Over the last year, I did 2,364 push-ups.
Before you feel impressed, that actually isn’t a very big number. Just ten push-ups per day for a year is 3,650.
But 2,364 is a lot of push-ups considering that prior to starting this habit, I had difficulty doing any.
Let’s go back in time to July 1st, 2021…
Rising From the Ashes of Injury
Eight years ago, I had foot surgery and spent the summer on crutches. Ever since then, my wrists have had trouble bearing the weight required to do a push-up. And three years ago, I injured my shoulder in a ski fall, which made push-ups very painful to do. I was never strong to begin with, but with these injuries, I had become weak.
So I started small. I committed to doing exactly one push-up per day in July. No more, no less.
Admittedly, I felt silly doing just one. But it was a strain on my frail body, at least at first. By the end of the month it was easy, so in August, I did two push-ups every day.
I kept track on a calendar chain because that’s the best tool I know for developing a habit like this.
I’ve since added one push-up per day each month, and I haven’t missed a single day. It’s now July 2022, and I’m doing 13 push-ups every day.
Sustainable Growth
The last decade of struggling to recover from injuries has taught me that my body is dreadfully slow at building muscle. So I knew the only way I could do push-ups every day was by building up really slowly.
It wouldn’t have been sustainable for me to start with 10 or 20 push-ups a day. It wouldn’t have been sustainable for me to increase the number of reps more quickly than one per month. I had to give my body time to adapt.
The Power of Patience
This approach is really the opposite of a quick-fix mentality. It’s not about getting swimsuit-ready for next month’s vacation. It’s an approach to fitness that looks ahead to the coming decades.
Do I look better with my shirt off today than I did a year ago? Maybe. But who cares? That isn’t why I’m doing this. For me, the ability to do push-ups is about overcoming injuries and restoring my body to functional fitness. I want to be strong and capable for the rest of my life.
So I didn’t need immediate results. I’ve got my whole life ahead of me – plenty of time to be patient.
Willpower Wasn’t Required
It’s also important to note that my approach to doing push-ups every day did not depend on willpower.1 Doing one push-up a day is stupidly easy. Even if it’s a physical strain at first, it takes almost no time. And by the time the calendar flips over to the next month, doing one more per day is barely noticeable. I never had to make myself do it with brute-force determination. It was always quick and easy.
If this trend of easy increases continues for a few years, I’ll be doing about fifty push-ups a day, and even that will seem easy. That seems crazy to me right now, but it might actually happen.
The consistency of this approach is also part of the secret sauce that makes habits stick. I do my push-ups at the same point in my morning routine every day. This is much more effective than doing them just some days at whatever time you happen to remember.
(By the way, this works for more than just push-ups. I also used this slow-and-steady approach to create the habit of meditating for 20 minutes per day. And you can use it for just about any other habit you want to start.)
Keep Your Eyes on the Process
So, with very little effort or risk to my injury-prone body, I did 2,364 push-ups in a year. And if all goes to plan, I’ll do 6,744 push-ups next year.
As my body has gotten stronger and my brain has rewired to make this an automatic habit, my identity has subtly shifted too. A year ago, I was a guy who was too injured to do push-ups. Now I’m a guy who does push-ups every day.
Now, I’m not striving to win any push-up contests or look sexy. My chosen identity is not outcome- or achievement-based; it’s process-based. As long as I show up and do my push-ups every day, the results will take care of themselves.
Start Now
I didn’t wait until New Year’s Day to start this habit because there’s nothing magical about January 1st. I was inspired to start it last July,2 so that’s when I began. Your new year can start today.
And if you’re not currently strong enough to do a regular push-up, you can start by doing it against a desk or countertop. Progress from there to knee push-ups, and transition to real push-ups when you’re ready. You might not be able to do multiple push-ups every day right now, but you can become capable.
You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. It’s okay to go slowly.
So can you do push-ups every day?
That depends … Can you do one push-up today?
If the answer is yes, do it. Then, follow this model to develop the habit of doing push-ups every day, and in the coming years, you’ll do tens of thousands of push-ups.
And remember, this is just one example of how thinking long-term and striving for consistency can radically transform your body and mind.
1 Reducing your reliance on willpower is the smartest willpower strategy.
2 I was inspired by this article from James Clear. His model presents a far more aggressive progression because he was very fit to begin with. Most people will need to progress much more slowly, as I’ve done.