1000 Push ups per day

[youtalkfunny]

[ QUOTE ]
for a real pushup, you should be going low enough for your chin to touch the ground (about an inch at the most from actually hitting the ground), than all the way up with a flat back...
Also, US army training has most troops being able to do
Age 20-24
Ok 38-41 Good 44-60 Great 67-73 Outstanding 77-84

So to those that say they can do 500 in a row, well, you can eat my [censored].

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1. Those army numbers are based on a two-minute test. If you can knock out 84 in two minutes, you get the "max" score of 100 points.

(It looks like they lowered the minimum passing grade to 38 for that age group. It was 42 when I was in, 15 years ago.)

2. If you're going to give army numbers, then you might as well include the army's definition of a pushup, which does not mention the chin anywhere.

I hope, if any of you hotshots actually get around to betting on this, that you get a military veteran who is familiar with these rules to act as referee. Without such, pushup bets always turn into chaos (see the "Scott the Engineer Pushup Challenge" from the Howard Stern Show--$30,000 bet on the line, and nothing but controversy when it was over, because they didn't sufficiently define a pushup beforehand, and the referee didn't tell Scott DURING THE TEST that his pushups were no good).

Here are the rules (as I knew them in 1992; I suppose it's possible that they may have changed since then, but I don't see why they would):

--You have two minutes. Only your hands and toes may touch the ground. If you rest any other body part on the ground (knees, torso, etc), the test is over immediately, and you will be graded on the number of pushups you have done to that point.

--You will start in the front leaning rest position (what you civilians would call the "up" position). Lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the floor (or "elbows at 90 degrees", as others here have mentioned). You can go lower if you like, but it's not necessary. Then return to the up position. You are not "up" until your elbows are completely straight.

--Your hands may be as close or as far apart as you like. I can't recall if the same rule applies to your feet. Having a big chest, I always went with my hands very far apart, which let my chest carry more of the load, as well as allowed for less motion required to get from "up" to "down" and back.

--While going up or down, the back must remain straight, meaning that the imaginary line that passes through your shoulders, hips, and heels must remain unbent.

--Again, you start in the "up" position. When you are told to start, you go "down", then back up. If you did it properly, the referee will count outloud "One." Upon the completion of the next push up, he will count, "Two." This is his way of telling you that the form you exhibit is acceptable. If, at any time, he repeats a number, that means you just did an unacceptable pushup.

For example, if you do five pushups, and the referee counts, "One, Two, Three, Three, Three...", this means that the first three pushups were of acceptable form, but the last two were not.

If you're still on the first few pushups, and the referee's count indicates that he finds your form to be mostly unacceptable, you may stop the test, and discuss with him exactly what part of your form that he finds unacceptable ("you're not going down far enough" is the most common; "you're not keeping your back straight, your shoulders are coming up before your hips" is another common penalty).

I'm pretty sure they only let you abort and restart like this once or twice, before they finally disqualify you for the "touching the ground before the time was up" rule. They will definitely tell you before the restart if you will not be allowed any more restarts.

--There are two authorized rest positions (in case you want to stop and catch your breath--remember, only your hands and toes may touch the ground while the clock is running): The first is, stick your ass way up in the air (that's the one I used to use). The other is to lower your hips almost to the floor, arch your back, and raise your shoulders (the girls seemed to prefer this one).