The Push-Up Challenge: 100 Push-Ups a Day for 30 Days

The Pushup Challenge is when you do 100 pushups a day for 30 days in a row.

It’s the perfect way to create a new exercises habit and build discipline.

It is also a great workout routine that works wonders for your body, and it requires no gym or exercise equipment.

Meaning you can get started right here, right now, at this very moment.

So, let’s get to it shall we?

The 100 Push Ups a Day for 30 Days Challenge

The rules of the challenge are simple:

Rule #1: You do 100 Pushups every day for 30 days in a row.

Rule #2: If you fail to do 100 pushups in a day then you start over.

That’s it. It’s a pass or fail system.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move on to the critical piece of the challenge: Actually being able to do a push up.

Master the Pushup

As a man you must know how to do a pushup properly.

It’s one of the fundamental bodyweight exercises you need to get fit.

Pushups primarily work the chest, shoulders and triceps, but it’s really a total body exercise that builds muscle all over.

How to Do a Push Up

Lay face down on the ground, place your hands flat on the floor, prop up on your tippy-toes and press your palms into the floor to raise yourself up.

Keep your body in a straight line from your head to your heels.

Push yourself up until your arms are straight then lower yourself back down until your chest is one inch from the ground.

Now push yourself back up until your arms are straight again. That’s a push up.

Do that 99 more times and you can put Day 1 in the bank.

What if you can’t do one push up?

Hey, you gotta start somewhere, so if you’ve never done a pushup before, start slow. There’s no shame in doing ‘girly’ pushups, which are the same as regular push ups, but with your knees on the floor so it’s easier.

Build your strength this way until you can do a regular pushup. Then do 10 pushups. Take as much time as you need. Focus on your form and the feeling of your muscles working.

Tomorrow do 15 pushups. Then 20 pushups the next day.

Keep doing 5 pushups more than the day before.

Eventually you will work up to 100, and when you do – Congratulations! You’ve completed Day One.

Just 29 days to go.

Why Do the Pushup Challenge?

The simple answer is that pushups get results.

If you want a bigger, stronger upper body, without having to spend a dime or risk getting injured, then pushups are the way to go.

Just look at Herschel Walker who built his physique doing 2,000 pushups a day. He’s been at it for 40+ years and never missed a day.

There are many benefits to doing the push ups challenge. These are some of the changes I noticed over the course of 30 days:

Bigger Chest and Arms

My chest got bigger and wider, and my pec muscle bellies appeared more ‘full’.

My arms also got thicker and more defined. Especially my shoulders and triceps.

Muscle Definition

Now I can see muscle fiber striations in my chest and shoulders when flexing that wasn’t there before.

Sharp Shoulders

Push ups helped me build nice, big, round shoulders. Bigger shoulders also gave me more width.

I Got Stronger

I could bench press more weight after doing push ups every day.

My shoulder press and tricep exercises also saw a jump in weight I could lift as well.

I Got Leaner

Doing push ups every day helped me recomposition my body, making me leaner and more muscular.

The daily exercise meant I was building muscle while burning fat at the same time.

Better ‘V-Taper’

I built muscle all around my arms and ribcage (Chest, back, shoulders) plus my abs and obliques got tighter.

The result was my upper body got a nice ‘V’ shape.

Balanced Chest Muscles

Even my lagging right pec appeared to beef up a little. It’s notorious for not responding well to training.

Pushups helped improve the symmetry of my chest muscles, which is something I’ve struggled with for a long time.

I’ve had imbalanced pecs my whole life. Within a few weeks I noticed my lagging right chest muscle catching up to my right. My overall appearance improved from the muscular symmetry.

Better Mind-Muscle Connection

Mind-Muscle connection is the most valuable skill to have when it comes to building muscle.

The more you can control the muscle with your mind the more you can make it grow.

I notice better pectoral engagement since completing the push up challenge.

Increased Muscle Endurance

You can expect to get stronger and your muscle endurance will shoot through the roof. 

I started the challenge being able to do about 25 pushups in a row. By the 30th day I could almost do 50 in a row without stopping.

Not a bad list of benefits.

On top of that, completing the challenge gives you a sense of accomplishment.

It’s something you can be proud of. You’re building physical and mental strength by fulfilling a commitment.

The Real Benefit of the Pushup Challenge

Sure, I got bigger, stronger and felt great by doing 100 pushups a day, but the real benefit of doing them for 30 days straight is DISCIPLINE.

Discipline is a very important skill to develop. It’s the skill of conquering your self.

Discipline means doing things you know you should, when you should, even if you don’t feel like it.

I can tell you that I did NOT want to do pushups every day.

Some days I put it off until almost midnight. There were times when I almost fell asleep before doing my daily pushups. I had to force myself to do them, and I did.

The point here is this:

If you can do 100 push ups every single day for 30 days straight, you have ‘staying power’. You have grit. And grit is the number one factor that determines success.

Build Discipline and Develop Grit

Can you push through things you don’t want to do even though you know you should?

Can you make your self uncomfortable in the name of self improvement?

Will you stick to your commitment that you made to yourself, or give up at the first sign of hardship?

Can pursue your goal relentlessly when things get tough?

The 30 Day Pushup Challenge is a good way to find out what you’re made of.

Fitness is a long game, and the the person that wins in the long run does things they don’t want to do because they know it will pay off.

Trust the process, and once you see the results of your hard work, you’ll begin to love it. You will realize that it’s well worth the effort.

The Push Up Challenge: It’s All on You

Personal accountability is key here. No one cares if you do 100 pushups a day or not. No one cares if you quit.

You have to care.

So, if you’re up for the challenge and want to build some muscle, then make a commitment to finish before you start.

Either do it or don’t.

It takes grit, it takes resolve, and sometimes you have to do push ups even when you don’t want to.

But trust me, the price you pay is small compared to the rewards.

Completing the pushup challenge will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment. It will also give you a bigger set of pecs, shoulders and arms to show off at the beach, or bedroom, or anywhere really.

100 Push ups a Day Results

Who Should Do the Pushup Challenge?

Anyone can do the pushup challenge.

Even if you have to do one push up at a time and rest a minute in between. Anyone with arms can do pushups every day.

If you can’t do a pushup then do pushups from your knees. And keep doing them this way until you can do a regular pushup.

What matters is that you get better. The goal is to get stronger by doing more and more pushups every day.

It doesn’t matter if it takes you a week, a month, or a year to do 100 pushups in a day.

You will get there eventually as long as you don’t give up. And once you got it, you got it for good.

100 Push Ups Challenge Tips

After doing the pushup challenge myself, here are my recommendations

Do Pushups in the Morning

Do your 100 push ups first thing in the morning.

Just roll out of bed onto the floor and start pushing. Then shower and start your day.

If you wait until after work you will be too tired. You will keep putting them off until it’s bed time.

This provides a two fold benefit:

1. You start the day strong and feel great.
2. You get your pushups out of the way.

Doing 100 push ups after a long day at work is much harder than it is to do them first thing in the morning.

Or something unexpected might make it impossible for you to do you push ups.

I almost failed the push up challenge because on day 21 my friends and I went out to the bar impromptu. I had to do my push ups when I got back home while I was drunk, when all I wanted to do was eat and go to sleep.

This almost broke my streak but luckily I had just enough will power to knock out my push ups before passing out.

Moral of the story: The longer you wait, the harder it gets so knock them out first thing and start your day with a ‘W’.

Track Your Repetitions

It’s easy to lose count of your pushups. Make sure you count out loud and concentrate on the number of reps you do.

Or track them on a calculator app while you do them.

Breathe Deep

Proper breathing is so basic yet so crucial to fitness.

Deep breathing expands your chest and naturally gives you better form.

Oxygen fuels muscles, so the deeper you breath the more reps you’ll be able to squeeze out.

Engage Your Core

Push Ups are a total body workout in disguise.

Push ups are essentially a ‘plank’ press. You get the most benefit when your abs are tight and your body is in a straight line.

Your abs, back and legs are all engaged while in push up position.

Maintaining perfect form is not only safe, it will maximize the effectiveness of each rep.

How to Keep Making Progress with PushUps 

So you’ve conquered the pushup challenge…now what?

You keep going! Ride the momentum you’ve created and build on the challenge.

Once you become proficient at push ups, would you just stop and let all your hard work go to waste?

Hell no!

Continue your progress by making push ups more challenging.

If you complete 100 push ups in four sets or less, try changing your hand position or slowing down your reps for even greater gains!

Slow Down Your Reps

Slow repetitions put greater tension on the muscle.

Greater tension means overload will be achieved and gains will be made.

Take three seconds to raise and lower your body. CONCENTRATE on CONTRACTING your chest to move your body.

Do Diamond Push Ups

To perform diamond push ups, position your hand with your thumb and index finger touching your thumb and index finger on your opposite hand. (Making a diamond shape with the space between your hands.)

Diamond push ups make your inner chest muscles work extra hard. Diamond pushups also allow you to squeeze and hold your pecs at peak contraction.

Hard pec contractions is how you created chest muscle striations.

Diamond push ups are also great for creating the mid-chest line.

Use Pushup Bars

Pushups bars  prop you up so you get a greater range of motion.

pushup bars allow you to lower your body further, thus stretching your chest and increasing tension.

Increased tension means increased muscle stimulation A.K.A. muscle growth. (parallets work too)

Take Shorter Breaks

Short rest periods make the workout more intense. Intensity makes muscles grow by increasing tension in a shorter time frame.

Shorter breaks are also good for conditioning because they burn fat.

Try to get to the point where you can comfortably do your push ups with 30-60 second breaks between sets.

Will Doing Push Ups Every Day Lead to Over Training?

You inevitably hear this question when you suggest training every day.

100 push ups a day will not cause over training.

Make sure you are eating an extra 20-50 grams of protein a day to help with recovery and you will be fine.

As long as you are getting enough sleep, you will be fine.

Stretching will also help you recover faster. A good chest stretch is to put your arm on a doorway with your upper arm 90 degrees from your torso and lean forward. Hold this stretch for 10-15 seconds. Then switch sides.

A little muscle soreness is normal and you can train through it.

If you’re very sore, then do 5 or 10 pushups at a time.

You can even do 10 every hour until you reach 100 so you don’t go overboard.

If you’re not sore however, it’s best to complete your 100 pushups as quickly as possible. Many reps in a short period of time makes for more intense workouts and cause hypertrophy (muscle growth).

Bottom line, overtraining is not possible with the Push Up Challenge unless you are malnourished or a beginner.

There’s no excuses not to give the push up challenge a try! Push ups can be done anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home.

So what are you waiting for?

100 Push Ups Challenge ReCap

You’ll build disciple and enjoy the confidence that comes from a well built body.

Doing something for 30 days in a row will give you a sense of what it takes to build something.

Consistent effort over time is the formula for accomplishment.

There’s no such thing as ‘one and done’. Building a body and getting into great shape takes time. It’s something you must work at every day.

The good news is, that you only really fail if you give up completely.

You can workout anywhere at anytime with pushups. All you do is drop to the floor and start pumping.

People that complete the push up challenge won’t get jacked in only 30 days, but they prove to themselves that they have what it takes to get jacked. And that’s discipline to take consistent action.

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Herschel Walker’s Workout Routine (Become a BEAST with Bodyweight Training) How to Build Beach Muscles with Diamond Push ups Build a Bigger Chest with this Workout The Ultimate ‘Skinny-Fat’ Workout and Diet Guide (2024 Edition)