EP 831 - Conquer the 10k Pushup Challenge | PF

Tom Rowland, world-class fishing guide, CrossFit athlete, and host of The Tom Rowland Podcast, breaks down the 10,000 push up challenge—a physical challenge happening every February where participants complete 10,000 push ups in one month. That's 345 push ups per day. In this Physical Friday episode, Tom reveals five specific strategies to conquer this challenge, including how to start from zero push ups and build to 400 push ups per day using a simple progression method. Whether you're training for the February challenge or building your New Year's resolution fitness foundation, these tactics will help you show up, scale properly, and finish what you start.

Start Now: Don't Wait Until February 1

The single biggest mistake people make with the 10,000 push up challenge is waiting until the first day of February to do their first push up. Tom emphasizes starting immediately—not in a month when the calendar flips. There are 83 days between now and February 1, which means you have nearly three months to build strength, develop the movement pattern, and prepare your body for the daily volume. Starting now allows you to enter February already warmed up, already stronger, and already accustomed to the daily discipline of showing up for push ups. This preparation period transforms the challenge from a shocking introduction to high-volume training into a natural continuation of work you've already been doing.

The Scaling Strategy: Three Ways to Modify Push Ups

Maybe you can't do a single push up right now—Tom addresses this directly with three specific scaling options that all count toward your 10,000. First, wall push ups: stand and perform the movement against a wall. Second, elevated push ups on a chair or table. Third, push ups on your knees. All three variations develop the same pressing strength and movement patterns while allowing you to accumulate volume. The key insight here is that scaling isn't failure—it's intelligent progression. Tom makes it clear that these modifications will progress you to full push ups quickly, and every single rep counts toward your 10,000. The challenge is designed to be accessible regardless of your current fitness level.

The One Rep Per Day Progression Method

Tom shares a specific example that illustrates the power of incremental progress: he knows someone who added just one push up per day until they could perform 400 push ups in a single day. Think about that progression—starting from wherever you are and adding a single repetition daily. With 83 days until February 1, if you started today at one push up and added one each day, you'd be capable of 83 push ups by the time the challenge officially begins. Since the daily requirement is 345 push ups, and 345 divided by four equals roughly 86, you'd already be trained to handle one-quarter of your daily volume in a single set. Tom emphasizes that along the way, you'll discover you can add more than one push up per day—but the consistency of showing up and adding just a little bit every day builds both physical capacity and mental discipline.

Spread Them Out: The Volume Distribution Strategy

Rather than attempting all 345 push ups in one brutal session, Tom recommends spreading your volume across the entire day. Do some at breakfast, some at lunch, some at dinner. Or structure them every hour on the hour. This distribution strategy is especially critical if you're new to push ups or still building your fitness to handle the daily volume. By breaking the work into smaller chunks throughout the day, you maintain better form, reduce fatigue, and make the challenge sustainable. The mental game shifts too—instead of facing one enormous task each morning, you're simply doing a manageable set every few hours. This approach transforms a daunting daily requirement into a series of small, achievable actions.

Final Thoughts from Tom

This challenge has become one of my favorite traditions we do every year on the podcast. It's simple, it's accessible, and it proves that you can accomplish something that sounds impossible when you break it down and show up consistently. I've watched people transform not just their push up capacity but their entire relationship with commitment and discipline through this challenge.

The five strategies I laid out in this episode work—I've seen them work for thousands of people over the years we've been running this. Starting now instead of waiting until February gives you such a massive advantage. And that progression method of adding just one push up per day? It removes all the pressure and builds exactly the capacity you need.

If you're thinking about making the 10,000 push up challenge your New Year's resolution, or if you just want to prove to yourself that you can finish something hard, this episode gives you the complete playbook. Listen to the whole thing and then get started today—not next month.