100 Push Ups & 50 Pull ups – 21 Day Results

21 day pull up and push up challenge

This challenge involved doing 100 push ups and 50 pull ups for six days a week over a total of three weeks. The challenge can be seen above and is available for download here

The Exercises

  • Push ups: chest to floor on every rep, performed at speed. Focus on pulling the shoulders apart at the top of the movement (optimal for shoulder health).
  • Pull ups: Gripping the bar overhand with a slightly wider than shoulder width. Bring the body right up to the bar and return to full arm extension at the bottom of each rep.

Perform these two exercises as you see fit. I chose to have two minutes rest and complete 6-8 pull ups and 10-15 push ups per set. Don’t go to failure on any set.

Results

After completing the program the original article suggested taking five days off to allow the body to fully recover. My final measurements and pictures were taken on day 25 (the last set of exercises were day 20).

100 push ups 50 pull ups before after results
Day One: Regular gym-goer so not a bad starting point
100 push ups 50 pull ups before after results
Day 25: slightly more defined chest and thicker lats, meaning 1 1/8″ bigger chest

I made a point of activating my lats and chest before completing the exercises in order to maximise growth. I chose scapula pull ups and simply pushed my hands together at different angles to activate the chest. This definitely made a difference and improved the mind-muscle connection, something many bodybuilders emphasise.

The 100 push ups and 50 pull ups challenge results were impressive considering my age (31) and training years (15). Someone younger with less experience could certainly see better results from the same effort. If you do this I recommend focusing a lot on correct technique. I you don’t have the initial strength level to complete a good set of 5 to 8 pull ups then this program is probably too advanced.

As featured on Men’s Health

About Fraser_9to5 216 Articles
Site owner. I'm a graduate in Sports Science and have an MSc in Sports Biomechanics. I set up 9to5strength in 2015 as a resource for people interested in strength training, nutrition and fitness. I consider myself a fitness blogger and enjoy creating YouTube videos and trying out workout programs.