What's a good number of push ups for a woman to be able to do?

I have puny long arms, but I generally do 3 x 20 real pushups, as part of 6 upper body exercises (free weights only, 20-25 lbs). I've gotten up to 3 x 30. I haven't tried to max out. If I haven't done pushups in a while, I usually start at 3 x 15, as part of my 6 exercise routine.

Tony little wrote:

... according to military rules.

...proper pushups where their nose, chest, abddomen and knees all touch the ground at the same time on each rep, and arms are locked in the up position each time.

Tony little,

What military standard are you referencing? Certainly not U.S. Army. The standard is to maintain a straight body and touch the chest to the counter's fist. So, the chest only gets as low as about 2.5-3 inches from the ground.

I honestly can't do a single one. Hyperflexing my small wrists aggravates my carpel tunnel syndrome.

I would say of the general runner population, 97% of MEN do pushups incorrectly. As another poster said, if someone put their fist under your chest, you should touch it and come all the way up with straight back/butt/legs. This is actually suprisingly hard.

I was on an XC team that took weights pretty seriously and very few of them could accomplish these standards

I have been to the law enforcement academy as well and can say that out of my graduating class of of about 80, the average amount was around 35-40 max out. This was for (somewhat) fit police officers. Only 2 Officers got over 100 and only about 10 got over 50.

My wife cant do but maybe 3 according to these standards...but shes very weak. When we started training weights for the first time 10 weeks ago, she couldnt do 10 "girl" pushups

Girl here and can normally do 20 real push-ups at any given time. Have done 37 as a max. I'm more into yoga and doing plank but it's fun to do push-ups once in a while.

I can probably do 30 strict push-ups and 15 strict pull ups (for comparison).

When I do push-ups my whole body is parallel because I keep my elbows in. Is it harder or easier this way?

Thats the problem with comparing pushups, most people do them a little different. The pullups should be full extension with arms locked out for comparison.

As many as she can.

sarasotagirl wrote:

Well actually she is 110 and can bench 130 and can lift a 45 lb bar 75 times. This is to the guy thinking this is BS. Pushups are subjective but I can tell you she has been picked out many times for doing good form pushups.

A runner chick who weighs 110 and can bench 130 is exceptional not remotely near the norm. Most runner chicks have upper arms the sam circumference as their wrists and no visible pectoral or shoulder muscle. Not a criticism, mind you. I need to recheck my original post, but I was more responding to folks who think this is the norm, not that a particular girl couldn't do it. I have been around a ton of runners in a variety of settings and they are notoriously weak in the upper body, particularly chicks, for obvious reasons - phenotypes that are good for running aren't generally good for strength exercises.

Darkwave wrote:

Tony little wrote:

proper pushups where their nose, chest, abddomen and knees all touch the ground at the same time on each rep, and arms are locked in the up position each time. My wife weighs 123 and can bench 130 and can only do about 25 or so in one set.

I'll make the observation that only the most underendowed of runner chicks are going to be able to do this -- due to female proportioning, the chest is going to hit the ground before the nose/abdomen/knees when the posture is correct.

This isn't a practical standard for most women :)

I thought we were talking about runners, not most women. Lord, if you have giant boobs, you are missing several inches of pushup range of motion requirements.

I am talking about what my Army Ranger friend showed me was required of him. He may have been exaggerating, but it seems to me if you can avoid a full extension, you have made the pushup a shitton easier. Stopping 2-3 inches from the floor adds 20 reps to what I can do. If you keep a straight body and touch the floor with your chest, you will contact pelvis and knees as well. I have seen people do "chest to floor" pushups where their body is so absurdly bent that their legs are nowhere close to the floor.

I generally do my pushups in my every other day prief pushup workout using 15 pound dumbells as handles that so I can get a longer range of motion, that is, go below "floor" level" - why would I stop before I am on the floor - this isn't time efficient. Instead of doing a time consuming number of reps with limited range, I'd rather do fewer with more range for the same workout. I can do about 35 with handles and 50+ without. So not going to the floor on the non-handle pushups would easily add about 20 reps of capability.

Lets see you do these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QENTRilu8Zc&feature=player_embedded

She is not the norm, we know that. I would only let her do 130 once, usually she will do 12 to 14 reps with 110 or 115. She is small so I don't let her lift heavy very often. The first time she raced on a track people in the stands were commenting on how strong she looks, to me she is just small and strong.

best. girl. pushups. ever!

Tony, of course it's easier than going chest to floor. But the topic wasn't "most challenging pushup". If it was, why don't you elevate your feet while you're at it? Much more effective. Also add explosive hand-claps.

Bottom line is, proper form, according to U.S. Army standards is not what you described. Body-in-a-straight line? Definitely. No cheating allowed. If the body-line breaks (butt elevated/sunk), the pushup doesn't count. But face/chest/pelvis does not have to touch ground as you claimed.

That is all, soldier.

I am 51 and normal weight. I run several times a week and bike 20-30 miles as a beginner. I started doing girl push-ups as part of my weight and strength training two weeks ago.

I do 60+ pushups a day - bent knee - 3 sets of 20 with a minute break between sets.

I hope to move up to regular push ups after a month and plan to drop my sets to 10-15 to start but keep pushing the total.

Men are initially stronger however and have more upper body strength to start. But I plan to catch up to my boyfriend who does 80-100 regular.

Any quantity >1, really.

I’m new to running but I used to be a very competitive rower. It took me around 5 months before I got my first real push up (I did eccentrics, and elevated) now I can do sets of 10 fairly easily or 15-20 if I have longer breaks. Most girls I know think they can do push-ups but aren’t doing real ones, they usually cannot get to 90 degrees. So I would say on average most girls I know can do 3. Most athletes I know can probably do 5-8 real ones. However, I think for most women if you don’t train pushups you won’t be able to do them on the spot even if you’re a dedicated athlete in good shape.