How many push-ups should I do in a single workout?

The number of push-ups you should do in a single workout depends on your fitness level and your goals. If you’re designing a workout specific to upper-body pull or lower body, there’s no need to perform any push-ups in your workout because it won’t be applicable to your goals for that workout. Assuming you’re designing a workout for which you’d like to include upper-body push exercises, you should treat push-ups like any other compound exercise. Start off simple, focusing on proper form with low volume and modifications as necessary. Build up your volume, intensity, and variation difficulty as you become stronger, assuming you can do so with proper form and without pain. From there, determine if you’re aiming to improve strength, hypertrophy, or endurance to accurately designate intensity and volume.

How can I increase the difficulty of body weight push exercises?

Body weight exercises can be progressed using a variety of factors including increasing volume (sets and reps), decreasing rest time, adding in holds or slow eccentrics to increase time under tension, and modifying leverage and angles to make the exercise more challenging. Depending on your goals, you may modify one or multiple of these factors as you progress in your training.

Can push-ups alone build a strong upper body?

Push-ups can contribute to building a strong upper body, particularly for beginners and those working with limited equipment. Push-ups are a compound movement, which means they engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously—primarily the chest, shoulders, and triceps, with additional support from the core and stabilizing muscles in the upper back. By focusing on these key pushing muscles, push-ups can effectively develop strength and endurance in the upper body. However, while push-ups offer substantial benefits, a sole reliance on them has limitations. Over time, your muscles may adapt to the movement, and you might hit a plateau in strength gains. In addition, push-ups mainly target the “pushing” muscles and don’t engage the “pulling” muscles, such as the back and biceps, which are essential for balanced strength and injury prevention. To optimize upper-body development, consider incorporating push-up variations (such as decline push-ups, plyometric push-ups, and diamond push-ups) to increase the challenge. Adding complementary pulling exercises (such as rows or pull-ups) will create a balanced routine, which ensures well-rounded muscle growth and stability across the entire upper body. In short, push-ups can build a strong foundation, but for comprehensive upper-body strength, they are best supplemented with additional exercises.

What are some push workout variations to target different muscle groups?

Incline push-ups, decline push-ups, pike push-ups, diamond push-ups, and dumbbell shoulder presses are some push workout variations that cover different muscle groups.

Blog Editorial team Troy Hurst, DPT, PT

Troy Hurst, DPT, PT

Doctor of Physical Therapy, Licensed physical therapist

Troy Hurst holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Carroll University. He is a physical therapist specializing in both athletic and vestibular rehabilitation with an emphasis on performance running.

With a dedication to providing a well-rounded approach to physical therapy, Troy’s diverse lens of the medical field has granted him the ability to tune in to what his clients need to reach their goals. With a lifelong passion for both health and exercise, Troy continues to learn and grow as an accomplished physical therapist.

Experience

Licensed physical therapist in the State of Wisconsin
Performance running certification with vestibular specialty
Athlete rehabilitation
Clinical informatics specialist
Adjunct instructor in the Marquette University and Carroll University Doctor of Physical Therapy programs
Carroll University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program’s Distinguished Alumni Speakers at the 2022 White Coat Ceremony
Medical blog writer