100 Push-Ups a Day Challenge – Does it Really Work?

You’ve heard of this fitness challenge before right? 100 push-ups a day? But does it really work? The answer depends on a few specific attributes.

BOXROX wrote previously about other people doing the 100 push-ups fitness challenge in which they would do them, every day, for 30 days and later show the results and what changed and how they felt.

Now, before you jump into that fitness challenge, you should know if it really works – most importantly, does it work FOR YOU? That is what Alex Lorenz talked about recently.

Alex Lorenz is a sports teacher and YouTube fitness guru. In a video, he talked about a morning routine that you should implement. He is the co-founder of Calisthenic Movement and has trained Calisthenics since 2012, uploading videos regularly for those people interested in getting in shape using only their body weight.

Source: Bastien Plu / Unsplash

Check out Lorenz’s arguments for when it is worth it to do the 100 push-ups a day challenge and when you should consider not doing it.

100 Push-Ups a Day Challenge – Does it Really Work?

Nobody is denying that push-ups are a great exercise. It works your upper body, mainly the chest and triceps, and you don’t need any equipment to begin training. However, like with any exercise, it needs to challenge your muscles for it to be effective and productive.

And that is Lorenz’s first argument if 100 push-ups a day challenge is worth it or not. The challenge can be too easy for some, and too difficult for others. In short:

• If you can do 5 push-ups without taking a break, the 100 push-ups a day challenge will be too difficult for you
• If you can do 30 push-ups, then the fitness challenge might be too easy for you and a waste of time
• If you manage to do 15 unbroken push-ups, this fitness challenge might be perfect for you to improve your strength and muscle mass, but it isn’t great for recovery

Source: Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels

It also depends on how long you keep your muscles under tension. If you do push-ups very fast, your 100 push-ups challenge will be different from someone who takes three times more to do one push-up.

The biggest issue with doing 100 push-ups a day challenge, in Lorenz’s view, is that it isn’t progressive. “Doing the same exercise with the same amount of reps over and over will lead to nothing in the long term.”

To tackle that, you can change to 200 push-ups, or change the tempo at which you perform each rep. Though slightly different, it already counts as progressive overloading the movement for you to keep making gains.

• Low rep range – good for strength
• Middle rep range – good for muscle mass
• High rep range – good for strength endurance

How to Force Muscle Growth – 5 Progressive Overload Methods to Accomplish That

You can go even further and practice with different push-up variations instead of repeating traditional push-ups every single time.

Read More: 30 Push-Up Variations from Beginner to Advanced

Ultimately, if you are going to do the 100 push-ups a day challenge, Lorenz talks about 3 methods to make them as effective as possible for you:

1. Split sets over the day
2. Strict sets – 2-3 minutes of rest between sets
3. As quick as possible or for a specific time

Check out the video below for more information from Lorenz himself.

The Perfect Push-Up Workout For Every Fitness Goal

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How to Train Your Biceps with Push-Ups

Push-ups target several muscles in the upper body, including:

1. Chest muscles (pectoralis major and minor): Push-ups primarily work the chest muscles, which are responsible for movements such as pushing and lifting.
2. Triceps: Push-ups also work the triceps, the muscles located at the back of your upper arm.
3. Shoulders (deltoids): Push-ups target the deltoid muscles, which are responsible for lifting your arms away from your body.
4. Back (rhomboids, latissimus dorsi): Push-ups work the muscles in your upper back, including the rhomboids and latissimus dorsi, which help to stabilize your shoulder blades.
5. Core (abdominals and obliques): Push-ups also engage the muscles of your core, including the abdominals and obliques, which help to stabilize your spine and maintain proper form during the exercise.

Overall, push-ups are a compound exercise that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously, making them an excellent exercise for building strength and improving overall fitness.

Source: Karl Solano on Pexels

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Perfect Push-Up Workout for Every Fitness Goal

Push-ups can be incorporated into your workout in a variety of ways, depending on your fitness level and goals. Here are some suggestions:

1. As a warm-up: Start your workout with a set of push-ups to warm up your upper body and activate the muscles you’ll be using during your workout.
2. In a circuit: Include push-ups as part of a circuit training workout, where you perform a series of exercises back-to-back with little to no rest in between.
3. As a standalone exercise: You can do push-ups as a standalone exercise, either for a specific number of reps or for a certain amount of time.
4. With variations: Add variety to your push-up routine by incorporating different variations, such as incline push-ups, decline push-ups, diamond push-ups, or plyometric push-ups.
5. Superset with other exercises: Pair push-ups with other exercises that work different muscle groups, such as squats or lunges, to create a full-body workout.
6. With increasing difficulty: Challenge yourself by increasing the difficulty of your push-ups over time, such as by adding weight, decreasing the rest time between sets, or increasing the number of reps.

Remember to always maintain proper form during your push-ups to avoid injury and maximize the effectiveness of the exercise.

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