How Many Continuous Press-ups Can You Do?

Posted by Robin Shill on September 4, 2010 » Categories Fitness

Counting the amount of continuous press-ups you can do is a fantastic indication of upper body strength and stamina. Of course you’re not expected to be up to Minoru Yoshida’s standard who completed 10,507 continuous press-ups in 1980 – in fact, you’re not expected to even get close.

With this test, make sure you get the form correct:
1. Place your feet together with your toes on the floor acting as the pivot, make sure your back is straight and place your hands on the floor shoulder-width apart.
2. Push yourself off the ground so that your arms extend fully.
3. Lower your body so that your elbows are at a 90 degree angle.

It is acceptable for women to do a modified press up where your knees are on the floor acting as the pivot instead of your feet. Genetically women do not have the same upper body strength as men, so this makes the test fair.

For Men:

Age Excellent Good Average Fair Poor
18 - 29 55 + 45 – 54 35 – 44 20 – 34 > 19
30 – 39 45 + 35 – 44 25 – 34 15 – 24 > 14
40 -49 40 + 30 – 39 20 – 29 12 – 19 > 11
50 – 59 35 + 25 – 34 15 – 24 8 – 14 > 7
60+ 30 + 20 – 29 10 – 19 5 – 9 > 4

For Women:

Age Excellent Good Average Fair Poor
18 - 29 48 + 34 – 47 17 – 33 6 – 16 > 6
30 – 39 39 + 25 – 38 12 – 24 4 – 11 > 4
40 -49 34 + 20 – 33 8 – 19 3 – 7 > 3
50 – 59 29 + 15 – 28 6 – 14 2 – 5 > 2
60+ 19 + 5 – 18 3 – 4 1 - 2 > 1

To improve your score, you need to practice. Try doing 3 sets of as many press ups as you can do every other day and you’ll see your score improve each week.

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