The 20 Pull-up 50 Push-up Program – Introduction
What’s a great 20 pull-up 50 push-up training program?
Doing 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups in a single set are incredible fitness goals.
Achieving these standards is worthy of celebration and will definitely earn you kudos and bragging rights.
Working toward these targets will also build muscle and strength and transform your body.
But how do you train to do 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups?
You could just try, try, and try again, but that’s not really the best use of your time and energy.
If you make any progress at all, it’ll be more because of dumb luck than design.
Or you could do pull-ups and push-ups every day.
Unfortunately, that’s just a recipe for injury and frustration.
A better approach would be to follow a progressive ’20 Pull-up 50 Push-up Program’ that’s specific to your goal, and what you need to know is right here!
So, make your pull-up and push-up dreams come true with this plan and workout.
Why Train for 20 Pull-Ups and 50 Push-Ups?
There are several reasons why training for 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups is a good use of your time and energy.
These include:
Increased workout motivation
Training without a goal can be very unmotivating.
A lack of motivation can make it hard to stick to your training program.
Knowing that each workout you complete will take you a step closer to your goal will increase your enthusiasm for training, and you’ll look forward rather than dread doing push-ups and pull-ups.
Increased muscle mass
Increasing the number of pull-ups and push-ups you can do in a single set will increase your strength and muscle mass.
Each week you’ll work a little harder, so you’ll keep making progress.
Between them, push-ups and pull-ups work all your major upper body muscles.
By the end of this challenge, you are going to be buff!
Increased dedication and discipline
Following a workout plan toward a specific goal forces you to take a more dedicated, disciplined approach to your training.
You must punch the clock religiously, as missed workouts will hurt your progress.
This dedication and discipline will spread to other aspects of your life, making you a better, more successful person in general.
Personal satisfaction
Self-improvement is very rewarding and satisfying.
Working toward 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups will make you feel good about yourself, showing that hard work pays off and that you can achieve the goals you set for yourself.
Imagine how good you will feel when you finally hit 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups!
Pretty darn awesome, right?!
Benefits of pull-ups and push-ups
Doing 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups in a single set is an achievement worth boasting about.
A lot of exercisers will never reach these standards.
There is nothing significant about the numbers 20 and 50, and some people can do many more reps than this.
Still, they’re high enough targets that you’ll need to work hard to reach them while they’re achievable if you work hard and consistently.
But, why train to do 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups?
Accomplishing 20 pull-ups and 50 pushups may seem like a daunting task, but the benefits that come with training to achieve these goals are numerous.
Pull-ups and pushups are two of the most effective bodyweight exercises that can help build both upper body strength and endurance.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced fitness enthusiast, it’s worth investing your time in mastering these exercises.
They both target multiple muscle groups including the chest, back, shoulders, arms, and core muscles.
By increasing your upper body strength through consistent practice, you will be able to perform other activities such as deadlifting with greater ease or participating in high-intensity sports without getting fatigued too quickly.
It’s no wonder that the greatest powerlifters of all time, such as Konstantin Konstantinovs advise that the better you are at pull-ups, the better you will be in the deadlift.
And remember, no matter how many reps you can do, the fantastic benefits of pull-ups and push-ups are hard to beat.
Every rep you master counts toward your overall strength and conditioning.
The 20 Pull-up 50 Push-Up Program
This ’50 Push-up 20 pull-up Program’ is very different from most other pull-up and push-up workouts.
That’s because it’s entirely self-regulatory, meaning you determine the sets and reps.
The problem with telling you to do three sets of ten or four sets of 15 is that there is no way of knowing how many reps you can do.
Any recommendation made could be wrong for your current level of fitness.
Also, this program has no endpoint.
It’s not a four-week plan or an eight-week plan.
Instead, it lasts as long as it takes for you to achieve 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups.
So, how does the program work?
Like this!
Each time you train, you’re going to do 35 pull-ups and 75 push-ups in as few sets as possible.
Initially, this may take you six sets or more.
But, as you get stronger, you’ll reduce this to 2-3.
There is no need to force yourself to do more reps per set; it’ll just happen naturally.
For example, week one’s first push-up workout might like something like this:
- 15, 15, 15, 10, 10, 10
But, by week four, it could look more like this:
- 25, 20, 15, 15
Then, by week eight, you might be doing the following:
- 35, 30, 10
Apply this same methodology to pull-ups.
However, the reps per set will be quite a lot lower.
20 Pull-Up 50 Push-Up Program Guidelines
For this program to work, you need to adhere to a few simple guidelines.
Use the progression method outlined above combined with these rules, and your success is all but guaranteed!
Train three times per week on non-consecutive days
While you might be tempted to do pull-ups and push-ups every day, you must remember that muscles only get stronger when you rest.
Take a break between workouts to allow recovery and growth to occur.
For example, do your pull-ups and push-ups on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Or, if you prefer to train more often, you could do push-ups one day and pull-ups the next.
Regardless of how you do it, three push-up and pull-up workouts are all you need, and more is not necessarily better.
Do NOT train to failure
Make sure you finish each set with 2-3 reps left in the tank.
If you train to failure, you’ll need more time to recover and may be unable to do as many reps per set.
Continue until you feel your movement starting to slow down.
Stop there, rest, and then go again.
Focus more on repetition quality than quantity.
Rest two minutes between sets
Keeping your rests to two minutes should give you adequate time to recover while ensuring you can do the most reps per set.
Use a stopwatch and be strict – shorter rests could compromise your progress.
You can take longer rests if you want, say 3-4 minutes, but doing so could make your workouts prohibitively long.
One way to make your workouts more time-efficient is to use supersets, where you do a set of pull-ups, rest briefly, and then do a set of push-ups, and then rest again.
This makes better use of your downtime between sets.
Make all your reps perfect
Every rep you perform should be identical, and the first rep of each set should look the same as the last.
The identical proper form every time ensures that your progress is always quantifiable.
For example, if you did one set of slow, chest-to-the-floor push-ups and one set of rapid half push-ups, you cannot compare your performance.
So, with push-ups, make sure you:
- Start and finish with your arms straight.
- Keep your legs and body straight.
- Lower your chest to lightly touch the floor.
- Pause at the bottom and top of each rep for one second.
For pull-ups:
- Start and finish with your arms straight and in a dead hang.
- Pull your chin up and over the bar each time.
- Do not use your legs or momentum to help you do your reps.
Try to do more reps per set
Think of the first few sets as your “money sets,” and the last couple of sets are “fillers” for accumulating the required volume.
It’s okay that your last few sets are pretty easy.
For example, might do 25, 20, 20, and 10 push-ups to hit 75.
The final ten will probably feel pretty straightforward, but that’s okay.
Just do the required number of reps, with most of your energy going into the first couple of sets.
Test your max once per month
The only way to tell if you are making progress is to test your push-up and pull-up max from time to time.
However, because testing is exhausting without providing much of a training effect, you should only test your max once per month.
So, at the start of each month, do a single all-out set of pull-ups and push-ups.
Do NOT leave any reps in the tank, but ensure you perform each rep correctly.
All your other workouts should follow the guidelines described above, i.e., do not train to failure, two minutes rest between sets, etc.
Balance your workouts with your own choice of exercises
Your pull-up and push-up training will take care of your upper body strength but do very little for your core and nothing for your legs.
To avoid imbalances and ensure you develop all your major muscles, you must train your lower body and midsection, even though pull-ups and push-ups are your priority.
So, for your posterior chain muscles and legs, include exercises like:
- deadlifts,
- squats,
- lunges,
- Bulgarian split squats,
- leg presses, etc., in your workouts.
Do your leg training after your push-ups and pull-ups.
End your workout with a core bodyweight exercise, such as planks, hollow body holds, side planks, hanging knee raises, exercise ball rollouts, etc.
3-4 sets of leg and core training per workout should suffice, but feel free to do more if you wish.
How to Do Pull-Ups for Beginners
20 Pull-Up 50 Push-Up Program – Wrapping Up
You now have everything you need to train for 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups.
Don’t worry if these numbers seem unrealistic or unachievable right now; follow this program, and you can do it.
Depending on your current fitness level, it might take several weeks or even a few months, but you WILL get there!
Make things easier by losing weight if you need to, eating healthily, and training consistently.
Lastly, don’t forget to record yourself doing your 20 pull-ups and 50 push-ups and posting them on social media.
This is one achievement you will definitely want to share!
Rich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer),