How Many Push-Ups Should A 12 Year Old Do? (Solved!)

Push-ups are a great exercise for a 12-year-old.

Why?

Well, for starters, you can do them from the comfort of your home.

(Many gyms don’t allow 12-year-olds to use them! I know, it sucks.)

If you’re 12, then you may be wondering how many push-ups you should be able to do.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to answer today.

How Many Push-Ups Should A 12-Year-Old Do? (Short Answer)

If you’re a 12-year-old boy, then you should be able to do between 8 – 13 push-ups each set. Whereas if you’re a 12-year-old girl, you should be able to 5 – 10 push-ups per set.

This is a rough range though and I’m going to now explain why.

How Many Push-Ups Should A 12-Year-Old Do? (Long Answer)

Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to the range of push-ups a 12-year-old should be able to do.

There are many factors at play which we’re now going to cover in more detail.

The Type of Push-Up

One thing to think about is the type of push-up you’re doing.

There are multiple push-ups variations and some of them, like Mike Tyson pushups and decline push-ups, are harder than others.

Easier push-up variations include incline push-ups and normal push-ups.

Obviously, the harder the push-up variation, the less reps you’ll be able to do.

Your Strength

Now for a more obvious factor, although just as important!

It’s a fact that some people are naturally stronger than others.

If you’re genetically lucky and are naturally strong, you’ll be able to do more push-ups than someone who’s naturally weaker.

Your Bodyweight

When doing push-ups, you’re lifting around 60%-70% of your total bodyweight.

In other words, the heavier you are, the more weight you have to push during push-ups.

(This explains why push-ups are often harder for heavier people and easier if you weigh less.)

So, if you’re quite a heavy 12-year-old, then you’ll likely be able to do less push-ups than someone who weighs less.

How Often You Do Push-Ups

The saying “practise makes perfect” is true and applies to push-ups too.

The more often you do push-ups, the stronger you get and the more you’re able to do.

If you’re someone who does push-ups 5 times a week, over a few months, you’ll likely be able to do more push-ups than someone who only does them twice a week.

Your Gender

Males usually have more upper body strength than females.

I’m sorry if that offends you, but it’s a fact. And facts don’t care about your feelings.

So, a 12-year-old male will typically be able to do more push-ups than a 12-year-old female.

The Tempo of Push-Ups

Tempo is another important factor when it comes to the number of push-ups you can do.

The slower you do push-ups, the harder you’ll find them, and so the less reps you’re able to do.

(This is because your muscles are under tension for more time each rep.)

And the faster you do push-ups, the easier you’ll find them.

How Many Push-Ups Should A 12-Year-Old Do A Day?

As covered earlier, a 12-year-old should be able to do anywhere between 8-13 push-ups depending on whether they’re a boy or a girl.

If you’re a boy, you should be able to do 2-4 sets of 8-13 push-ups in a day. So, a total of 16-52 push-ups.

If you’re a girl, you should be able to do 1-3 sets of 5-10 push-ups in a day. So, a total of 5-30 push-ups.

Conclusion

In summary, the number of push-ups a 12-year-old should do depends on numerous factors and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to the question.

That’s all for this article, but how many push ups should a 16 year old do? Or you may be wondering do push-ups make you taller?

Hope this helped!

Sources

Gender Differences in Strength