What Can 100 Push Ups a Day for 5 MONTHS Do? (15,300 Push Ups!)

Push ups are a great upper-body exercise. They can do a lot for your physical strength and muscular development. It’s no surprise that they are considered a fundamental pushing exercise. Still, people often have many questions about push ups. For example:

How many push ups is enough?
How often should you do them?
What will they actually do to my body?
How long will it take to see results?

In this article, I will show you what doing 100 push ups every day for the last five months (153 days – 15,300 pushups) has done for me and my body. You will see all of the monthly update pictures, as well as some brutally honest analysis from me about what went well, what did not go well, and how you can have an even more successful push up challenge that I am having.

Consult a Professional

This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be a signed permission note to go and perform 100 push ups every day on your own. Push ups are a physical exercise, and they can cause injury. Consult your doctor, personal trainer, or a physical therapist before beginning a training routine of this type.

A Quick History of Me

I used to weigh 296 lbs. (134.5 kgs.). I was obese and unathletic. I was also 17 years old… ouch! I am now 33, and things have changed quite a bit since then. As of June 15, 2019, I had lost a total of 98 lbs. (44.5 kgs.) and weighed 198 lbs. (90.0 kgs.). Not too shabby!

Despite the weight loss, my body still had some room for improvement. Primarily, it was time to build some muscle and fill out m frame, not to mention the little bit of loose skin that remained from my obese days.

With that in mind, I decided to do something big… I decided to start doing 100 push ups a day, every day, for an entire year!

How Did I Perform My 100 Push Ups Every Day?

The simple answer is that I hit the floor and performed 100 push ups from the time I woke up until the time I went to sleep… every day. But you and I both know that there is more to it than that.

For the first two months I was very keen to know how many push ups I could do in a row. To me, it was a sign of strength. It was also easily measurable, which nerds such as I like very much. I could count the number of push ups I did in a row and compare it to previous days. If the number when up, I was stronger.

However, as time when on I realized that quantity was not the same as quality. So, starting in month 3 I stopped counting the maximum number of push ups that I could do in a single set. Instead, I tried to perform every push up with excellent form. I moved more slowly throughout the movement, and I tried to complete the full range of motion throughout each repetition.

This meant that I was doing far fewer push ups per set. It was also more exhausting. As a result, I spread out my sets over the course of the day. I would perform maybe 10-20 in the morning, another 10 or so after a little bit of work, sneak another 10 in between other exercises at the gym, and so on and so forth until I reached 100.

I found that doing it this way allowed me to fully recover in between sets, and that the quality of my push ups remained higher over the course of the day. That being said, it also lowered the intensity compared to people who choose to complete all 100 push ups in one massive session.

There is no right or wrong choice, really. My preference was somewhat conservative given the long-term nature of this challenge (one year of push ups) and my strong desire to not hurt myself because of bad form or over-training.

The Results of 100 Push Ups A Day for 5 Months

Let’s now see the results. As a point of reference, here are the dates for each month and corresponding picture:

Day 1: June 15, 2019
Month 1: June 15, 2019 – July 14, 2019 (30 days)
Month 2: June 15, 2019 – August 14, 2019 (61 days)
Month 3: June 15, 2019 – September 14, 2019 (92 days)
Month 4: June 15, 2019 – October 14, 2019 (122 days)
Month 5: June 15, 2019 – November 14, 2019 (153 days)

On top of this, I also kept track of my weight during this challenge. I wanted to know how my weight would change over time, as well as how my weight would influence my physique and the results. Here are the numbers:

Jun. 15, 2019: 198 lbs. (90.0 kgs.)
Jul. 14, 2019: 184.8 lbs. (84 kgs.)
Aug. 14, 2019: 184.1 lbs. (83.7 kgs.)
Sep. 14, 2019: 187.2 lbs. (85.1 kgs.)
Oct. 14, 2019: 186.6 lbs. (84.8 kgs.)
Nov. 14, 2019: 183.5 lbs. (83.4 kgs.)

I am happy to say that I lost 15.5 lbs. (7.6 kgs.) over the course of the five-month challenge!

Add that to the weight I had lost from my heaviest (296 lbs. / 134.5 kgs.) and you have a grand total of 112.5 lbs. (51.1 kgs.) lost in the last 13 years, give or take. That’s pretty cool, and definitely something I am very proud of.

Still, this challenge and article are about how doing 100 push ups a day for five months has changed my chest… so let’s check out the before and after photos.

Before and After Photos from Each Month:

Before and After Photos from Day 1 to Month 5:

When I look at these photos, I see:

A chest that has grown bigger each month
A chest that has grown denser each month
Shoulders that have grown bigger each month
Shoulders that have become more shapelier
Despite losing 15.5 lbs., I look bigger now that when I started
My posture looks a little better
I look happier : )

Therefore, the evidence seems to show that doing 100 push ups a day for five months will help you to grow your chest and shoulder muscles. Your muscles will become more toned and shapelier. You will get stronger. Overall, your upper body will look better. You might even look bigger, even if you lose some weight.

My Tips for You

Despite the gains I have made, there were some challenges along the way. The results could also have been even better with some tweaks. With that in mind, I would recommend that anyone who wants to begin doing 100 push ups every day (or any number that suits you) for an extend period of time would be wise to consider the following:

Use proper form. It helps prevent injury.
USE proper form. It engages the chest muscles more, and they are the primary muscles you will want to be developing during this challenge, right?
Complete the full range of motion during each repetition. That means going all the way up, and all the way down.
Complete each repetition as slowly as possible. The slower, the better. This increases time-under-tension means your chest muscles are stressed for longer. More stress = more gains.
Avoid additional chest exercises in the gym. At some point, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Focus on the push ups.
Compliment your push ups with plenty of pulling movements. Train your back, your traps, and the back of your shoulders regularly. It will help to maintain the structural integrity and strength of your shoulders, as well as supporting a balanced, better looking body.
Add a focus on your diet and nutrition. You need to support your body with the proper nutrition it needs to grow and recover. Spend as much time thinking about your daily menu as you do training your chest for the best results.
Get plenty of sleep. Muscles do not grow in the gym. They grow during periods of rest. Make sure you get plenty of sleep to support the growth of your muscles and to fully recover for the next day’s training session.

YouTube Video

In addition to my website, I also have my Fat, Broke and Stupid YouTube Channel! I published a video going over the results and it make for an awesome addition to this article because you can see a full video of my body transformation, not just photos. Watch it here:

Pro Tip: If you subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell, you will get all of my update videos sent to you as they are published. You can subscribe by going to my Fat, Broke and Stupid YouTube Channel and hitting the subscribe button.

Learn More About This Challenge

If you enjoyed this post, you can see even more by going to my 100 Push Ups A Day for One Year website page. There, you will get the most updated information, access to all of the articles and YouTube videos, plus much more…