# How many consecutive pushups can you do?? Can anyone here do 100? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632 "2004-01-22T14:57:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632/21 "2004-01-23T15:09:05Z")
> [@terd\_ferguson](#): > > And what is about pushups that makes you have to crap? Dude, how far apart are you spreading your legs? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632/22 "2004-01-23T15:52:39Z")
I can do 50 at a time, but I don’t think I could do very many past that. I’ve never tried to max out push-ups, but now I’m curious. ---
**Author:** ![facil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/db5fbb/32.png) [@facil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/facil)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632/23 "2004-01-23T16:48:24Z")
consecutive push-ups…hmm. the number i can do is directly proprtional to the amount of stimulus being applied to me at a certain time. for instance: 1. if i am in a gym, and there are a lot of guys doing pushups, i could do enough to look like i could do more, but i have a workout routine, so i wouldn’t want to spend too much time on them. 2. if ther are a lot of women watching, i would do enought to look like i am just warming up and don’t want to injure anything. 3. if there were a gun to my head, and people were watching me, i would probably do a lot. that is until my arms and chest get so tired that my butt starts to shake, and i start making peace with myself before i die. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632/24 "2004-01-23T17:07:31Z")
I know I can do over 40 in a minute. After that, give me a good reason to keep going. Pain is not a good reason. I’ve done about 70 in a row within the last decade. Bottom line: it hurts less to do four sets of 25. When I was 18 (Reagan, big hair, spandex pants – the era, not me or Reagan) I used to be the, eh, pushup champ of my dorm. That was an unofficial title. Here’s how we did it: I’d do 20, he’d do 20, I’d do 19, he’d do 19, and so on. If you made it to one pushup, you work your way back up. Nobody I know made it back past one on the way to 20 without long breaks (cheating). I was the second best a crawling down the halls with a foot on each wall seven feet in the air. Yes, that’s as stupid looking as it sounds. Unless you are Spider Man. Make sure you have shoes with rubber soles. Don’t try it unless the building is old enough. (Halls are wider now) ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632/25 "2004-01-23T17:24:23Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Also, knuckle pushups aren’t that much harder. You need strong wrists and tough knuckles, though. Aside from the balance lost I actually prefer those. Much easier on the wrists. I think I’ve posted once or twice about how many I used to be able to do and how many I can do now. My dopefest challenge stands ( **fizzy** called me on it some weeks ago. She learned her lesson); any dopefest I attend, unless there’s something (else;)) wrong with me I’ll do 75 pushups at a moment’s notice. As I stray from the days where I did pushups leisurely, that number isn’t quite the laugh it used to be, but I can still do it pretty much whenever I feel like it. If I pushed myself I’m reasonably confident I could break my previous record within 2-3 months. If anyone would like to lay a bet on it (said money going to some non-profit organization, of course) along with a reasonable number and a reasonable timeframe (i.e. I ain’t doing 1000 tomorrow, but 100 with no rest by Feb … 14, I’d be willing to accept), I’ll think on it some. This could be fun:) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-consecutive-pushups-can-you-do-can-anyone-here-do-100/225632.md?page=1)