Universal Exercise Principles

Consistency & Volume

Aim for consistent exercise and overall volume (number of repetitions and sets per week). You don’t have to focus on smashing your maximum 1 min push ups or sit ups every day or every week.

Did you know if you only performed 28 push ups per day, you would have completed more than 10,000 push ups in one year?

Grease the groove

Do exercises with good form & posture, spread throughout the day. You don’t need to focus on the number of repetitions, just good quality movements. You will eventually get stronger, focus on prioritizing technique and weekly training volume. This is a principle often used in gymnastics.

Build a solid & consistent exercise habit and your max push ups / sit ups will take care of itself. You can test yourself once or twice a month.

Time of day

The best time of day for exercise is right before you take your daily shower or first thing in the morning before your day gets busy.

Whichever timing makes it easy for you to get started, go with that. Some might be more inclined to exercise in the evening. You can go with that if it works for you.

Frequency

How many sets of exercise to perform?

This will depend on how much time you can set aside for exercise. 1 set is better than none. It is quite manageable for most people to squeeze in 2 to 3 sets before shower time.

It also depends on your exercise experience and the level of exercise intensity.

If you are at beginner to intermediate level, you can aim for 4 to 6 sets. If you are advanced, you could train with a higher level of sets.

Personally, I like to do 1 set at about ⅓ to ½ of my maximum reps for as many sets spread out throughout the day. Eg, if my max rep is 50, I’ll do sets with a range of 17 to 25 and try to get as much volume as I can.

Rest & Recovery

Make sure you have sufficient rest in between workouts. The more intense your workout, the more rest you may need. If you are doing push ups with low intensity or lower volume, you may recover faster and need less rest. Listen to your body and aim for gradual improvement to avoid injury.

Deloading

If you find that you are not making any further progress, it may be a sign to deload for several days. This will enable your muscles to get a deep rest and recover so that you can continue to progress after about a week. During this time, you can reduce your training load.

Technique

Pay attention to good technique and you will avoid injuries and also achieve a higher percentage of push ups / sit up counts during your IPPT.

Divider