The 10,000 push-up challenge is finishing 10,000 push-ups in a month — about 300 to 400 a day — and the way to get started is to begin on an incline, break the reps into small sets with short rests, and write down every set as you go.
On this Physical Friday I talk with Kevin Burns, who not only completed the challenge but has done 10,000 push-ups every single month since 2021. He started at 57, uses push-up bars or dumbbells to spare his wrists and shoulders, and tracks everything in a simple document. His advice for anyone on the fence: do not try to boil the ocean.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
It is completing 10,000 push-ups across a month, which works out to roughly 300 to 400 a day. Kevin Burns has not only done it — he has done 10,000 push-ups every single month since 2021. You can break the reps up however you like throughout the day, and the goal is approachable for almost anyone if you start small and stay consistent. It is as much a mental challenge as a physical one, especially at the beginning when the number sounds impossible.
Kevin Burns recommends starting on a slight incline so your body gets used to the volume — it is easier than going straight to the floor and it is not cheating if it helps you get stronger. Break the reps into manageable sets, maybe 30 or 40 at first, then rest 30 to 45 seconds to a minute before the next set, writing down each set as you go. Build toward 300 to 400 a day, which is what you need to reach 10,000 in a month. As you get stronger, the set sizes naturally grow.
Kevin Burns uses push-up bars or dumbbells to take the strain off the wrists and keep a slight incline, which eases the shoulders too. He found that as he got into his sixties, push-ups did not beat up his body the way heavy bench and military presses did — you can hurt yourself trying to keep up with the young guys at the gym, but careful push-ups let you keep training. He also stresses recovery as you age: a protein bar or shake and eating right to help the joints bounce back.
Kevin Burns started with a simple notebook and dates, then moved to a Word document where he tabs in the date and the number of reps for each set. An Excel spreadsheet works just as well, or a notebook — whatever you will keep up with. The key is writing down each set right after you do it so the totals add up reliably across the day and the month. The tracking itself becomes part of the discipline that gets you to 10,000.
Absolutely. Kevin Burns started at 57 and has kept it going into his sixties. My own dad did it in his eighties and is doing it again at 84, knocking out around 250 to 400 a day. For him the real benefit is not even the push-ups — it is getting down on the ground and back up, which they say correlates directly with quality and length of life, so the challenge delivers a powerful byproduct: repeatedly getting onto the floor and standing back up.
Kevin Burns says do not try to boil the ocean. You do not need 250 in one session — do 15 at lunch, 15 in your office, and suddenly you are at 75, then 100, and you build from there. Start on an incline if you need to; it is not cheating. There is a mental hurdle at first when you can only get 10 or 15, but as you have at it through the day, confidence grows and the reps pile up. Anyone can do it by spreading the work across the day.
Kevin Burns is living proof that the 10,000 push-up challenge is not a one-time stunt — he has done it every month since 2021, starting in his late fifties. I wanted him to walk people through how he broke up the reps, kept track, and protected his shoulders and wrists, because his approach makes the whole thing feel doable. He shares exactly how he does it, and why he kept going, in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here is how Kevin Burns suggests beginning the challenge. We cover more in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
Kevin Burns made a point that stuck with me. As he hit his sixth decade, trying to keep up with heavy bench and military presses at the gym started to risk injury. Push-ups, done carefully with bars or dumbbells, gave him the strength work without beating up his shoulders. It let him keep training hard while the heavy stuff would have sidelined him. He explains how he dialed it in over the years in the episode, so press play in the player above.
My dad is 84 and getting ready to do the challenge again, around 250 to 400 push-ups a day. The push-ups are great, but the real gift is getting down on the ground and back up over and over — and they say your ability to get up off the ground correlates directly with quality and length of life. The push-ups are almost the byproduct. I share more about his routine in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The hardest part is the number in your head. Break it into 15s across the day and 10,000 stops feeling impossible.
The 10,000 push-up challenge starts February 1 — sign up at tomrowlandpodcast.com/pushups, and I will be doing push-ups live on Instagram so you can join in. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
10,000 push-up challenge · push-ups · Kevin Burns · incline push-ups · push-up bars · recovery · protein · getting up off the ground · Physical Friday · Tom Rowland Podcast
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to do the things they love — hunting, fishing, hiking, and more — for life.
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