If you want to get better at push-ups, taking a leaf out of a former Navy SEAL's book would be a step in the right direction.
Former Navy SEAL and fitness coach Stew Smith recently shared a simple method called the Push-Up Push Protocol, which is designed to help increase your max rep score in just two weeks.
Rather than requiring you to train the same way every day, it combines high-volume training with different ways of distributing your reps to help you accumulate more practice. Here's how it works.
What Is the Push-Up Push Protocol?
To start the protocol, Smith says you first need to test the maximum number of push-ups you can perform in a single set with good form. Take that number and multiply it by four. This becomes your daily push-up target for the next 10 days. So, if your current max is 30 reps:
30 x 4 = 120 push-ups per day
The protocol then requires you to alternate how you complete those reps. On odd-numbered days, you complete your daily total during a workout, aiming to get through the reps in as few sets as possible. These can be added to your existing upper-body training.
On even-numbered days, you spread the same number of reps throughout the day in smaller, more manageable sets.
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Continue alternating between the two approaches until you've completed 10 consecutive days.
The Results
After day 10, Smith recommends taking three to four days away from upper-body pushing exercises, giving your chest, shoulders and triceps a break from the unusually high workload.
On day 14 or 15, retest your maximum push-ups and see whether your score has improved.
Smith also puts a ceiling on the volume. If you're already knocking out around 80 push-ups in one set, Smith doesn't recommend using the protocol at all, instead suggesting a more conventional upper-body programme.
Who is It For?
The Push-Up Push Protocol is essentially a concentrated block of high-frequency push-up practice. If increasing your push-up score is your specific goal, that specificity makes sense as you're getting plenty of opportunities to practise the movement while accumulating a large number of reps.
However, more isn't automatically better. Going from a relatively low weekly push-up volume to hundreds of reps every day is a substantial jump in workload and may leave your wrists, elbows or shoulders a bit battered.
If you're going to try it, keep your reps controlled, stop if you experience pain and remember that it's a short-term push-up challenge rather than a way to train year-round.
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