Simple, scalable and surprisingly powerful, the push-up is one of the most effective moves you can do with just your bodyweight. This push-up challenge strips fitness back to basics, using one deceptively tough exercise to build total-body strength, improve core stability, and boost confidence – no gym, gadgets, or complicated programming required. Whether you’re restarting your routine or looking for a fresh way to level up, this push-up challenge is designed to meet you where you are and move the needle towards your fitness goals, one strong rep at a time.
What Is The Push-Up Challenge?
While there are many push-up challenges, they all feature one thing: a commitment to doing push-ups every day for a month. The goal? To build upper body strength, improve endurance and develop consistent exercise habits.
How to do this 30-day push-up challenge
For this push-up challenge, you’ll do 10 to 20 push-ups per day. You can do any variant of the push-up, except for modified on-your-knees push-ups – they don’t build total-body strength.
Can’t do a full push-up? Use this as an opportunity to get familiar with these modified push-ups that build to a full unassisted push-up.
READ MORE: Three Moves To Progress From Modified To Full Push-Ups
Why Push-Ups Are Excellent
Push-ups are one of the most effective bodyweight exercises because they:
- Build multiple muscle groups: They work your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core simultaneously, which few movements do.
- Require no equipment: You can do them anywhere, anytime.
- Improve functional strength: They mimic natural pushing movements used in daily life, making them great for injury prevention.
- Enhance core stability: Maintaining proper form engages your entire core.
- Are easily scalable: You can modify them for any fitness level, from knee push-ups to advanced variations.
- Boost cardio power: When done in sets, they elevate your heart rate, making it a bona fide heart-pumping workout.
How To Do A Push-Up (Properly)
- Start in a plank position: Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, directly under your shoulders. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Engage your core: Tighten your abs and glutes to maintain a neutral spine. Avoid letting your hips sag or pike up.
- Lower your body: Bend your elbows at about a 45-degree angle to your body, lowering yourself until your chest nearly touches the floor. Keep your elbows from flaring out too wide.
- Press back up: Push through your palms to straighten your arms and return to the starting position. Keep your core engaged throughout.
- Breathe properly: Inhale as you lower down, exhale as you push back up.
- Maintain form: Keep your neck neutral by looking at a spot on the floor about a foot in front of you. Your body should move as one unit.
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Push-Up Variations To Try
Once you’ve nailed the basic push-up and can comfortably perform them, try these variations.
Kneeling Push-Up to Bird Dog
- Begin in a knee plank, tailbone tucked under, index fingers pointing straight forward, and fingers spread wide.
- Lower down, pulling shoulders away from ears, elbows slightly in toward ribs.
- Press up quickly, this time lifting knees off the ground as you do and reaching left arm forward to shoulder height and right leg back to hip height.
- Lower back to knee plank. Repeat on opposite site.
Push-Up with Bent-Over Row
- Start in a quarter squat with feet hips-distance apart, torso parallel to floor, and arms extending straight toward mat, grazing outside of shins and holding dumbbells, palms facing each other.
- Lower weights to floor in front of feet, then, keeping grip on dumbbells and wrists straight, jump feet back to high plank position and do a push-up.
- Hop feet back behind weights and return to start position.
- Now, pull weights toward ribs, keeping elbows narrow. Return to start. That’s one rep.
Complete 6 to 8 sets of 8 reps.
Mountain Climbers Push-Up
- Start in a high plank.
- Do one push-up and then pull right knee toward chest
- Immediately return to start and repeat with the left, alternating eight times. That’s one rep.
Complete 6 sets of as many reps as possible in 20 seconds.
Sliding Push-Up
- Place your hands about shoulder-width apart on the floor, with sliders underneath.
- Extend your legs behind you, so your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
- Keeping your core tight, slide your hands to the side, and immediately lower your body toward the floor.
- Press back to start. That’s one rep.
Complete for 50 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Push-Up with Plank Jack
- Start in a plank position, with your shoulders stacked above wrists, and sliders under your toes.
- Slide your feet out to the sides, and lower your body down into a push-up at the same time.
- Push back to start. That’s one rep.
Complete for 50 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Medicine Ball Push-Up Shuffle
- Come down into the top of a push-up position, placing one hand on top of the medicine ball.
- Do a lopsided push-up, then roll the ball from one hand to the other – use your core to stabilise your body as you go.
- Repeat on the other side. Continue alternating for 45 seconds, then take 15 seconds of rest.
READ MORE: This Weighted Abs Workout Will Sculpt Your Stomach Like No Other
Source: https://www.womenshealthsa.co.za/fitness/feed
