I recently came upon a study that reported that most Americans struggle to do five push-ups, and more than half are incapable of doing ten consecutive reps.

This is a sad state of affairs indeed.

Over half of our population is piss weak, fragile, and useless in any situation requiring even the most minimal amount of physical strength.

And you can bet dollars to donuts; that this half of the population will be much more likely to suffer from lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and CVD as they grow older.

But as a reader of my emails, I assume that you can either quite strong already or, at the very least, aspire to be so.

And if so, you should be proud of yourself.

Because being strong is awesome and the benefits go so much deeper than vanity.

It allows you to take better care of your family, serve your community better, and live a longer, healthier life.

There is no glory in being weak.

And make no mistake about it; being unable to do five push-ups is pretty fucking weak.

However, with a little hard work and a sensible plan, anyone can get their push-up numbers up to something a little more respectable.

Having coached hundreds of people over the years, I've put together a set of realistic goals for you to shoot for.

These are not "freakish" numbers by any stretch.

Every man or woman who wants to be strong should be able to hit these benchmarks with consistent effort and a little patience.

Men: 40 Push-Ups

Ladies: 12 Push-Ups

And I don't mean half-repping bullshit. I'm talking chest-to-dirt, full-range push-ups.

The men's standard is based on a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It found that middle-aged men who could do 40 push-ups had a 98% reduced risk of heart disease compared to fellas who couldn't do ten good reps.

The ladies' number is lower because of the difference in upper body muscle between genders.

An additional benefit of being able to bang out a respectable amount of push-ups is that you'll pack on quality, proportionate-looking muscle in your chest, shoulders, and upper arms.

Along with strengthening the tendons and ligaments of your upper body and build high levels of strength endurance.

There's a reason elite military units and prizefighters make push-ups a big part of their training.

They work.

One of the most effective ways to improve your numbers is to use a Grease The Groove (GTG) approach.

I first learned about this in Pavel Tsatsouline's book on bodyweight training, "The Naked Warrior."

Although the book focuses primarily on low rep/high tension exercises like One Arm Push Ups and single leg Pistol Squats, its approach works like gangbusters to get your reps higher on regular push-ups.

The first thing you do is test how many push-ups you can do in a single set.

Then at various points throughout the day, you'll drop down and perform a set of about half of that number.

So if your max is 15, you might do sets of 7 or 8.

Do these reps with pristine technique and stop before they get hard.

Do not get close to failure.

Do not obsess over how many sets you do. Some days it might be 5, others 8. Just do "some" throughout the day.

And if you're sore, take a day off.

You are building new neural pathways in your brain to help you become more efficient at the exercise.

Your muscles have much more potential strength than your nervous system will allow you to express.

But by practicing the movement, you will begin to unlock that "hidden strength."

Test your max number of push-ups every two weeks and adjust your program accordingly.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this plan. Apply it, and it will work.

Stay Hungry,

Adam