When you are doing pushups as a beginner you should follow a pushup workout routine. Following a pushup routine can help you to increase the number of pushups you can do and you will also know when to do pushups and when to take a rest.
It’s important to have rest days in between pushup days to maximise your gains and is good for your pushup progression.
In this article, you will read about the pushup routine for beginners and other tips on pushups that will help you to get better at doing pushups.
Let’s start.
Pushup routine for beginners
This pushup routine is only for beginners. If you can do 15 or more pushups in one go then you are not a beginner. For most people starting to do pushups or for a beginner it’s normal to do just 5-7 pushups in one go.
After you follow this pushup routine gradually you will be able to do more pushups. You can see an increase in the number of pushups you can do within 20-30 days.
After 20-30 days if you continue to do pushups and follow this beginner pushup routine after a couple of weeks you will be able to do 20+ pushups in one go.
Here’s the beginner’s pushup routine you should follow.
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| Exercise | Reps | Sets |
|---|---|---|
| Normal pushups | 6-8 | 2-3 |
| Wall pushups | 20-30 | 2 |
You should follow this pushup routine and do pushups every other day or you can do pushups 4 days a week and take 3 rest days.
If you can’t do a normal pushup then instead of it you can do knee pushups. You will read how to do a knee pushup later in this post.
Pushup sets and reps for beginners
For beginners, it’s recommended to do 2-3 pushup sets. If you want to get better at doing pushups you should try to do pushups until failure. This means you should stop doing pushups when you can’t do any more pushups.
This will help you push your limits and make your workouts challenging for your body.
When you do pushups until failure, within 10-15 days you will see you can do 3-4 more pushups than the initial number of pushups you were doing when you got first started.
So, in your pushup workout, you should do 2-3 sets of pushups. And if you can’t do a normal pushup then you should do a knee pushup.
In each pushup set, you should do pushups until failure or do 5-8 pushups in your first set. And in the second and third set try to do 3-6 pushups.
Pushup progression plan
If you want to increase the number of pushups you can do then you should follow a pushup progression plan. In a pushup progression plan along with pushups, you will need to do a few other exercises that will help you to strengthen some muscle groups that get engaged when you do pushups.
A pushup progression plan can extend up to 8 weeks.
Here’s a pushup progression plan that you can follow if you want to get better at doing pushups.
| Week | Pushups | Pushup variation | Other exercises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 6-8 Normal pushups | 20 Wall pushups | Plank for 15 – 20 seconds |
| Week 2 | 6-8 Normal pushups | 20 Wall pushups | Plank for 20 – 30 seconds |
| Week 3 | 7-10 Normal pushups | 25 Wall pushups | Plank for 30 seconds |
| Week 4 | 7-10 Normal pushups | 25 Wall pushups | Plank for 30 – 40 seconds |
| Week 5 | 7-10 Normal pushups | 30 Wall pushups | Plank for 30 – 40 seconds |
| Week 6 | 10-14 Normal pushups | 10 Incline pushups | Plank for 30 – 40 seconds |
| Week 7 | 10-14 Normal pushups | 12-15 Incline pushups | Plank for 30 – 50 seconds |
| Week 8 | 15-20 Normal pushups | 15-20 Incline pushups | Plank for 30 – 50 seconds |
| Sets | 2-3 sets | 2 set | 2-3 sets |
You can follow this beginner’s pushup progression plan and do pushups 4 days a week or do pushups every other day.
How to do pushups for beginners
You can start to do pushups in two ways. One way to do pushups is to first lie down on your stomach and place both palms on your shoulder side at a distance greater than your shoulder length. Now keep your body and back straight and push upwards until your hands become straight.
Then slowly descend downwards until your chest comes close to the ground. Then again push your body upwards and repeat.
Here’s a video on how to do pushups correctly.
Pushup variations for beginners
Here are some of the pushup variations you can do as a beginner. Especially you should do wall pushups if you want to increase the number of pushups you can do.
Knee pushups or modified pushups
You should do knee pushups or modified pushups when you can’t do normal pushups.
Here’s how to do knee pushups.
To do a knee pushup first you have to kneel on the floor and extend your arms and place your hands a little bit wider than your shoulder length. Now start to lower your body by folding from your elbow with a straight back. When you feel your chest is going to touch the floor, push your body upwards then repeat.
Related: How many pushups should I do a day to build muscle?
Wall pushups
To do wall pushups you have to stand near a wall. And the wall should be in front of you. From the wall take two steps backwards and place your both hands on the wall. While doing this keep your back straight. When you are in this position your body should make a roughly 45-degree angle.
Now lower your body by folding your arms from the elbow with a straight body. After going down towards the wall push upwards and repeat.
How many push ups a day for a beginner?
A beginner should do 2-3 sets of pushups and in each pushup set, they can do 5-8 pushups. It’s most likely that in the second and third set, they will normally do 3-4 pushups. So, roughly a beginner should do 12-16 pushups in a day over 2-3 sets.
If you want to do more pushups as a beginner you should try to do 2-3 sets of pushups. And in each pushup set, you should do pushups until failure.
Following this method will help you to get better at doing pushups faster.
Related: Can you do pushups right after eating?
Pushup training plan for beginners
When you are starting to do pushups as a beginner you should follow a pushup training plan. This will help you to take adequate rest in between two pushup days and do multiple pushup sets on your pushup days.
Here’s a push-up training plan for beginners.
Pushups training plan for a week.
| Days | Rest day/pushup day |
|---|---|
| Sunday | Do Pushups |
| Monday | Do Pushups |
| Tuesday | Rest day |
| Wednesday | Do Pushups |
| Thursday | Rest day |
| Friday | Do pushups |
| Saturday | Rest day |
You should do pushups 3-4 days a week and this training plan is for your first month or 4 weeks.
Conclusion
Even if you are a beginner and have started doing pushups you should follow a pushup routine to get better at doing pushups.
In this pushups beginner guide I have covered everything you needed to know to do pushups as a beginner now it’s time you apply it to improve your pushup workout.
If you follow this beginner’s pushup routine then you can see an increase in the number of pushups you can do in one go within a few weeks.
Also, it’s essential to take rest days in between two pushup days to progress steadily. You can do pushups every other day or do pushups 4 days a week.
Having rest days will help you to give your body enough time to recover and will help you build a muscular upper body.
FAQs about pushups for beginners
If you do 10 pushups a day then slowly you will begin to tone your body and you will see an increase in your body stamina and strength. But you should not do pushups every day. You can do pushups 4 days a week or do pushups every other day.
After starting to do pushups it can take up to 45 days to show visible changes to your body. Initially, after doing pushups you will be able to feel the tension in your muscle groups but to see any noticeable changes you should wait at least 30 – 45 days.
You can know if pushups are working or not right after you complete a pushup workout. Normally after doing pushups you will feel your hand muscles are a little bit stiffer than usual. Also, when you do multiple pushup sets then you can notice stiffness and little pain in your arm muscles. These are the signs that pushups are working for you.
While doing pushups it’s normal that sometimes your chest will touch the floor. It’s not wrong if your chest sometimes touches the floor while doing pushups. Your chest can touch the floor but it should not rest on the floor during a pushup workout.
