A push-up workout plan for beginners is a structured routine that uses push-up variations with planned sets, reps, and rest times so you can build strength safely and consistently. The good thing with push-ups is that you don’t need the gym or sophisticated equipment, as you only need a few minutes, your body weight, and perhaps an exercise mat.
This plan can function as a full-body push-up workout plan as push-ups don’t just train the upper body. While the primary focus is on the chest, triceps, and shoulder muscles, the workout also engages the core for stabilization and strength, and activates supporting areas such as the biceps, upper back, and legs through full-body tension.
Push-ups are effective for building upper-body strength and building muscles, strengthening the core and back, and improving functional fitness. Therefore, if you’re looking for a full-body push-up workout plan or the best push-up workout plan for beginners, this guide is everything you need.
A progressive push-up workout plan is one that’s structured so it starts with simple exercises before advancing to more difficult ones. At the start, you also go with fewer reps and sets, then increase gradually as you adapt.
While following a progressive push-up workout plan, it’s important to maintain proper form as you gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise. The key aspects of this workout plan include the following:
This 30-day push-up workout plan is suitable for anyone who wants a simple, structured approach.
It starts with simple push-ups and progresses gradually to more difficult variations. You can complete this workout three to four times per week and ideally with other exercises that train different sections of the body.
Week 1: Building Your Basic Strength
The focus for week 1 is to get your body ready for the next phase of the exercise by learning the form and activating or waking up the muscles that are involved such as the triceps, chest, and shoulders. You can do this for 3 days per week, such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Exercises:
Week 2: Increasing the Resistance of the Exercises
Once the week 1 exercises have become easier, you can move on to more challenging variations.
Exercises:
Week 3: Building Control and Endurance
The focus here is to build control and endurance.
Exercises:
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Week 4: Full Push-Ups
This is the week where you transition to full push-ups. The focus is to try the full push-ups and see how many you can do. At the end of this phase, you should be able to do 5-10 full push-ups in good form.
Exercises:
Read more: 6 Solid Exercises for a Biceps and Triceps Gym Workout
Yes, you can build muscle with only push-ups, but a more well-rounded routine is typically a better long-term option. Push-ups focus mainly on the chest, triceps, and shoulders, so lower-body training would be limited. The core and legs contribute during push-ups, but they usually need dedicated work for balanced development.
If you focus solely on push-ups, it’s best to progress strategically using more variations, adding time under tension, and gradually increasing overall training volume – this turns a simple routine into a true push-up workout plan to build muscle.
Your fitness level will determine the number of push-ups that you can do per day. According to Dr. Edward Philips – a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard – beginning small is the way to go. You can find your starting point by performing as many push-ups as you can while keeping good form, and you can progress to as many reps and sets as you can as your strength increases (4).
In addition, the number of push-ups you can do per day varies according to factors such as genetics, exercise experience, and age. As we get older, we get stronger, but eventually, this strength hits its peak and then decreases as we enter the elderly years. The ability to perform multiple bodyweight push-ups as you age will allow you to live a long life of independence. If you fall, you’ll be able to get yourself back up again by pressing your bodyweight back up. The number of push-ups you can do usually decreases with age and the risk of injury also increases (2).
A strengthening push-up workout plan is a structured plan for gaining strength and encompasses a variety of exercises such as knee push-ups, plank hold, incline push-ups, arm circles, and standard push-ups. If you’re curious about incline push-up muscles, check out our earlier article.
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Yes, 100 push-ups a day has several health benefits. Some of the benefits of 100 push-ups a day include:
Yes, it’s generally okay to do push-ups every day. Push-ups with consistent effort can yield positive results for your overall health and well-being. As long as you do them with proper form while listening to your body, push-ups every day can be beneficial. Therefore, it’s important to keep the volume or the number of reps and sets low if you are doing it daily. It’s also better to train the entire body than to just focus on one specific region or one specific exercise. Here are some tips to help you if you’re doing push-ups daily:
It’s important to minimize the number of sets and reps that you can do in a day. Few sets and reps a day with consistency can also give you amazing results.
When doing the exercises, maintaining good form is important for keeping you safe and preventing injuries – don’t just focus on speed.
When doing a daily push-up workout routine, always listen to your body and stop or rest when you have to. If you feel any discomfort or pain, you need to take a rest day to recover before resuming your daily workouts. It’s also important to contact a medical professional before you get started on a new workout program, particularly if you have any pre-existing heart conditions or injuries.
Read more: 5 Exercises to Do Every Day at Home Without Weights
The time it takes for you to see results from push-up exercises will depend on several factors, including your current fitness level, your starting body weight, and your genetics. Generally, these are the expected timelines and results that you’re likely to achieve when you combine a push-up program with proper nutritional habits:
2-4 Weeks: Initial Strength Gains
You’ll start to feel the strength in your arms, shoulders, and chest if you’re consistent with your push-up workouts. However, you may not see muscle growth, but you may start to notice push-ups becoming much easier. This is a huge motivation booster as you may now have the strength to be able to complete multiple sets with minimal rest.
4-8 Weeks: Visible Muscle Definition
You’ll start to see your muscles, including triceps, chest, and shoulder muscles, becoming toned. You may also need the influence of diet to become more pronounced, but you’ve now developed a whole new routine to commit to. For more details about push-up muscle groups, take a look at our prior publication.
8-12+ Weeks: More Pronounced Muscle Growth
With progressive overload, you’ll realize more pronounced muscle growth within this period. A traditional push-up will likely feel easy and more challenging variations and more reps and sets will be required. It could even mean adding external resistance to test your pressing strength. In addition, you should continue incorporating healthy eating habits such as a diet that’s rich in protein to help with muscle growth and development.
Yes, 3 sets of 20 push-ups is great! This is particularly true if you’re a beginner, but the exact difficulty of an exercise is an individual factor that depends on current fitness level, exercise experience, and starting body weight. We all have unique bodies and what’s easy for one person isn’t easy for everyone.
Push-ups can work to improve your flexibility and help you build muscle and strength. However, you’ll need a well-rounded and a balanced full-body fitness routine to truly get into shape.
Yes, push-ups can make your arms bigger. This exercise works on the upper-body muscles, including triceps, shoulders, and chest muscles, so it can help improve muscle mass in these areas (5). However, it’s important to perform a variety of exercises to develop your body. If you want big arms, we’d recommend incorporating bicep training, which is often neglected in push-dominant exercises.
People have different fitness levels and the number of push-ups needed to get ripped will depend on individual circumstances. Getting “ripped” is also just a term and can look different on everyone. However, in order to lose body fat and gain strength, it really comes down to a matter of proper diet and progressive well-rounded exercises.
With a push-up workout plan, you’re on the right path to building upper-body strength. With the proper progressions, you can increase strength in the chest, triceps, shoulders, and your entire body. This strength can directly improve your posture and muscle definition as long as you pair it with healthy nutrition habits and a variety of challenging exercises.
When it comes to planning for push-ups, you only need yourself, a tiny bit of space, and enough time to complete a workout. There are many push-up variations and it’s important to continuously progress to more challenging variations to see the most muscle growth.
During your workouts, you need to keep your core tight and avoid sagging your hips. Focus on breathing properly and pressing with strength. Inhale as you slowly lower yourself toward the floor and exhale as you explosively push yourself back up. And don’t neglect rest – take at least one rest day between workout days and listen to your body so you can reduce your chances of injury.
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