There’s a reason military sergeants demand push-ups as a form of punishment. They are effing hard, can knock even the fittest off their feet—okay, toes—and seem to be designed to reveal weaknesses. So much so that fitness editors have been guilty of blowing off the classic move. My go-to excuses when they pop up in a class or training session: “I’m too sore” or “My elbow hurts!”
But! They’re also one of the all-time exercise MVPs, no question. Push-ups are mega-efficient multitaskers—working your whole body in every rep.
With fitness streaks (a month of repeating the same exercise every day) being all the rage, we wondered: Could committing to a 30-day push-up challenge finally change our feelings toward the little guys, all while chiselling our muscles? Ready to rid myself of my own cop-outs and make something of my average arms, I signed up to find out.
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First step in taking on a 30-day push-up challenge: I called personal-training connoisseur Tony Gentilcore, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, to help me devise the plan.
Modified (or “girlie”) push-ups—which so many of us drop into to up our rep count—were out of the question; they don’t build strength in the full range of up-down motion, so they’re no help. But no need for tons of reps, anyway.
Some push-up challenges online – you’ll find thousands – will call for 100 push-ups a day, or some that add more to the set every day. Not necessary, according to Gentilcore. Our 30-day push-up challenge called for just 10 pushups each day.
“Ten is the minimal effective and sustainable dose,” Gentilcore said—meaning, it’s just enough to induce noticeable changes in upper-body strength and appearance without overloading you to the point of quitting. Even then, “take as long as you need—or split them up over the day—to make sure you’re completing high-quality reps,” he told me.
As someone who works out six days a week, I thought, ten push-ups? No prob—I can knock those out after my workouts or while I’m cooking dinner. But the first few days were unexpectedly tough. Since my typical routine had mostly consisted of exercises like biceps curls and shoulder presses (muscle-isolating moves) and occasional boxing, my upper body parts weren’t used to working together to hoist my body weight. And while this new daily stress on the same muscle groups never left me can’t-wash-my-hair sore, I definitely shook through the end of my set on Friday.
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Still, things turned around fairly quickly: On day one, it took me five minutes (and several breaks) to get through 10 polished, chest-to-the-floor reps. By day 15, it took me under three minutes. On day 30, it took me just 27 seconds. “The more you do something, the better you get at it, because you’re improving communication between your neurons and muscles,” explains Gentilcore.
Not only did my push-ups become easier, but everything else I did in the gym—planks, ball slams, battle ropes—felt less taxing too. “A lot of people think the best way to measure progress is through brute strength—where you test how much weight you can possibly move for one rep,” he says. “But a far better gauge of progress is whether you’re less fatigued after completing the same amount of work.” Awesome-sauce.
Now let’s talk about the other kind of progress—the flexed-muscles kind. Did I go from meh muscles to dope guns? Not quite. Turns out, unless you are a genetically blessed muscle gainer, per Gentilcore, 30 days isn’t exactly long enough to develop lasting definition. Muscle growth and fat loss—the combo that lets those babies shine through—usually takes a bit longer, at least six-ish weeks.
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What I did see after the month? Noticeably more sculpted shoulders—to the point that my tops started to fit higher up on my chest—and slightly more pronounced biceps and triceps. I also saw a very welcome bonus: flatter abs. “To do a clean push-up, your core has to engage to keep your hips level throughout—hence the tighter stomach.”
And here’s the best change: When I walked into boxing-meets-HIIT hot spot Rumble last week and had to crank out 30 push-ups, I didn’t spit out an alibi about the previous night’s margs or throw my gloves in the instructor’s face.
Competence is a crucial ingredient to confidence—which, as Gentilcore puts it, “is the secret to not only maintaining an activity, but also enjoying it.” Perhaps that’s why 15 days post-challenge, I’m still going strong—and not as a punishment, but as a reward.
