How much weight is a pushup?

[Flea]

This afternoon I was doing weights at the Y, and could do a lot more reps than I can pushups. So how much weight does one bear in a pushup? There has to be some kind of mathematical formula for this.

 

[searcher]

I believe that it is roughly 2/3rds of your body weight, but I cannot remember the exact formula.

 

[Omar B]

I'm not sure what percentage of your body weight it is, but it's gotta be most of it. Or you could do vertical push ups and life all your weight.

 

[Bruno@MT]

The weight you push in a pushup is roughly half of your body weight + the weight of your head. That is, for an average person with normal body posture and BMI.

 

[harold]

My personal trainer certification instructor said a standard pushup is approximately 40 percent of your total weight. By elevating your feet, you increase the weight. If you weigh 200 pounds for example and do a vertical/handstand pushup,you are pressing 200 pounds.

 

[Jenna]

This afternoon I was doing weights at the Y, and could do a lot more reps than I can pushups. So how much weight does one bear in a pushup? There has to be some kind of mathematical formula for this.

Dear Flea, as a suggestion, rather than trying to figure the physics and centre of mass etc, you could try your pushup off your bathroom scales maybe for a decent approximate measurement Janna xxx

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I don't think there is a simple formula. When I have exhausted myself doing regular pushups, and I can't do another one to save my life, if someone picks up my legs and holds them knee-high, I can knock out another 20 or so. And theoretically, I'd be lifting more weight then. So it's not just about weight, it's about the angles and muscles involved, etc. I have no idea, in other words.

Plus, people do pushups differently. I've seen people holding their arms out as if they were in a tee-shape from their shoulders, and holding them in, putting the elbows tucked in near the bottom of the ribcage. It seems to me that this would not only change the angle, but also the fulcrum, and involve different muscle groups as well.

 

[Carol]

Also, if the reps are done on a weight machine, then that's a device that tends to isolate and target specific muscles.

Pushups on the other hand work muscles all over the body.

 

[seasoned]

Dear Flea, as a suggestion, rather than trying to figure the physics and centre of mass etc, you could try your pushup off your bathroom scales maybe for a decent approximate measurement Janna xxx

Way to logical. I missed your input.

 

[David43515]

Dear Flea, as a suggestion, rather than trying to figure the physics and centre of mass etc, you could try your pushup off your bathroom scales maybe for a decent approximate measurement Janna xxx

I have a book on bodyweight exercises wher a guy did just that. In several positions with either hands or feet elevated. I`m at work now but I`ll check later to see what percentages he found.

And for what it`s worth, Bill is right. Just by changing the angle or hand placement a bit you can end up working a completely different set of muscles. I have a serious love/hate relationship w/ pushups.

 

[Omar B]

Oh I can't stand push ups either. When working out on my own I start with sets of 30 Hindu push ups so depending on how I'm feeling it's either 90 or 120. But I do end with elevated push ups (with my feet on a chair) and I can usually get 40 or 50, again, dependi9ng on how I feel.

 

[yak sao]

I had always that a pushup was around 60% of your body weight.
I just tried the bathroom scale idea and it's pretty much in the ballpark.

BTW, by putting one leg on top of the other, so that you are now on one foot only, this increases body weight to around 70%

 

[punisher73]

I had always that a pushup was around 60% of your body weight.
I just tried the bathroom scale idea and it's pretty much in the ballpark.

BTW, by putting one leg on top of the other, so that you are now on one foot only, this increases body weight to around 70%

60% is the percentage that I had always heard referenced as well.

Mr Mattocks is also correct that your form will dictate how the pushup will feel etc.

I use those "power push up" paddles and they really work more muscles than the standard due to your arm rotating through the motion. You get a nice burn in your forearms as well.

 

[Nomad]

Also, if the reps are done on a weight machine, then that's a device that tends to isolate and target specific muscles.

Pushups on the other hand work muscles all over the body.

Yep, if you're doing pushups with good form, you're engaging muscles in your arms (esp. triceps), back, chest, and core.

On a weight machine, the engineering involved means you're isolating specific muscles or muscle groups to work on. Universal weight machines also remove the instability that free weights offer, which allows you to do higher weights, because you're not having to do all the minor balance corrections if you were, for instance, bench pressing free weights.

 

[l_uk3y]

One of those questions with so many variables. Fantastic exercise though as there are so many different angles you can do them on which hit different areas.

One reason you will find it wears you out quicker then weights machines and so-forth is that you are using additional smaller muscles in the body (which wear out quickly) for balance as well as the larger "grunt" muscles that do the bulk of the work

Cheers
Luke

 

[maft]

I believe that it is roughly 2/3rds of your body weight, but I cannot remember the exact formula.

I agree with that, roughly about 70% of your body weight, but it is hard to say how much exactly.

It would also depend which kind of push-up you were performing, I guess.

maft
​

 

[SahBumNimRush]

Percentage of weight is approximately 40% of your body weight for a standard push up. However, that is typically not the limiting factor in performance. Olympic weight training isolates specific muscle groups, push ups do not.

This has all been mentioned previously in the thread. What hasn't been mentioned, however, is where exactly most people have the "weak" link that makes it difficult to perform as many repetitions in body weight exercise vs. olympic weight training (barbell weight lifting). Stabilization muscle groups are often weak in most people. If we use the bench press as an example, the only stabilizers you use are in the shoulder. However, with the similar arm motion used in the push up, you have to stabilize your whole body to maintain the plank position. This requires shoulder stabilizers, strong lumbar spine stabilizers (your core), as well as hip and ankle stabilizers. You are effectively isometrically contracting many more muscle groups in your body to maintain your "technique" in a push up than when you are laying flat on your back bench pressing a barbell.

 

[baborz]

You can get a halfway accurate idea by doing diamonds on a good scale.