Pushgard measures your max when you start and plans your week from it. The front camera counts the reps, and each counted rep hits the monster in front of you.
How many push-ups should you do a day?
Start from your max: the number of clean push-ups you can do in one set. Two to four sets at about half that number is a good daily start, and you add a rep or two to each set every week while your form holds.
The calculator does the split for you and shows the next four weeks.
3×8
sets × reps today · 24 a day
With a max of 15, do 3 sets of 8 on 5 days a week. Add one rep to each set every week while your form holds.
| Week | Each day | Per day | Per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 × 8 | 24 | 120 |
| 2 | 3 × 9 | 27 | 135 |
| 3 | 3 × 10 | 30 | 150 |
| 4 | 3 × 11 | 33 | 165 |
At this pace you get to 100 a day in about 26 weeks.
Let the camera keep the count. Pushgard measures your max when you start and plans each week from it.
The result is a starting point, not medical advice. Adjust it to how you feel, and talk to a doctor first if you have an injury or a heart condition.
Half your max, a little more each week
Simple enough to do in your head once you know your max.
Each set is half your max, rounded.
How many sets you do depends on how often you train: four sets if you train three days a week, three sets on four or five days, two sets on six or seven. The weekly total comes out about the same whichever schedule you pick.
Each week every set grows by one rep, or by two if your max is 30 or more. When a set starts to feel easy before the week is out, test your max again.
This is our rule of thumb for a daily habit, not a medical norm. For frequency and progression we follow the ACSM Position Stand, Garber et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2011: resistance exercise for each major muscle group on 2 to 3 days a week, with gradual progression of volume.
Your max matters more than a round number
A hundred push-ups a day is a lot for someone whose max is ten and easy for someone whose max is forty. Building the target from your own max keeps every set hard enough to count and short enough to finish with good form.
Rest days
Push-ups every day are fine at a moderate volume. If your shoulders or wrists ache the next morning, take a day off or switch to squats.
Check it with the camera
The number you log is the number you did
Daily push-ups, answered
Rest days, finding your max and how often to test it.
Is 100 push-ups a day too much?
It depends on your max. If 100 a day means many sets close to your limit, start with the split the calculator gives you and grow toward 100. If your sets of half your max already add up to 100, you are there.
Should I do push-ups every day?
You can at a moderate volume, and that is why the calculator gives fewer sets on more days. The ACSM recommends training each muscle group two to three days a week. If your shoulders or wrists ache the next morning, take a day off or do squats instead.
How do I find my max?
Warm up, then do as many clean push-ups as you can in one set: body straight, chest close to the floor, arms straight at the top. Stop when your form breaks. That number is your max.
How often should I recheck my max?
Every few weeks. A higher max moves every set up with it, so run the calculator again after each new test.
Free on iPhone and Android
Your first set hits a slime
Put the phone on the floor in front of you and do one set at your new number.