How Fast Should A Push Up Be

On April 22nd, 2020, Daniel Scali (Australia) set the new world’s best time for doing push-up reps in an hour, achieving 3,182 push-up reps in 1 hour (over 53 push-ups/minute).

Some trainers argue that fast push-ups cause injury and slow push-ups build more strength when you push off your body weight. However, that is untrue given how record holders can train to over 50 push-ups a minutes.

Therefore, how fast should your push-up be? 

To beat the world record for push-ups in an hour, you need to do over 53 push-ups per minute. At that rate, it is painful and tiring even for the current record holder, requiring to focus on breathing to defeat fatigue and maintain the speed to prevent burn out. 

The record was over 100 push-up reps more than the previous world’s best mark, which was set by another Australian, Jarrad Young, who did 3,054 push-up reps in one hour (50.9 push-ups/minute) in January 2019.

Daniel shared some insight on mindset and breathing during the challenge. Daniel slightly adjusted his breathing to defeat fatigue and to make sure he saw it through with the best performance possible.

“The breathing technique that I had was to breath out quick and fast. It was slightly different from the one I started with, but this one made me push through. Concentrating on form was a huge thing as well. Making sure that my core was tight all the way through, that my body was going up and down and my elbows were at 90 degrees.”

Daniel shared some about pains and push-ups in his mindset.

“If you convince yourself that pain is a fuel to keep you going, you’ll change for the better.”

To succeed, Daniel needed to avoid burnout by not overextending himself during the challenge.

“I knew what I needed to do. I knew my intervals and the push-ups I needed to get in my intervals, around 19 or so for every interval, and I just had to stick to that. It was funny: in the beginning, I was breaking the intervals that I should have been hitting. If I had to do 20, I was doing 21, then I would jump at 22 and I pulled it back to a 19. I was telling myself: ‘don’t burn yourself out, Daniel. You’ve done this before, don’t burn yourself out’.”

Push-ups are one of the most useful exercises for building strength and endurance. You can also read our post about diamond push-ups being hard and perhaps bad. It is an excellent exercise for improving core strength and upper body strength. Pushups are also a great workout for toning your arms and shoulders.

Here are five tips to improve your pushup technique.

Tip 1: Use proper form

Start each pushup with your hands placed shoulder-width apart. This is the standard position for performing pushups.

Keep your chest lifted and your chin parallel to the floor. Don't allow your head to drop below your chest.

Make sure that your elbows are locked straight down and don't bend.

Tip 2: Focus on your breathing

As mentioned by record holder, focus on your breathing, whether fast when you need power or deeply while doing normal pushups. Breathing properly helps you focus on the movement rather than thinking about how difficult it is. Try to breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Tip 3: Do pushups reasonably when training

Doing pushups too fast might neglect your form (Tip 1). Slow down your pace until you become comfortable with the movements. Slowly lifting your body off the ground is easier on your joints.

Tip 4: Perform pushups using your entire body

Perform pushups using your legs instead of just your arms. This variation builds leg muscles and improves balance.

Tip 5: Practice pushups daily

Practice pushups every day to improve your overall fitness level.

When you practice pushups regularly, you will notice improvements in your posture, flexibility, and muscle tone.

These five simple tips will help you improve your pushup technique and ultimately lead to better results.