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In this post, I am going to give you a few pointers on how to do more push ups and why we should all be doing them!
Push ups are an exercise which every man needs to be doing on a regular basis.
It’s that one exercise which has always been part of any bodyweight routine.
We started doing them as kids in physical education, the military loves them, and what guy doesn’t like to brag about how many reps he can do!
The thing, no matter how strong or weak you think you may be, we all definitely want to be able to do more push ups.
So lately I have started doing a little digging and trying to figure out ways to help me increase my push up rep count.
How To Do More Push Ups
See also:
- 20+ Push Up Variations: The Ultimate Guide To Push Ups
- 30 Day Push Up Challenge: 3000 Push Ups In One Month
There are many different push up variations which you can do, but today I will just focus on the normal, classic push up.
If you do your push ups correctly and follow the list of tips I am going to be laying out below, then you should see a decent increase in your push up rep count.
Below are 6 tips on how to increase your push up count.
Let me know if they work for you!
1. Have The Correct Technique
Without the correct form, you will be making life hard for yourself and you could end up being injured.
People often think that push ups are all just about upper body.
It’s an upper body movement, so you think you just got to focus on your upper body muscles.
But the most important part of the correct push up technique is actually the lower body.
To get a better understanding of what I am talking about, have a look at this really informative video below!
2. Find Your Maximum Rep Count
To be able to increase our number of push ups, we need to know what our maximum rep count is.
Simply do as many push ups as possible and take note of how many you were able to do.
Now when you perform sets of push ups, you obviously won’t always go to your max. I personally hit about 80% of my maximum.
An easy way to find your number is where the push ups start going from a comfortable feeling to a very difficult feeling.
If I can max out at 100 push ups, then I pretty much use reps of 80 for my workouts.
3. Begin A Daily Regimen
Start getting in the habit of doing push ups every single day.
How many sets you choose to do is totally up to you.
Don’t over do it, especially if you are just starting out.
But by doing push ups everyday, you’ll get better at them. That’s for sure.
I started this personal challenge about a year ago where I try and get through at least 300 push ups a day, no matter what I’m doing.
It’s a good habit to have!
Obviously if I am ill I don’t do them, but I try get them done whenever possible.
If you haven’t done so yet, then check out our awesome 30 day push up challenge!
You’ll end up doing a total of 3000 push ups in the space of one month!
4. Systematically Increase Reps Each Week
Slowly start increasing the number of push ups you do per set each week.
This doesn’t have to be many reps.
It can even just be 1 or 2 additional push ups each week.
Overtime this all adds up!
If you don’t keep increasing your reps, then your body will just get used to doing the same amount of push ups.
This is key on how to do more push ups.
5. Change Up Your Hand Position
Feel free to change up your basic hand position when doing push ups.
This is a good way to add variety to your push ups and to work different muscle groups.
I find that by doing different push ups that are a bit tougher, I am then able to easily do more normal form push ups.
A good first change to make is to start doing narrow grip push ups. Here you simply just bring your hands closer together, working your triceps more.
You can also do a wide grip push up, where you move your hand position further apart.
There are so many different ways to do push ups.
Check out this guide to doing 20+ different push up variations!
6. Use Breathing Techniques
If you want to try something a little out of the ordinary, then try using Wim Hof’s technique of increasing your push up count!
I have been doing Wim Hof’s breathing exercises for a while now, and I really enjoy them.
He often uses push ups as an example of how you can use breath work to increase your strength.
Basically, you take 30 deep breaths in and out, then go straight to doing push ups without breathing.
It’s pretty simple, but actually works!
Check out the quick video below.
Conclusion
Basically, if you want to be able to increase your reps, then you need to get to work!
Practice makes perfect.
So make sure your push up form is good, then start working on your push ups and make sure you are doing them as often as possible.
No matter how strong we think we are, there’s always room for a few more reps.
Cheers,
Richard