Getting the best results from doing pushups requires you to do pushups more often. No matter if you are doing pushups in the morning or doing pushups before bed if you are doing pushups in large numbers then you need rest days to decrease the chances of overtraining.
But should I do push-ups every day or every other day to get the best results and avoid workout injuries?
The short answer is if you are doing 20-30 pushups a day then you can do pushups every day but there’s some risk of not giving your body enough time to recover. If you do other exercises to workout your upper body especially your chest, biceps, triceps, shoulder and do 50-100 pushups a day then you should do pushups every other day.
The best way to do pushups more often with proper resting time in between two pushup workout sessions is to follow a pushup workout routine.
This article will help you understand when you can do pushups every day and when you should do pushups every other day. Also, you will find recommended number of days to do pushups in a week. So, without further ado let’s begin.
Related: Pushups every day good or bad?
Should I do push-ups every day or every other day?
To find out if you can do pushups every day it’s important to find out how many pushups you are doing a day and the intensity of your pushup workout.
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Only doing easy-to-do pushup variations like knee pushups or wall pushups needs less resting period whereas doing traditional pushups, diamond pushups, incline pushups, decline pushups and other harder pushup variations that engage your muscle heavily requires more resting period.
In general, beginners who are doing 1-2 sets of knee pushups or wall pushups and one set of regular pushups can do pushups every day for 2-3 weeks. After 2-3 weeks they can do pushups for 2 days then take one day rest.
But if you do more than 50 pushups a day then you should not do pushups every day. Those who are doing 50-60 pushups a day can do pushups for 2 days in a row and then take 1 day rest to get the best results from doing pushups.
On the other hand, doing pushups every other day is recommended for those who do more than 100 pushups a day and do multiple sets of pushups.
Related: Pushup routine for beginners.
When you can do pushups every day
If you are just started doing pushups and can do 2-7 pushups per set and doing 2 sets of pushups then you can do pushups every day or do pushups 5-6 days a week. But if you feel stiffness in your muscles or you feel muscle pain after a pushup workout then you should take rest days and no pushups until you get fully recovered.
You can also do pushups every day if you are doing pushups as a part of circuit training or as a part of a bodyweight workout routine where you are doing pushups 10-20 times and also doing a bunch of other bodyweight exercises like planks, lunges, situps etc.
Related: Do you need rest days for pushups?
When you should not do pushups every day
For intermediate and advanced-level exercisers it’s not recommended to do pushups every day.
You should keep in mind some pushup challenges require you to do pushups every day for a certain amount of time. But you should not do pushups every day for more than a month.
Especially if you are doing more than 100 pushups per day you need to avoid doing pushups 7 days a week.
Recommended number of days to do pushups a week
If you want to know how many times a week should I do push-ups then here’s what you should know.
If you’re a beginner then you can do pushups for 4-6 days a week without experiencing any issues. But you should feel your body and if you feel your muscles are sore then you should take rest or train your lower body.
Intermediate level, exercisers who can do 20-25 pushups in one pushup set can do pushups for 4-5 days a week. So you should be doing pushups for 2 days in a row and then take one rest day then do pushups for 3 days in a row and then take another rest day.
Advanced-level exercisers who do more than 100 pushups a day should do pushups for 2-3 days a week. You can also do pushups every other day.
Related: How many calories does push up burn?
Do you need rest days for push-ups?
Doing bodyweight exercises like pushups is a great way to build your body and improve your fitness.
When you do pushups it workouts your chest, biceps, triceps, shoulder muscles and core. So, after a pushup workout, your muscles get damaged and it needs time to recover itself.
When you only do 20-30 pushups a day your body can recover itself within 24 hours. So in most cases, you can do pushups for 5-6 days a week.
Generally when you do more than 50 pushups a day and if you do push-ups every day then you workout the same muscle groups every day thus it can overtrain your body.
So, yes when you do pushups in large numbers you need rest days for pushups.
To build your body the right way along with standard push-ups you need to try other pushup variations.
It’s best to have different workout routines for different days. You should have an upper-body workout routine and a lower-body workout routine. So, if you would like to workout 6 days a week then you can do one-day of upper body training and the next day do lower body training.
Those who like to workout 5 days a week can do upper-body training for 3 days and lower-body training for 2 days for better results.
Related: You can do these exercises daily to stay fit.
100 Pushups every day or every other day?
Doing 100 pushups a day can be good to build muscle or make pushups effective for building chest.
But when you do 100 pushups and you want to do it every day then it can overtrain your muscle groups. Also doing these many pushups without adequate amounts of rest increases the chances of workout injuries.
Thus to stay safe and to prevent any workout injuries you should not do 100 pushups every day.
It’s a good idea to do 100 pushups every other day or you can do 100 pushups 4 days a week and take rest days after every 2 pushup workout days.
Final thoughts about push-ups every day or every other day
Should you do pushups every day or every other day depends on how many pushups you are doing a day and the intensity of your pushup workout.
Doing multiple sets of pushups or doing pushups in high-volume needs adequate rest days between two pushup workout days. So if you are doing more than 50 reps then it’s better to do pushups every other day or do pushups 4-5 days a week.
To maintain consistency with your pushup workout and to prevent the chances of overtraining it’s better to follow a push-up routine. You can read our article about pushup routines for beginners, intermediate and advanced-level exercisers.
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