289-293.
Paul Pei-Hsi Chou, et al. Effect of Pushup Speed on Elbow Joint Loading. (2010). Journal Of Medical And Biological Engineering, 31(4), 289-293.
Cogley, Robert M ; Archambault, Teasha A ; Fibeger, Jon F ; Koverman, Mandy M ; et al . Comparison of Muscle Activation using Various Hand Positions during the Pushup Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research ; Champaign Volume 19, No. 3, (Aug 2005): 628-33. DOI: 10.1519 / 00124278-200508000-00024
Schoenfeld, B.J., Ogborn, D. & Krieger, J.W. Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med 46, 1689–1697 (2016).
