I learned about this test from my friend and mentor, Craig Ballantyne who learned it from world-famous strength coach Martin Rooney in the April 2010 issue of Men’s Health.
The Rules
1) After a warm-up, you are going to do push-ups for 3 minutes.
2) You can rest whenever you want – but the clock keeps running.
3) You must do every repetition with perfect form.
4) The trick here is to pace yourself…Rooney says to take a 15-second break once you start to slow down after your first burst. Then take longer breaks as you get more tired. You’re toast if you go to total fatigue, so avoid going to total failure with the hopes of getting more push ups done.
5) Here are the standard Rooney provides for men:
Add up the total number of reps you perform in 3 minutes:
< 55 reps = below average
55-74 reps = Average
75-99 reps = Good
100-110 reps = Excellent
>111 reps = Extraordinary
The first time I did the challenge I got 111 reps, here’s the video:
You can check out this post for some tips.
Rooney doesn’t have standards for women, so I’ll just say that my score is pretty kick a$$.
I’m not a machine, I just know how to train and I can help you too.
First off, do the test, post your scores so that you’ll be held accountable to improve. Get down to business training and then report back. I’ll do a reminder post in a month.
If you need help with your push up power, my program will help.