Friday Thoughts 93
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts—where I share what’s been on my mind (or my feed) throughout the week. Let’s dive in.
PUSH UPS
Push ups are an all-time great. If there were a Mount Rushmore of exercises, they’d be carved right in. They require nothing but the ground and are a pure test of strength and muscular endurance.
Here’s my issue though: the standard. We all know what a push up is—but what actually counts as a good one? In the gym—especially at our gym—this isn’t the most important thing. Our goal is to move better, get stronger, and feel good. But the standard does matter when you’re making a claim.
If someone says they can do 50 push ups, what does that mean? Chest to the ground, arms locked out? Or just a slight elbow bend before pressing back up? Those are two very different things.
For me, the rule is simple: use as much range of motion as safely possible. Unless you’re chasing some official record, that’s what matters. But if you are claiming a record—like most push ups in a certain time—then the standard absolutely matters. Otherwise, what are we even comparing?
This came to mind after seeing RFK and Pete Hegseth do a push up challenge to promote fitness. I love the idea—push ups and pull ups on national TV? Great! More people moving? Even better. But if you’re going to make a claim about how many you did, form has to be part of the conversation.
Same with the world record set last year for most push ups in an hour. Watch the video—would those reps pass your standard? For me, not really. At GAIN, I’d say, “You’re strong, now let’s work on range of motion and control—chest to the ground!”
Everything I needed to know about RFK’s Jr.’s push ups I learned during his presidential run a few years back.
Push ups are cool. Quality push ups are even cooler. But if we’re going to do them, let’s do them right. Because at the end of the day, we all know what a push up is, and this isn’t it.
Recently, the Army has established a new push up standard for the Army Combat Fitness Test, and I’ve got to say, I like it because it forces a proper depth for every rep. Check it out.
To reiterate once more, we all don’t have to do Army Combat Fitness Test Push Ups every time we’re in the gym. We should strive to use the bets form possible, and the most range of motion that we safely can. When making a claim though, there needs to be an agreed upon standard for this basic movement.
Most of all, we should value movement quality over quantity. If we’re going to become healthier as a nation, we must understand that.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
—Justin Miner