Getty Images

100 Pushup Challenge

Are You Tough Enough To Crush The 100 Push-Up Challenge?

June 7, 2018

Flip

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

The classic push-up is one of the most effective moves to build upper body strength. Can you do 100 in a row?

Cranking out 100 straight push-ups is a true measuring stick of relative strength and muscular endurance. You would think the guy that could hit the century mark would be an overflowing mound of muscle. To the contrary, that push-up machine is likely as lean as a runner.

Ron Cooper is the perfect example. The Boston-native has broke 11 different Guinness World Records, including nine push-up and pull-up records. The former collegiate middle distance runner recently, crushed 91 bare-knuckle push-ups at an event in New York City put on by Reebok aimed at taking down several fitness records. A day later in Boston, Cooper, a financial planner with two daughters, won a pull up competition hosted by Michelob to earn a trip to Super Bowl LI. He crushed 56 pull-ups in 96 seconds.

Cooper said he’s been chasing records for five years. He trains everyday and divvies up his training by exercising the same muscles two days in a row. He dedicates two days to push-ups, two to pull-ups, one day for leg training and another for handstand push-ups.

Cooper doesn’t slouch on cardio either. “I also do some type of hard cardio twice a week such as Airdyne, bike intervals, jump roping or running intervals,” he said. “I do easy cardio four days a week for a half (hour) or so, which is typically riding a stationary bike at a modest effort."

For Cooper, his training is aimed specifically for his goals, which are basically to crush calisthenics sprints in a max one-minute effort. If you're only starting to build up your practice, Cooper recommends two hard push-up specific training days each week.

Reebok

His push-up workouts on the other hand can seem like push-up marathons, even if they only range between 15-30 minutes. To him they mimic middle-distance running workouts which are similar, in theory, to the kind he did as a runner at Boston University.

For instance, Cooper will attack 8 sets of 50 with a 60-second rest period in between. The next day, he’ll go for 16 sets of 25 and rest for 30 seconds. When he’s in a rush, he may bunch in 400 reps for time, which he said can take up to 12 minutes.

“The number of push ups should be modified to someone's fitness level, then adjusted upward as fitness level increases,” Cooper said. “So for some it might be 25-50 push ups to start, even on bent knees or hands elevated on a bench or table or kitchen counter if need be. For others it might be best to start with 100 to 200 reps for time and build from there.”

Think you're up for the challenge? Here's what you need to know to get started.

Perfecting Your Form

First things first, get your form right.

We're not talking about some sort of bastardised kipping pull-up version of a push-up here. Do the reps the way they need to be done.

Each rep requires:

The elbows tucked at 90 degrees
Alignment of your cervical spine to your tailbone (a straight back)
Full reps each time. Your chest to the ground at the bottom (or damn near close)

You want your elbows tucked at your sides and your hand position tight and underneath your shoulders. Not high and wide.

Make sure to keep your core muscles flexed and don’t sag in the middle or dip your lower back. Some call this “caterpillering.” This places the posterior elements of the spine at risk.

By keeping the hips low and hinging at the lumbar spine, a lower percentage of body weight is being lifted since much of the body is hanging toward the floor, thereby making the exercise easier and putting increased strain on your lower back. We don’t want that.

Some people cut the movement short and perform half-reps, working their elbow joints more than their chest. The bottom position of the push-ups involves a higher percentage of body weight than the top position, which makes the bottom more difficult.

You don’t want to cheat yourself to 100 reps. Perfect your form and reap the rewards.

Your 14-Day Training Plan To 100 Push-Ups

You’re going to hammer your chest three times per week and put all other muscle groups in maintenance mode to allow for this extra work.

You’ll do push-ups each chest workout while adding accessory work to really force your chest to grow, working up to as much as 35 sets (total work for the week).

Here’s how you setup the workouts each week:

Day 1 - Chest
Day 2 – Full body (except chest)
Day 3 - Off
Day 4 - Chest
Day 5 – Full body (except chest)
Day 6 - Chest
Day 7 – Off

Week 1

Day 1 (9 sets)

Exercise -- Sets x Reps

Push-ups -- 3 x 15-20
Floor Bench Press -- 3 x 6-12
Dumbbell Flies with band resistance -- 3 x 8-12

Day 2 (12 sets)

Push-ups with feet elevated -- 6 x 15-20
Floor Bench Press -- 3 x 6-12

Bench Press with twist -- 3 x 10

Day 3 (15 sets)

Push-ups (try one-handed for the last two) -- 6 x 15-20
Bench Press with pause -- 3 x 6-9

Dumbbell Flies with band -- 3 x 8-12

We Recommend

WODFitters Stretch Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are as versatile a piece of equipment that you'll find in a gym and even better to keep for at-home workouts. Whether you're looking to modify pull-ups or chin-ups, increase mobility, range of motion or add another variable into your strength training program, a thick and durable resistance band can bring your training to the next level.
$19.99 at Amazon.com

Ultimate Body Press Parallettes

Perfect for deficit push-ups and increasing the range of motion on your push-ups. These parallette bars relieve some of the pressure push-ups put on your hands and wrists and as well give a range of options for variety on core exercises.
$85.99 at Amazon.com

Week 2

Day 1 (12 sets)

Push-ups with band resistance -- 6 x 15-20
Bench Press -- 3 x 6-8
Hex Press -- 3 x 8-12

Day 2 (15 sets)

Push-ups -- 3 x 20-30
Incline Bench Press -- 5 x 6-8 (add weight each set)
Hex Press -- 5 x 8-12

Day 3 (100 Rep Test)

Push-ups -- 1 x 100 (or max effort)
Push-ups -- 2 x Max effort

Download the 100 Rep Chest Challenge workout program to your PC or smartphone.

What If You Fail?

Test your push-up rep goal against what you started with, and see if you’ve made progress.

If you can’t hit 100 reps in succession yet, return to your regular workload for chest and re-test the 100 rep challenge in two weeks. You may be surprised at your results!

Mitch Calvert is a certified personal trainer and fat-loss coach – who works specifically with men like his former self who have weight to lose and confidence to gain. He hosts Mansformation Challenges for guys looking to get over the fat-loss hump.

Bodybuilding

Workout Routine

Arm Workouts