Week 1 of the Hundred Pushups Training Program

Woman doing pushups on yoga mat

So, you've completed your initial test and keen to start the program? Excellent news!

  • If you managed 5 or less pushups in the test, follow column 1.
  • If you completed between 6 and 10 pushups, column 2 is for you.
  • Between 11 and 20 consecutive pushups? Impressive! Column 3 is what you're looking for.
  • More than 20 pushups? I would suggest starting the program on Week 3. Choose either Column 2 or 3 based on the number of pushups you managed in your initial test.

For example: let's say you managed 8 pushups. Looking at the second column, Day 1 begins with Set 1 (6 pushups), a rest period of 60 seconds, before moving on to Set 2 (6 pushups). Rest for 60 seconds and continue with Set 3 (4 pushups) and Set 4 (4 pushups), before finishing with Set 5 and as many consecutive pushups as you can comfortably manage (at least 5, but not so many that you damage muscle tissue). The 60 seconds rest between each level should allow you to complete the workout, but I promise it will get tough towards the end.

Treat yourself to a rest day before moving on to Day 2, and then again before you complete Day 3. I find that Monday, Wednesday, Friday works well and allows you to use the weekend for rest and recovery before moving on to the next stage of the program. Feel free to juggle the plan around to meet your busy schedule, but make sure you rest in between workout days.

week 1: pick the appropriate column depending on your initial test results
DAY 1
REST 60 SECONDS BETWEEN EACH SET
(LONGER IF REQUIRED)
PUSHUPS < 5 6-10 11-20
SET 1 2 6 10
SET 2 3 6 12
SET 3 2 4 7
SET 4 2 4 7
SET 5 3+ 5+ 9+
 
DAY 2
REST 60 SECONDS BETWEEN EACH SET
(LONGER IF REQUIRED)
PUSHUPS < 5 6-10 11-20
SET 1 3 6 10
SET 2 4 8 12
SET 3 2 6 8
SET 4 3 6 8
SET 5 4+ 7+ 12+
 
DAY 3
REST 60 SECONDS BETWEEN EACH SET
(LONGER IF REQUIRED)
PUSHUPS < 5 6-10 11-20
SET 1 4 8 11
SET 2 5 10 15
SET 3 4 7 9
SET 4 4 7 9
SET 5 5+ 10+ 13+
 

 

Hopefully you made it safely through the first week and now you're keen to move on to Week 2. However, if for some reason you struggled with the program, I would suggest either retaking the initial test or repeating Week 1. You'll probably be surprised at how much stronger you already are and will sail through the first week and be fired up and raring to go.

If you're ready to move on, let's take a look at Week 2 of the hundred pushups training program.