Push-Ups

Page updated: Evidence reviewed: What this means

Push-ups measure upper body muscular endurance. Youth norms (ages 10-18) are source-reported percentiles from Santos et al. (2014), a nationally representative Portuguese sample of 22,048 children and adolescents using the FitnessGram Test Battery v8.0 (standard position for both sexes). Adult values (ages 20-69) are estimates mapped from the five published CSEP-PATH rating categories (Payne et al. 2000), not empirical P5, P25, P50, P75, and P95 measurements. Adult women use a modified knee position. The youth and adult series use different sources and protocols and should not be compared across the boundary. Read more on Wikipedia

Data source: Santos et al. 2014 (FitnessGram) (2014) · n=22K About this study

Data source: Payne et al. (CSEP-PATH) (2000) · n=571 About this study

Reference population: Santos et al. 2014 (FitnessGram): Portuguese children and adolescents aged 10-18 years (n=22,048; 11,373 girls), nationally representative sample collected in 2008

Reference population: Payne et al. (CSEP-PATH): Canadian adults aged 20-69, validated against Canada Fitness Survey (n=23,400)

Push-Ups Strength

Push-Ups Norms Chart by Age and Sex (reps)

Age Sex Percentile
5th 25th 50th 75th 95th
10 Male 2 5 9 14 26
Female 2 4 6 10 18
11 Male 2 5 9 14 25
Female 2 4 6 10 18
12 Male 2 6 10 15 26
Female 2 4 6 10 18
13 Male 3 7 11 16 26
Female 2 4 7 11 19
14 Male 3 8 12 18 28
Female 2 4 7 11 20
15 Male 4 10 14 20 31
Female 2 5 8 12 21
16 Male 6 11 16 23 33
Female 2 5 8 13 21
17 Male 7 13 18 25 36
Female 2 5 9 14 22
18 Male 8 15 20 27 38
Female 2 6 10 14 23
20-29 Male 8 22 25 29 40
Female 4 15 18 21 35
30-39 Male 5 17 19 22 35
Female 3 13 16 20 31
40-49 Male 4 13 15 17 30
Female 2 11 13 15 29
50-59 Male 3 10 11 13 26
Female 0 7 9 11 27
60-69 Male 2 8 9 11 22
Female 0 5 8 12 20

What to expect by age group

Among adults in their 30s, the category-derived central range is approximately 17 to 22 reps for men and 13 to 20 reps for women (women use the modified knee position). These adult columns are estimates from CSEP-PATH rating boundaries, not empirical percentiles. Youth norms (ages 10-18) use source-reported FitnessGram percentiles and the standard position for both sexes. Youth and adult female values are not directly comparable.

Typical range (25th to 75th percentile) by age group (reps)
Age MalesFemales
10 5 to 144 to 10
11 5 to 144 to 10
12 6 to 154 to 10
13 7 to 164 to 11
14 8 to 184 to 11
15 10 to 205 to 12
16 11 to 235 to 13
17 13 to 255 to 14
18 15 to 276 to 14
20-29 22 to 2915 to 21
30-39 17 to 2213 to 20
40-49 13 to 1711 to 15
50-59 10 to 137 to 11
60-69 8 to 115 to 12

Detailed Breakdowns

Select an age group and sex below for detailed percentile charts, tables, and ratings.

Males
10111213141516171820-2930-3940-4950-5960-69
Females
10111213141516171820-2930-3940-4950-5960-69
Age trend (percentiles)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do youth and adult female values use different protocols?

Youth norms (ages 10-18, Santos 2014) use the FitnessGram standard push-up position for both sexes. Adult norms (ages 20-69, CSEP-PATH) use the modified knee position for women. This means female youth and adult scores are not on the same scale and should not be compared across the age boundary.

What is the FitnessGram push-up protocol?

Both sexes start in the standard position: hands shoulder-width apart, body straight from head to toes, toes on the floor. The participant lowers until the elbows reach 90 degrees, then pushes back to full arm extension. Movement is performed to a cadence of 20 complete push-ups per minute (one push-up every 3 seconds). The test ends when the participant cannot maintain the cadence or form.

How were the adult percentiles estimated?

The adult CSEP-PATH source publishes five rating categories rather than an empirical percentile distribution. FitnessNorms maps those category cut-points into the site's five-column format. Treat the adult values as approximate category benchmarks, not measured P5, P25, P50, P75, and P95 quantiles. Youth values are source-reported percentiles.

Why are there no norms for ages 70 and above?

No peer-reviewed push-up norms exist for adults aged 70+. The CSEP-PATH protocol covers ages 20-69 only. For older adults, functional fitness assessments such as the Senior Fitness Test (which uses arm curls) are more commonly used to evaluate upper body strength.

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