Bodyweight workouts work. The science backs it up. The physiques of dedicated calisthenics athletes and gymnasts back it up, too – and you can as well, provided you stop treating push-ups as a quick finisher for a pump and start approaching bodyweight training with real intent.

Use this workout as a benchmark for your bodyweight strength, challenging yourself to beat your score over the weeks and months. Do that consistently and physical progress won’t be far behind.

The session targets the shoulders, chest and triceps, with some additional core involvement – effectively covering the major upper-body pushing muscles. Pair it with pull-ups or rows between rounds, or perform those movements on alternate days for a more balanced programme.

The protocol uses a ‘mechanical dropset’. That means although the load – your bodyweight – stays the same, each movement becomes progressively easier through changes in angle and leverage, allowing you to keep pushing out reps.

The Workout

After a thorough warm-up you’re going to perform a max-repetition set of 4 movements, with minimal rest between each.

Your goal is to complete a total of 100 reps across all four movements. Get more than 100? Great. Do even more next time. Didn’t hit the 100-rep target? Good. You’ve got something to work towards. Can’t do handstand push-ups at all? Get as much as you can on the other movements and start working on those handstands.

Rest for 3-4 minutes and give this 2-3 attempts in a workout, repeating each week and keeping a record of your reps on each attempt.

• Kick up into a handstand against a wall with your hands shoulder-width apart.
• Brace your core and keep your body in a straight line.
• Bend your elbows to lower your head towards the floor under control.
• Press back up explosively until your arms are fully extended.

• Start in a pike position with your hips high (box optional) and hands shoulder-width apart.
• Keep your legs straight and shift your weight forwards slightly.
• Bend your elbows to lower your head towards the floor between your hands.
• Push back up until your arms are straight.

Push-Up x max reps

• Begin in a strong plank position with your hands just outside shoulder width.
• Keep your core tight and body in a straight line throughout.
• Lower your chest towards the floor by bending your elbows.
• Press back up powerfully to the start position.

Hands-Elevated Push-Up x max reps

• Place your hands on a bench or box and step your feet back into a plank.
• Keep your body rigid from shoulders to heels.
• Lower your chest towards the bench under control.
• Push back up until your arms are fully extended.

With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.    

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.   

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.   

 You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.