Completing a single-arm push-up is incredibly demanding, requiring serious upper-body strength and stability. So knocking out 100 reps a day for seven consecutive days is, for most people, unrealistic.
But YouTuber Chris Heria isn’t most people. He builds his physique through calisthenics and took on that exact challenge to see whether it could meaningfully increase his strength, improve his physique and transfer to other bodyweight movements.
‘Hopefully I improve in the reps, but even if I just improve my form and efficiency, that’s going to be a win for me,’ he said before starting.
To reach 100 reps each day, Heria completed 50 per arm. He could split the reps into as many sets as needed and spread them across the day. After each session, he rated the difficulty and fatigue. Then, after waiting at least 10 minutes, he performed a planche push-up test and scored that for difficulty too.
Andreas Schlegel
The Challenge, Day by DayDay 1
Heria split the reps into five sets of 42, 20, 10, 8 and 20. On day one, he aimed to hit a max set straight out of the gate, managing 21 reps per arm.
It’s worth noting he had completed 100 handstand push-ups the night before, which likely contributed to the fatigue he felt during the planche test.
Difficulty: 4.5/10
Fatigue: 4.5/10
Planche test: 7.5/10
Day 2
Accumulated soreness led him to take things ‘light and easy’. He broke the reps up across the day, starting with 40 in the morning, followed by three sets of 20 later on.
Despite feeling more fatigued overall, he found the planche test easier than on day one.
Difficulty: 5/10
Fatigue: 7/10
Planche test: 4/10
Day 3
With some arm pain on his right side and sore lats, Heria still managed to set a new single-arm PR, hitting 25 reps on his left before matching it on his right.
He completed all 100 reps in just three sets, despite having spent the day at an event and training late at night.
‘Difficulty level I would say is actually significantly easier today,’ he said. ‘I’d probably give it a 3.5, which is very surprising. It’s only been three days and I’ve already gone through ups and downs.’
Difficulty: 3.5/10
Fatigue: 10/10
Planche test: 4.5/10
Day 4
‘I’m feeling a lot better in my arm and my lat as well,’ he explained. ‘I’m getting through 20 like it’s nothing.’
He paced himself with sets of 40, 20, 20 and 20, then performed the planche test immediately afterwards, which he admits may have influenced the result.
Difficulty: 3/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Planche test: 6.5/10
Day 5
To better gauge his progress, Heria performed the planche test first.
‘It was extremely easy to go down and press back up and hold it. I think it’s safe to say that doing this consistently every day, and the one-arm push-ups, is making me some gains.’
The push-ups felt similarly manageable. ‘Again, it feels pretty much just as easy. We’re making some endurance gains as well.’
Difficulty: N/A
Fatigue: 6/10
Planche test: 1/10
Day 6
The penultimate day was both highly productive and fatiguing. Heria hit a new PR of 30 reps per side. However, he forgot to press record on his camera for the first 100 reps, forcing him to complete another 100 shortly after, finishing them in just three sets.
The planche, meanwhile, felt ‘pretty much effortless’.
Difficulty: 2/10
Fatigue: 2/10
Planche test: 1/10
Day 7
Unsurprisingly, the 200 reps from day six took their toll. Still, Heria completed the final 100 in a single set, albeit without strict form.
Difficulty: 8/10
Fatigue: 7/10
Planche test: 1.5/10
Did Heria Notice Any Improvements?
Heria reports noticeable strength gains and improved calisthenics performance.
‘This video shows how leverage, tension and consistency can push your body to adapt fast using just bodyweight,’ he said. ‘As each day went by, despite fatigue growing and having no rest days, my planche push-ups improved every day and required less effort.’
The challenge also took relatively little time out of his day. What started as several short efforts became even more efficient as his reps improved.
‘It kept me on track with an easy goal I could commit to and hit every day that gave me immediate results I could actually see. My pushing power increased, my planche power went up, all in just one week, a few minutes a day,’ he said.
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