How Many Negative Push-Ups Does It Take To See Results?

Somewhere in the last year or so, I lost my ability to do push-ups. It took me by complete surprise during an impromptu calisthenics workout, where I found myself unable to lift my body up once I had lowered myself down. After switching to an easier variation on my knees and finishing the workout, I thought back to the last time I had trained push-ups. It had been a year ago at least, if not longer. I guess it really is true when they say, “use it or lose it!”

Struggling with an exercise that I had once been able to easily do sparked a bit of curiosity in me. I had achieved pretty good results from my month-long experiment with negative pull-ups, so would it be possible to do the same thing with negative push-ups? More specifically, how many negative push-ups would it take for me to get a regular push-up? I decided to challenge myself by training negatives every day to see how many it would take to get my push-ups back.

What are negative push-ups and what do they do?

Negative push-ups focus on the “down” part of a push-up, rather than the “up” part. This is what’s known as eccentric movement. Most physical exercises consist of both eccentric movement, where your muscles lengthen while generating force, and concentric movement, where your muscles shorten while generating force. Working exclusively on the eccentric phase of an exercise is generally easier, since you are moving with gravity instead of against it. Eccentric movement can also lead to more strength gains, since it generates more force than the concentric phase.

Can negative push-ups build muscle?

Yes, negative push-ups can definitely cause hypertrophy, aka muscle growth. When you do a negative push-up, you’re working your pectorals (chest), triceps (upper arms), and deltoids (shoulders), all of which are necessary to attain a regular push-up. The act of lowering yourself down slowly lengthens your muscles and creates small tears in your muscle fibers. When these tears repair themselves, your muscles become bigger and stronger. Your muscles also experience more time under tension when doing negatives, which is an important factor in muscle development.

Negative push-ups not only help with strength and muscle growth, but also control and stability as well. Lowering yourself down slowly takes a good amount of core engagement, which helps you remain stable during a push-up. Your shoulder blades, wrists, and forearms also engage in a similar way, strengthening the connective tissues around your joints in those areas and leading to increased stabilization. Practicing negatives over time also trains your nervous system to activate your muscles more effectively, resulting in better coordination and efficiency when doing the exercise.

How do you do a negative push-up?

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to do a negative push-up, as well as some tips on the correct form:

Start by getting into a plank position with your arms fully extended and your hands shoulder-width apart.
Make sure your body is in a straight line from head to toe, and that your core is engaged so that your back is in a neutral position (not rounded or arched) and your hips aren’t sagging.
Keep your elbows at about a 45-degree angle from your body. If your elbows are too flared out, you could end up straining your shoulder joints. Moving your elbows closer to your body is ok if you want to work your triceps a bit more.

Once you are in the correct starting position, slowly lower yourself down in a controlled manner for 3-5 seconds until your body is flat on the ground.
Instead of pushing up off the ground with your arms like in a regular push-up, use your knees to help you get off the ground and back into the starting position. Some people find it helpful to push back into child’s pose before resuming the starting position.
3 seconds is really the least amount of time you want to spend in the lowering phase, so if you find that difficult, you can always do your negative push-ups on your knees. However, instead of using your knees, I would recommend using an elevated surface, such as a bench or plyo box. This will make negatives easier while allowing you to practice the correct form.
If you experience wrist pain or discomfort while doing negative push-ups, you can use rotating handles, parallette bars, or dumbbells to help keep your wrists in a more comfortable, neutral position.

Can negative push-ups help me achieve a regular push-up?

It is absolutely possible to get a regular push-up by training negatives. Personally, my experiment with doing negatives (almost) every day was successful. But before I get into my results, let me share the negative push-ups workout (and optional warm-up) I used in case you’re interested in trying this challenge for yourself.

OPTIONAL WARM-UP FOR NEGATIVE PUSH-UPS

Arm circles - 10-15 circles each direction
Wrist circles - 8-10 circles each direction
Scapular push-ups (can be done on your knees) - 8-10 reps
Inch worms - 5-8 reps
Dead bugs - 8-10 reps each side
Jumping jacks - 20-30 reps

NEGATIVE PUSH-UPS: 4-WEEK PROGRESSIVE WORKOUT

Week 1

3 sets of 3 reps lowering down for 3 seconds, 3 times a day (9 seconds per set)
Push-up attempt on day 7
Complete with this week’s workout on day 7 if push-up is not achieved

Week 2

3 sets of 4 reps lowering down for 3 seconds, 3 times a day (12 seconds per set)
Push-up attempt on day 7
Complete with this week’s workout on day 7 if push-up is not achieved

Week 3

3 sets of 3 reps lowering down for 5 seconds, 3 times a day (15 seconds per set)
Push-up attempt on day 7
Complete with this week’s workout on day 7 if push-up is not achieved

Week 4

3 sets of 4 reps lowering down for 5 seconds, 3 times a day (20 seconds per set)
Push-up attempt on day 7
Complete with this week’s workout on day 7 if push-up is not achieved

If you try the workout and still aren’t able to do a regular push-up by the end of the month, you can continue to increase the amount of reps and/or add some weight to your body with a weighted vest.

I’d also like to note that it’s important to listen to your body and rest as needed. There were some days where I was too tired to do my negative sets all three times, so I did them one or two times. There were also a couple of days that I skipped entirely. Doing the same exercise every day can lead to injury if you’re not careful, so keep this in mind if you decide to try this workout.

How many negative push-ups should I do to get a regular push-up?

Everyone is different, obviously, so the amount of negative push-ups you need to do will vary depending on your fitness level and whether or not you’ve been able to do push-ups in the past. Personally, I was able to achieve a regular push-up in less than 30 days of doing the progressive workout!

Here’s a breakdown of what it took for me to get a regular push-up:

21 days
411 negative push-ups
1467 total seconds of lowering time (~25 minutes)

Overall, I’m pretty happy that I was able to get my push-up abilities back rather quickly. If you’re looking to achieve a push-up, whether you’ve done one before or not, I highly recommend adding negatives into your workouts. If you’re consistent with your training and take rest as needed, you should eventually be able to do a full push-up.