How Many Calories Do Push Ups Burn? 🏋️‍♂️

 

 

Article Outline

 

- Introduction

- What are Push Ups?

- Benefits of Push Ups

- Muscles Worked During Push Ups

- Factors That Influence Calorie Burn

- Calories Burned Per Push Up

- Calories Burned Per Set of Push Ups

- Calories Burned in a Push Up Workout

- Body Weight Push Ups vs Weighted Push Ups

- Calorie Calculator for Push Ups

- Does Push Up Variation Change Calories Burned?

- Other Exercises That Burn Calories

- Tips to Maximize Calorie Burn

- Conclusion 

- FAQs

 

 Introduction

 

Push ups are one of the most effective bodyweight exercises for building upper body strength. They work multiple muscle groups in the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. But besides their strength-building benefits, are push ups also an effective way to burn calories and lose fat?

 

How many calories you can expect to burn doing push ups depends on several factors. In this in-depth article, we'll examine how push ups burn calories, the muscles worked, and tips to maximize calorie expenditure. Read on to learn exactly how many calories those push ups are really burning!

 

First, let's start with the basics - what exactly are push ups and what muscles do they work?

 

 What are Push Ups?

 

Push ups are a common calisthenics exercise that involve raising and lowering the body using the arms and core muscles. During a push up, the arms are extended straight to lift the body off the ground, then bent at the elbows to lower back down. This motion targets the chest, shoulders, triceps, and abdominal muscles.

 

More specifically, here is the push up movement pattern:

 

- Hands are placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, legs extended behind the body and balanced on the toes. Keep the back straight and body in a rigid plank position.

 

- Bend the elbows to lower the chest towards the ground in a controlled manner. Elbows bend and point backwards at around 45 degrees.

 

- Descend until the chest nearly touches the floor, or as low as flexibility allows. Core should be engaged to prevent sagging hips.

 

- Press back up powerfully by straightening arms to return to the start position, keeping the body straight. This completes one rep.

 

- Aim for a controlled tempo on both lowering and raising phases, avoiding locking the elbows at the top.

 

Push ups can be done with standard hands and toes on the floor, or at inclines like on a wall, bench, or stairs to decrease resistance. Elevating the feet increases intensity. Hand positioning can be varied to shift emphasis between chest, triceps, and shoulders.

 

Now that we know what proper push up form looks like, what are the key muscles activated when performing this exercise?

 

 Muscles Worked During Push Ups

 

Push ups engage a range of upper body muscle groups, along with the core. Here are the primary movers:

 

- Pectoralis Major and Minor: As the prime muscle of the chest, the pectorals are greatly challenged during push ups. The pecs provide horizontal shoulder adduction and flexion, pulling the arms inwards and upwards. Push ups particularly hit the sternal head of the pectoralis major. Wider hand positioning targets the pecs more.

 

- Anterior Deltoid: The front section of the shoulder bears the brunt of the load during push ups. As a powerful shoulder flexor, the anterior deltoid works to raise the arms up away from the body. Using a narrower hand position increases activity here.

 

- Triceps Brachii: The triceps muscles on the back of the upper arm straighten the elbow joint and extend the arms. All three triceps heads contract eccentrically to control the descent and concentrically to extend the elbow on each rep. This builds pushing strength.

 

- Serratus Anterior: This underrated upper back muscle protracts and upwardly rotates the shoulder blades during push ups. It provides stability and links the upper extremities to the torso, keeping good posture.

 

- Core Muscles: Including the rectus abdominis, obliques, transversus abdominis, and erector spinae. The core stabilizes the body in a straight plank position and prevents the hips from sagging.

 

Additionally, the wrist and forearm flexors contract isometrically to provide a stable base and grip. The legs and glutes remain active too.

 

It's clear push ups work the upper body and core intensely. But what are the main benefits of practicing this functional exercise regularly?

 

 Benefits of Push Ups

 

Here are some of the many benefits provided by doing push ups regularly as part of a fitness training program:

 

- Build Upper Body Strength: Push ups overload the chest, shoulders, arms and upper back to greatly enhance pushing and pressing power. By using bodyweight as resistance, muscles adapt to produce greater force output. Weights can be added to increase intensity.

 

- Improve Posture: Counteracting rounded shoulders and poor posture, push ups strengthen the upper back and shoulders. This can improve shoulder stability, scapular position and thoracic extension for a prouder posture.

 

- Define Chest and Arms: Adding volume through higher rep push up workouts leads to increased muscular endurance and definition. The pectorals and triceps will pop from consistent push up training.

 

- Enhance Shoulder Health: Dynamic push up movement assists shoulder joint mobility and builds stability through the serratus anterior and rotator cuff. This helps prevent injuries in overhead motions.

 

- Burn Fat and Calories: As a rigorous full body exercise, moderate to high rep push up workouts elevate heart rate and boost metabolism. This increased calorie burn helps shed body fat.

 

- Increase Cardiovascular Endurance: Sustained higher rep sets with minimal rest increase breathlessness. This taxes the cardiovascular system. Push ups are commonly used in circuit training for this reason.

 

- Boost Explosive Power: When done with speed and plyometrics, push ups build fast twitch muscle fibers. Explosive push ups boost pushing and striking power.

 

- Require No Equipment: A benefit of calisthenics is minimal equipment needed. Push ups can be performed anywhere, at any time. No gym membership required!

 

- Functional for Sports: The horizontal pressing pattern mimics many real life movements, from pushing doors open to tackling on the field. Push ups have great carryover to athletic performance.

 

Clearly push ups confer an array of strength, muscle building, endurance, power, and aesthetic benefits. But the focus of this article is calories - so how many does doing push ups actually burn?

 

 Factors That Influence Calorie Burn

 

When examining how many calories are expended during push ups, several variables affect energy expenditure:

 

- Individual Body Weight: Heavier individuals burn more calories performing push ups than lighter people. More body mass requires greater energy to move against gravity. A 200 lb person will burn around 30% more calories than a 150 lb person doing the same push up workout.

 

- Number of Repetitions: Simply put, more push ups equals more calories burned. The total volume of push ups done in a workout directly impacts total energy expenditure. Knocking out 100 push ups burns roughly twice as many calories as 50 push ups.

 

- Exercise Intensity: Faster tempo push ups with greater power output require more energy from the working muscles. Reducing rest periods also sustains a higher heart rate and metabolic response. High intensity intervals maximize calorie burn.

 

- Technique and Range of Motion: Proper push up form utilizes a full range of controlled motion, activating more muscle fibers. Partial reps reduce calories burned. Push ups on unstable surfaces increase core activation too.

 

- individual Physiology: Factors like age, gender, genetics, and prior conditioning affect calorie burn as well. For instance, men tend to burn more calories than women when exercising. Trained individuals are more efficient.

 

- Nutritional Status: Exercising while fasted forces the body to derive more energy from stored fat and glycogen. Being well fueled prior to working out can improve calorie burn during intense sessions.

 

So clearly several variables affect the energy expended and calories burned when doing push ups. But on average, how many calories does a single push up burn?

 

 Calories Burned Per Push Up

 

The exact calories burned per push up depends on your body weight and the intensity of the push up. But averages are:

 

- 100 lbs - 3 calories per push up

- 125 lbs - 4 calories per push up

- 150 lbs - 5 calories per push up 

- 175 lbs - 6 calories per push up

- 200 lbs - 7 calories per push up

 

For a 125 lb person, you can estimate burning about 4 calories for every single push up completed with good form. The more you weigh, the more calories burned per rep due to having to move more mass against gravity.

 

Doing push ups at a faster tempo, taking less rest between sets, and using greater power output increases intensity and calories burned per rep as well. Explosive clap push ups will burn more than slow grinding reps for example.

 

While a single push up may not seem like much, they quickly add up over multiple sets and lengthy workouts. Let's look at a typical set.

 

 Calories Burned Per Set of Push Ups

 

Standard push up training involves doing consecutive reps within a set without resting. Sets range from 10 to 20 reps at a time before a quick break. Here is how calories burned stack up per set:

 

- 10 Push Ups

  - 100 lbs - 30 calories per set

  - 125 lbs - 40 calories per set

  - 150 lbs - 50 calories per set

  - 175 lbs - 60 calories per set

  - 200 lbs - 70 calories per set

 

- 20 Push Ups

  - 100 lbs - 60 calories per set

  - 125 lbs - 80 calories per set

  - 150 lbs - 100 calories per set

  - 175 lbs - 120 calories per set

  - 200 lbs - 140 calories per set

 

So for a typical set of 15 push ups, a 125 lb person will burn about 60 calories. A heavier 180 lb man would expend around 90 calories performing the same push up set with proper technique and intensity.

 

This may not seem like a ton, but it adds up over the course of a workout comprising multiple sets. Let's take a look at total calorie expenditure for a full push up training session.

 

 Calories Burned in a Push Up Workout

 

During a complete push up training session, athletes and gym goers often perform multiple sets with short rest periods to build muscle endurance. Here's an example 30 minute bodyweight push up workout:

 

- 5x sets of 15 push ups

- 60 seconds rest between sets

- Total of 75 push ups

 

For this type of lower rep, multi-set push up workout, here's the estimated calories burned:

 

- 125 lbs - 300 calories

- 150 lbs - 375 calories

- 175 lbs - 450 calories

- 200 lbs - 525 calories

 

As you can see, in a vigorous 30 minute push up workout, it's possible to burn 300 to 500 calories or more, depending on your size and intensity level.

 

A more high rep style push workout with less rest could look like this:

 

- 5x sets of 20-30 push ups

- 30 seconds rest between sets 

- Total of 125 push ups

 

Calorie burn for that type of higher volume workout would be:

 

- 125 lbs - 500 calories

- 150 lbs - 625 calories

- 175 lbs - 750 calories

- 200 lbs - 875 calories

 

So, in a higher rep workout optimized for muscular endurance and cardiovascular challenge, you can burn upwards of 800 calories in a 30 minute push up workout session.

 

It's also possible to burn over 1000 calories in an extreme high volume push up workout lasting 60 minutes or more, but this is intense and best suited for advanced athletes.

 

Now let's compare standard bodyweight push ups against weighted variations for calorie burn.

 

 Body Weight Push Ups vs Weighted Push Ups

 

Weighted push ups involve adding resistance by wearing a weighted vest, backpack or plate on your back. This increases the load and makes push ups more challenging.

 

Here is a comparison of calories burned doing 20 push ups with and without extra weight:

 

- 125 lb person:

  - Bodyweight push ups - 80 calories

  - With 10lb weighted vest - 88 calories

  - With 20lb weighted vest - 96 calories

  - With 45lb weighted vest - 110 calories

 

- 150 lb person:

  - Bodyweight push ups - 100 calories

  - With 10lb weighted vest - 110 calories

  - With 20lb weighted vest - 120 calories

  - With 45lb weighted vest - 130 calories

 

- 200 lb person:

  - Bodyweight push ups - 140 calories

  - With 10lb weighted vest - 154 calories

  - With 20lb weighted vest - 168 calories

  - With 45lb weighted vest - 180 calories

 

Adding extra resistance increases the calories burned by around 10-15% per set. Over the course of a full push up workout, this equates to burning roughly 50-100 extra calories when weight is added.

 

Weighted push ups are an excellent progression once bodyweight becomes too easy. The extra resistance optimizes strength development and calorie expenditure. But start conservatively with just 5-10lb to prevent overexertion or injury.

 

For an easy way to estimate calories burned from push ups, you can use a simple formula based on your weight.

 

 Calorie Calculator for Push Ups

 

This simple formula calculates calories burned from push ups based on body weight and number of reps performed:

 

Calories Burned = Body weight in lbs x 0.0438 x number of push ups

 

Let's input some sample weights and push up reps:

 

- 125 lb person doing 20 push ups:

  - 125 x 0.0438 x 20 = 109 calories

 

- 150 lb person doing 50 push ups:

  - 150 x 0.0438 x 50 = 326 calories

 

- 200 lb person doing 100 push ups:

  - 200 x 0.0438 x 100 = 876 calories

 

This calculator provides a useful starting point for estimating push up calorie expenditure. Keep in mind intensity level will also impact actual calories burned.

 

Now that we've covered calories for traditional push ups, does altering the exercise also affect energy expenditure?

 

 Does Push Up Variation Change Calories Burned?

 

Yes, modifying the push up exercise by changing hand position, tempo, range of motion, stability or adding plyometrics can increase the calories burned.

 

Here is a comparison of calories burned between different push up variations:

 

- Standard Push Up: 5 calories per rep. Traditional shoulder width hand placement.

 

- Wide Push Up: 6 calories per rep. Wider grip hits the chest muscles more.

 

- Narrow Push Up: 5 calories per rep. Close narrow grip works the triceps harder.

 

- Decline Push Up: 7 calories per rep. Elevated feet increase resistance and core activation. 

 

- Slow Push Up: 5 calories per rep. 5 second lowering phase increases time under tension.

 

- Clapping Push Up: 8 calories per rep. Explosive plyometric variation demands more energy.

 

- Diamond Push Up: 6 calories per rep. Challenging for the triceps and chest muscles.

 

- Deficit Push Up: 8 calories per rep. Increased range of motion via elevated hands.

 

- Single Leg Push Up: 7 calories per rep. Alternating legs increases core and shoulder demand.

 

- Stability Ball Push Up: 6 calories per rep. Creates unstable surface requiring more muscle activation.

 

So by adjusting hand placement, tempo, equipment and other variables, calories burned per rep can increase between 10 to 60%. This really optimizes fat burning and metabolism.

 

While push ups are excellent for the upper body, also consider these additional exercises for high calorie burn.

 

 Other Exercises That Burn Calories

 

Although push ups work wonders for the chest, shoulders and arms, it's important to perform a range of exercises that challenge the entire body. Here are some other great calorie-torching exercises:

 

- Burpees: This total body plyometric exercise torches over 10 calories per rep due to its explosive nature and large muscles worked. Include push up variations for an added challenge.

 

- Jumping Rope: A staple cardio calorie burner, skipping rope for 15 minutes can burn over 150 calories. The intense full body movement and coordination required ramps up calorie expenditure.

 

- Mountain Climbers: This dynamic bodyweight exercise burns around 9 calories per minute, increasing heart rate and working the hips, core and upper body simultaneously.

 

- Kettlebell Swings: Explosively swinging a heavy kettlebell burns up to 20 calories per minute, making this an metabolic conditioning staple. Extended sets build power endurance.

 

- Rowing: Whether on a rowing machine or actual water rowing, this intense cardio workout leans on the legs, back and arms to burn upwards of 300 calories in 30 minutes.

 

- Burpees: Full body plyometric exercise that burns 10+ calories per rep. Include push up variations for extra upper body work.

 

- Squat Jumps: Jumping explosively out of a deep squat is physically taxing, burning over 10 calories per minute. Great for leg power and cardio.

 

- Plank Rotations: Adding hip rotations to forearm planks fires the obliques while maintaining tension through the core, shoulders and arms, shredding up to 180 calories in a 10 minute routine.

 

- Lunge Jumps: Explosively switching between lunge positions works the legs and glutes vigorously, burning around 8 calories with each 20 rep set, while also building lower body strength.

 

It's clear that alongside push ups, a variety of bodyweight cardio and resistance training exercises can help maximize fat burning. But how exactly can you optimize calorie expenditure specifically during push up training?

 

 Tips to Maximize Calorie Burn

 

Here are some top tips to burn more calories and fat during your push up workouts:

 

- Use controlled form - Full range of motion and 3-4 second tempos maximize muscle tension and calorie burn rather than partial reps.

 

- Reduce rest periods - Keep rest between sets to 30-90 seconds to sustain an elevated heart rate and calories burned. Avoid long rest periods.

 

- Perform circuit training - Combine push ups with other bodyweight exercises like squats and planks with minimal rest to maximize calorie expenditure.

 

- Use high intensity intervals - Intermix sets of fast push ups with slow and explosive varieties. Interval training burns more calories than steady state.

 

- Add weight - Use a backpack, weight plate, or vest to provide extra resistance to increase calorie burn per rep. Start with 5-10% body weight.

 

- Focus on eccentric lowering - Control the downward phase for 3-4 seconds to maximize time under tension in the muscles. The lowering phase burns more calories.

 

- Keep sessions under 30 minutes - High intensity push up workouts are demanding. Limit session duration to maintain technique and avoid excessive fatigue.

 

- Maintain proper nutrition - Eat a balanced meal 1-2 hours pre-workout and hydrate well during workouts to fuel calorie burn.

 

- Track progress - Use a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor to quantify calories burned. Seek to increase this each workout.

 

- Do a variety of push ups - Standard, wide, narrow, incline, and decline push ups hit muscles from different angles for variety.

 

- Increase weekly volume - Build up total weekly push ups performed through more reps or sets to burn extra calories and continually overload muscles.

 

- Limit rest days - While rest is important, excessive rest days reduce total calorie expenditure for the week. Shoot for 5-6 training days per week.

 

With some planning and effort using these tips, it's possible to optimize push up workouts for greater fat burning and muscle endurance benefits. Just be cautious of overtraining and maintain proper recovery.

 

Now that we've covered the specifics of calories burned doing push ups, let's summarize the key takeaways:

 

 Conclusion

 

Push ups are an efficient exercise that burns calories through total body engagement while also building functional upper body strength. Variables like body weight, number of reps and sets, intensity, rest time and form impact calorie expenditure per workout.

 

On average, you can expect to burn 3 to 7 calories per push up depending on your weight and fitness level. Over a typical 30 minute workout of 5 sets, you may burn around 300 to 500 calories. This calorie burn adds up over time to impact weight loss and body composition.

 

Wisely programming push up workouts with other complementary exercises like squats, burpees and rows ensures a total body fitness approach for maximum calorie burn. Tracking volume and intensity over time provides feedback on improvements.

 

So don't hesitate to drop down and commence those sets of push ups. Keeping the intensity high and rest periods short will optimize calories expended, along with the well-documented strength building benefits of this functional upper body exercise.

 

 FAQs

 

 How many push ups should I do daily to lose weight?

 

Aim for 100-200 total push ups per day, split into multiple sets of 10-20 reps. Shoot for at least 5 sessions per week alongside other cardio and full body workouts for optimal fat loss from a caloric deficit.

 

 How long would it take to burn 500 calories doing push ups?

 

For a 150 lb person, burning 500 calories would require about 600-700 total push ups. At a pace of 100 push ups per set, this is 6-7 sets, which could be achieved in around 45-60 minutes including minimal rest between sets.

 

 Can you turn fat into muscle with push ups?

 

No, it is not possible to turn fat directly into muscle. Fat is burned through caloric deficit and muscle is built by strength training. But combining push ups with cardio provides the calorie burn and muscular overload needed to both lose fat and gain muscle.

 

 What burns more calories: sit ups or push ups?

 

Push ups generally burn more calories per rep than sit ups - approximately 5 calories versus 3.5 sit up calories for a 150 lb person. Push ups use more large muscle groups like chest, shoulders, and triceps versus sit ups targeting the abdominals and hip flexors.

 

 Should I do push ups everyday?

 

Doing push ups daily can be effective for building upper body endurance. But allow at least 1-2 recovery days per week to prevent overuse injuries. Also cycle through different hand positions like wide, narrow, incline, decline, diamond, and staggered to reduce repetitive stress.

 

 How many push ups should a beginner do?

 

Beginners should start with 3-4 sets of 5-10 push ups, 2-3 days per week. Focus on proper form by keeping the core braced and lowering down with control. Increase total weekly push ups by 5-10% each week to safely build strength.

 

 What are the best push ups to lose belly fat?

 

Decline and spiderman push ups are excellent for activating the core to burn abdominal fat. The declined angle heavily engages the abdominals while spiderman push ups with alternating leg lifts work the obliques harder. Do 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps focusing on good form.

 

 How many calories does 100 push ups per day burn?

 

For a 150 lb person, doing 100 push ups daily would burn around 500 calories. At a moderate 50 push ups per day, this equates to burning 250 calories. Increase the number of reps over time as strength builds to maximize calories expended.

 

 How many push ups should I do to burn 1000 calories?

 

To burn 1000 calories doing push ups, the number required depends on body weight. For example:

- 125 lbs - 2,250 push ups

- 150 lbs - 2,000 push ups

- 175 lbs - 1,750 push ups

- 200 lbs - 1,500 push ups

 

Break these up into several workouts across the week with adequate rest to allow for muscle recovery.