{"id":599683,"date":"2026-08-21T00:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/599683\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T00:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T00:46:20","slug":"former-navy-seal-shares-his-simple-2-week-protocol-for-increasing-your-max-push-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/599683\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Navy SEAL Shares His Simple 2-Week Protocol for Increasing Your Max Push-Ups"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">If you want to get better at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/how-tos\/a754908\/ultimate-guide-to-the-press-up-edit\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/how-tos\/a754908\/ultimate-guide-to-the-press-up-edit\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"push-ups\" data-node-id=\"5.1\" class=\"body-link css-10fnnmt emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">push-ups<\/a>, taking a leaf out of a former Navy SEAL&#8217;s book would be a step in the right direction. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Former Navy SEAL and fitness coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stewsmith50\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stewsmith50\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Stew Smith\" data-node-id=\"10.1\" class=\"body-link css-10fnnmt emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Stew Smith<\/a> recently shared a simple method called the Push-Up Push Protocol, which is designed to help increase your max rep score in just two weeks.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"14\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Rather than requiring you to train the same way every day, it combines high-volume training with different ways of distributing your reps to help you accumulate more practice. Here&#8217;s how it works.<\/p>\n<p>What Is the Push-Up Push Protocol?<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"21\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">To start the protocol, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stewsmithfitness.com\/blogs\/news\/free-two-week-protocol-for-pullups-and-pushups-increase-50-100?srsltid=AfmBOopZ1VvboQmY2MSd9eqsHFnwSA1xblj-hComMThmk_9No0XSMBSf\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.stewsmithfitness.com\/blogs\/news\/free-two-week-protocol-for-pullups-and-pushups-increase-50-100?srsltid=AfmBOopZ1VvboQmY2MSd9eqsHFnwSA1xblj-hComMThmk_9No0XSMBSf\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Smith says\" data-node-id=\"21.1\" class=\"body-link css-10fnnmt emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Smith says<\/a> you first need to test the maximum number of push-ups you can perform in a single set with good form. Take that number and multiply it by four. This becomes your daily push-up target for the next 10 days. So, if your current max is 30 reps:<\/p>\n<p>30 x 4 = 120 push-ups per day<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"27\" class=\"body-text css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">The protocol then requires you to alternate how you complete those reps. On odd-numbered days, you complete your daily total during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/workouts\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.menshealth.com\/uk\/workouts\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"workout\" data-node-id=\"27.1\" class=\"body-link css-10fnnmt emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">workout<\/a>, aiming to get through the reps in as few sets as possible. These can be added to your existing upper-body training.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">On even-numbered days, you spread the same number of reps throughout the day in smaller, more manageable sets.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"36\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Continue alternating between the two approaches until you&#8217;ve completed 10 consecutive days.<\/p>\n<p>The Results<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"41\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">After day 10, Smith recommends taking three to four days away from upper-body pushing exercises, giving your chest, shoulders and triceps a break from the unusually high workload.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"45\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">On day 14 or 15, retest your maximum push-ups and see whether your score has improved.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"49\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Smith also puts a ceiling on the volume. If you&#8217;re already knocking out around 80 push-ups in one set, Smith doesn&#8217;t recommend using the protocol at all, instead suggesting a more conventional upper-body programme.<\/p>\n<p>Who is It For?<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"54\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">The Push-Up Push Protocol is essentially a concentrated block of high-frequency push-up practice. If increasing your push-up score is your specific goal, that specificity makes sense as you&#8217;re getting plenty of opportunities to practise the movement while accumulating a large number of reps.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"58\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">However, more isn&#8217;t automatically better. Going from a relatively low weekly push-up volume to hundreds of reps every day is a substantial jump in workload and may leave your wrists, elbows or shoulders a bit battered. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"62\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">If you&#8217;re going to try it, keep your reps controlled, stop if you experience pain and remember that it&#8217;s a short-term push-up challenge rather than a way to train year-round.<br data-node-id=\"62.1\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"67\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"73\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? <a href=\"https:\/\/link.menshealth.co.uk\/join\/signup-mens-health-summer-2026-titlesite\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/link.menshealth.co.uk\/join\/signup-mens-health-summer-2026-titlesite\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Click here\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-node-id=\"73.0.1\" class=\"body-btn-link css-1pnd5gs emevuu60\">Click here<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men\u2019s Health app. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"kori training plan\" title=\"kori training plan\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3000\" height=\"3995\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a0458edc-7621-4ee9-b810-f61ea8e958c2.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1ddfba50\"\/><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you want to get better at push-ups, taking a leaf out of a former Navy SEAL&#8217;s book&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1134,254132,1107,499,103,61,60,184510,1135,254131,223989],"class_list":["post-599683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-82da50cc-9ea7-461e-b9a1-382ba536e342","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-former-navy-seals-10-day-push-up-protocol","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}