Pushups are one of the popular bodyweight exercises that give good results when it comes to building your upper body. When you follow the right pushup workout plan you can improve the shape of your body, build muscle and build upper body strength.
But when it comes to finding out how many push-ups to do or how many sets of push ups should I do a day to get impressive results, things can get a little complicated.
Luckily in this compact guide, you will know the number of push-ups you should do and how many pushups sets you should day so that you can build a better body with pushups.
If you want a quick answer for how many sets of pushups to do then for most people 3-4 sets of pushups in a pushup workout will be enough to get most of the benefits of pushups. To make your pushup workout more effective it’s much more important to focus on how you do push-up in each set. The number of pushup reps you do in each pushup set is important if you want to build strength and muscle doing pushups.
So, without further ado, here’s how many sets of pushups you should do and some recommendations so that you get better results from doing this body weight exercise.
Factors to consider before finding out how many push-ups you should do
Before you find out how many sets of pushups to do you need to have some idea about the factors that determine how many sets of pushup is good for you.
For each person, their fitness level, fitness goals and personal workout routine determines how many sets of pushups they should do in a day.
Fitness level: The number of pushup sets will be different for people with different fitness levels. It’s because people with different fitness levels have different energy levels and stamina. Thus for a beginner, it will become hard if he intends to do an equal number of pushup sets that are good for an advanced exerciser.
Therefore if you want to get the best results from your pushup workout then you need to pick the number of pushup sets according to your fitness level.
Fitness goals: Your fitness goals also influence the number of pushup sets you should be doing. The number of pushup sets can increase or decrease if you want to do push-ups for achieving different fitness goals like – doing pushups to build your chest, doing pushups to build biceps, doing pushups to build abs, doing pushups as a part of your morning routine etc.
Your workout routine: The optimal number of pushup sets will be different for persons with different workout routines. For example – someone who only does bodyweight training and no gym workouts will be doing more sets of pushups 3-5 times a week. Where a person who also workout at the gym may want to do pushups for 3-4 sets and only do pushups on days when training for the upper body.
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Related: Should you do push-ups every day?
How many sets of push ups should I do? Beginner to advanced level
If you are just starting then you can do 1-2 sets of pushups. After doing pushups for some weeks as a beginner you can do 2-3 sets of pushups. For the intermediate level – you should be doing 3-4 sets of pushups. And for the advanced level – you should do 4-6 sets of pushups depending on how long you want your pushup workout to be.
Also if you are only doing some easy-to-do push-up variation like wall pushups, knee pushups or modified pushups then you need to do more sets in comparison to doing standard push-ups to make your pushup workout challenging for your body.
Below I will explain more about the ideal pushup sets and reps as per different scenarios and how you should do those pushup sets.
Resource: Pushup routine for beginners.
How many sets of pushups should I do as a beginner?
There are two types of beginners:
- Beginner type 1: Someone who just started doing pushups and can do less than 5 traditional pushups in one go.
- Beginner type 2: Someone doing pushups for some weeks and on most days can do 8-15 pushups in one go.
If you are a beginner type 1 then you can do 1-2 pushup sets. You should do some simple stretches to warm up your body before doing pushups. But you should only warm up for 1-2 minutes. Doing a long warm-up is not recommended for complete beginners because it can decrease performance.
Now after warming up, you can take 20-30 seconds rest then do your first set of pushups and try to do pushups until failure. On different days you will be doing different numbers of pushups. Some days you will do 6 pushups and on other days you will do 4 pushups and that’s ok.
Now in the second set, you should try to do 1-2 fewer pushups than your first set. But if you can do the same number of pushups then it’s better.
Most people who are beginner type 1 will be completely exhausted after doing 2 sets of traditional pushups. But if you are someone who has a little bit of energy left then you can do 1 set of wall pushups until failure or 1 set of knee pushups.
For beginner type 2 – you will be doing 3 sets of pushups after warming up for 2 minutes. In your first 2 pushup sets, you need to do traditional pushups. And in each set, you need to do more than 10 pushups.
In the third set, you can do regular pushups or it’s best to do incline or decline pushups and try to cross the 7+ pushup mark.
After the third set if you would like to do some more pushups then you should do 2 sets of wall pushups or knee pushups.
Related: How many incline push-ups should you do a day?
Recommended number of pushup sets for intermediate level.
For the intermediate level, it’s best to do 3-4 sets of pushups in a day.
If you are doing 4 sets then in the first 2 sets you should do traditional pushups until failure. And in the third and fourth sets, you should do incline and decline pushups.
In every set, you should try to do more than 15 pushups. And in the first set, you should try to do 30-35 reps of pushups.
To avoid workout injuries you should not do pushups more than 5 days a week. Here’s why you should not do pushups every day.
How many sets of push ups should I do for the advanced level?
For advanced-level exercisers, there are 2 effective ways to train.
Training type 1: You can do 4-5 sets of pushups and in your last 3 sets, you should do a drop set.
What’s a pushup drop set?
A pushup drop set is a training method that is best suited for advanced-level bodyweight exercisers. Training like this helps you to heavily train your muscle groups and gives good muscle-building and toning results. A pushup drop set is also good for building serious amounts of muscle strength.
To do a pushup drop set you need to do pushups until failure. Once you can’t do any more pushups you simply lower your body to the floor but keep your hands in the pushup position and take rest for 10-15 seconds then again do pushups until failure. To increase the intensity of the pushup workout you can do 3 drop sets one after another. So you will be doing one pushup set followed by 3 drop sets.
But if you are doing a pushup drop set for the first time then you should do a pushup set and one drop set and then take some rest and do another pushup set and one drop set.
Training type 2: You can do 5-6 sets of pushups and do pushups until failure in every set.
For advanced-level exercisers in each set, you should be doing more than 25-30 pushups.
Related:
How many sets and reps of push-up should I do?
This section will help you to find out your optimum reps and sets of pushups to do a day.
As you have read earlier in this article about how many sets of pushups you should do.
Here is a quick summary:
- For complete beginners 1-2 sets of pushups
- For beginners 2-3 sets of pushups
- For intermediate level 3-4 sets
- For advanced level 4-6 sets of pushups
Now, how many reps of pushups should you do per set?
If you want to make your pushup workout effective then you should follow one simple rule. And that is you should do pushups until failure in every pushup set.
Doing pushups until failure or to the point where you are no longer able to do any more reps of pushups with good form can help you increase your body strength, build endurance, make your pushup workout efficient and build mental toughness.
But if you want a number so that you can compare your performance with others then here’s the number of pushups you should be doing according to your fitness level.
Here are the average number of pushups you should be doing according to your fitness level:
- For complete beginners: in your first set 5-7 pushups and after your first set 3-4 pushups. So on average, you should be doing 15-25 push-ups a day.
- For beginners: 10-14 pushups in the first set and after the first set 7-8 pushups.
- For the intermediate level: 20-35 pushups in your first set and after the first set 15-18 pushups. Someone in the intermediate level should do a total of 50 push-ups or more in a workout session.
- For advanced level: 40-65 pushups in your first set and after the first set 30-35 pushups.
Conclusion
How many sets of push-ups should I do? The answer is in general 3-4 sets of pushups are suitable for most people and will help you achieve your fitness goals. However, to get the best results from doing pushups – you need to do pushups until failure in each set. So there is no fixed pushup or number of reps. To make your pushup set count you need to do pushups until failure.
Also, for intermediate and advanced-level exercisers, it’s best to do multiple pushup variations. Doing this will help you train multiple muscle groups and you will build a better body by doing pushups.
If you are a beginner then you should only do 2-3 sets of pushups in a day and you can do pushups 4-5 days a week.
Pushups can help you a lot when it comes to building your upper-body if done the right way. If you are doing pushups in the morning then here are some of the benefits of push-ups you need to be aware of.
How many push-ups should you be able to do depends on your fitness level but no matter if you are a beginner or at the intermediate level if you do three sets and do an average of 20 push-ups then you will see improvement in your body strength, stamina and muscle tone.
Related articles about pushups:
- How many knee push-ups equal 1 pushup?
- How often should I do pushups?
- Here’s how many pushups you should do to build muscle.
FAQs
How long does it take to see results from push-ups?
If you are doing pushups the right way and doing multiple sets of pushups, you will see some initial toning results after 18-20 days. It can take up to 40-55 days to see visible changes in your body from doing pushups. After doing pushups for 84-90 days you will see you have built a good amount of lean muscle mass and body tone.
How many sets of incline push ups should I do?
If you are only doing incline pushups then you should do 3-4 sets of incline pushups. If you are doing incline pushups with other pushup variations then you should do 2 sets of incline pushups.
How many reps of push ups should I do?
The best way to make your every pushup set count is – you should do pushups to the point where you can’t do any more pushups with the right form or you should do pushups until failure. Doing pushups until failure is the best way to maximise your fitness gains.
Are 5 sets of push-ups too much?
For beginners and intermediate-level exercisers, 3-4 sets of pushups are enough. But you can do 5 sets of pushups if you are at an advanced level. For advanced-level exercisers, 5 sets of pushups are not too much. Also, if you are doing 5 sets of pushups then you should take adequate amounts of rest in between two pushup workouts.
Are 3 sets of 10 push-ups enough?
If you are a beginner then 3 sets of 10 pushups will be enough for you to improve your body strength. But you should try to increase the repetition if you are in the intermediate or at the advanced level. The best way to find out how many reps of pushups is right for you – do pushups until failure and find out what’s the highest number of pushups you can do. The next time when you do pushups, try to do more pushups than the maximum number of pushups you did or do 1-3 fewer pushups than your highest pushup count.
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