The goal: 3,139 push-ups over 24 days.
The result: Not quite completed.
Will I do the Push-up Challenge again?: Probably not.
Should you do the Push-Up Challenge? Possibly yes.

What is the Push-up Challenge?

The Push-up Challenge is an Australian-based fitness challenge to raise funds and awareness for mental health. It’s run by an organisation literally called The Push-up Challenge Foundation. Nick Hudson started it in 2017 with a group of friends, just to get fitter. It’s since grown and now raises millions of dollars for mental health charities; in 2022 it’s Lifeline and Movember. 

The actual challenge for 2022 was completing 3, 139 push-ups over 24 days. Daily targets pace it out with Sundays as rest days. A mobile app helps track push-ups and sponsor dollars. It also educates with facts and resources about how we can improve our mental health.

Why did I do the Push-up Challenge?

My reasons were a tad closer to Nick’s original reason: I’ve been choosing to run at the gym and needed motivation to do more strength work. I reconciled skipping the challenge’s intent by personally giving a donation and counting it as an entry fee. 

My thoughts on the Push-up Challenge

I already said I probably won’t do it again. It wasn’t as hard as I expected. No, that’s not the reason. I could have switched out push-ups for other exercises, but I was determined to do all (mostly knee) push-ups. The first few days hurt. Seriously, I felt like the Hulk. But after the first four days, it was physically easier to do them in batches of 10-20 through the day. 

So why won’t I do it again? I got bored. I built a little muscle and proved I could do it, but I quit with two and a half days to go. I was behind and then I had a few early starts for work and an office day and evening out. It got too hard to fit it in. I think a shorter duration would have helped. Or maybe if I did it with friends. But I found myself craving crunches and planks and missing running that I didn’t have time to do. 

If you’re wanting to improve mental health and get the word out while getting a little bit fit, then I recommend the Push-Up Challenge.

Photo by Meagan Stone on Unsplash