Push-Up Calorie Calculator

How many calories do push-ups burn?

A 155 lb person burns about 0.8 calories per regular push-up, plus the cost of holding the position between reps.

Twenty push-ups in 2 minutes burn about 20 calories. Fifty push-ups over 5 minutes burn about 49, and 100 push-ups over 10 minutes burn about 98.

These numbers come from a lab study that measured oxygen use while people did push-ups at set speeds. It gives a per-rep cost, which suits push-ups better than a time-based MET because most people count reps.

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Push-up calories by reps and body weight

Each row lists a total rep count and the time it took, including rest between sets. More time adds a little because holding the plank position and resting also burn energy.

Knee, incline, and decline push-ups

The share of body weight on your hands changes with the variation, and so does the work per rep. Ebben and colleagues measured peak force at the hands in 23 men and women. A regular push-up put about 64% of body weight on the hands. Knee push-ups put 49% there. Raising the hands on a 12-inch box dropped it to 55%, and a 24-inch box to 41%. Raising the feet 12 inches increased it to 70%, and 24 inches to 74%.

Men and women showed the same pattern.

The calculator scales the per-rep cost by that load. At 155 lb, 20 push-ups in 2 minutes cost these amounts:

How the calculator works

Nakagata and colleagues had 15 men do push-ups at rising cadences, 3 seconds down and 3 seconds up, while measuring oxygen use. Energy cost rose in a straight line with reps per minute: gross kcal per minute = 0.77 × push-ups per minute + 1.47. The men averaged 66.1 kg, so the calculator scales both numbers by your body weight divided by 66.1.

Worked example: a 170 lb person (77.1 kg) does 5 sets of 15 regular push-ups in 8 minutes. Scale = 77.1 ÷ 66.1 = 1.17. Push-up work = 75 × 0.77 × 1.17 = 67 kcal. Holding and resting = 1.47 × 1.17 × 8 = 14 kcal. Total = about 81 kcal. As knee push-ups, the work part falls to about 52 kcal and the total to about 65 kcal.

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How to use this calculator

Enter total push-ups across all sets and the time from the first rep to the last.

Pick the variation you used. If you mixed variations, run the calculator once for each and add the results.

Sessions per week shows a weekly total and counts toward the guideline of muscle-strengthening work on 2 or more days a week. Push-ups cover the chest, shoulders, and arms, so pair them with leg and back exercises.

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Push-ups compared with other bodyweight exercises

In a 2024 lab comparison of seven bodyweight exercises, push-ups sat in the middle for energy cost, above the plank and squats and below burpees. The 2024 Compendium rates push-ups and similar calisthenics at 3.8 MET for moderate effort and 7.5 MET for vigorous effort. Ten push-ups a minute works out to about 8 MET in the rep model, close to the vigorous rating. A slow bodyweight routine that included push-ups, squats, lunges, and core work burned 92.6 kcal over 26.5 minutes in a group of 8 men, an average of 3.1 MET. That is about the same as walking. Push-ups build strength well, but they are not an efficient way to burn calories.

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Strength and heart health

Push-ups can build muscle as well as light bench pressing. In an 8-week trial, 18 young men trained twice a week with either a bench press at 40% of their one-rep max or push-ups adjusted to the same load. Both groups gained similar chest and triceps thickness and bench press strength.

In a 10-year study of 1,104 active male firefighters, men who could do more than 40 push-ups had a 96% lower rate of cardiovascular events than those who could do fewer than 10. The study shows an association, and it included only active men, but push-up capacity is a quick marker of fitness.

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Where these numbers can be off

The rep model was built on 15 young men at a slow, controlled tempo. Faster reps may cost a little less each, and very heavy or very light people may not scale in a straight line with body weight. Women were not tested for energy cost, though the load study found no sex differences in hand force.

Short hard sets also draw on anaerobic energy and raise oxygen use after the workout. The calculator reports energy used during the session.

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How it works

Calories = reps × 0.77 kcal × (body weight ÷ 66.1 kg) × variation factor + 1.47 kcal per minute × (body weight ÷ 66.1 kg) × minutes. The slope and intercept come from Nakagata et al. (2022), who measured oxygen use during push-ups at set cadences. The variation factor is the share of body weight on the hands (Ebben et al. 2011) divided by 64% for a regular push-up.

Practical tips

• Enter total reps and total time, including rest.
• Start with incline or knee push-ups and progress to the floor.
• Raise your feet to add load without adding reps.
• Train push-ups on 2 or more days a week for strength.
• Pair push-ups with leg and back work for a full routine.

Frequently asked questions

• How many calories does one push-up burn?About 0.8 kcal for a 155 lb person doing regular push-ups, plus the cost of holding position between reps. A 125 lb person burns about 0.66 kcal per rep and a 185 lb person about 0.98 kcal.
• How many calories do 100 push-ups burn?For a 155 lb (70 kg) person spreading 100 regular push-ups over 10 minutes: about 98 kcal. At 125 lb it is about 79 kcal and at 185 lb about 116 kcal.
• Do knee push-ups burn fewer calories?Yes. A regular push-up puts about 64% of your body weight on your hands at the bottom. A knee push-up puts about 49% there, and hands raised 24 inches about 41%. Less load means less work and fewer calories per rep.
• Can push-ups help you lose weight?Not on their own. Even 100 push-ups burn under 120 kcal for most people. Push-ups build upper-body strength and count toward the 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening work adults are advised to do.
• What does a good push-up count say about health?In a 10-year study of 1,104 male firefighters, men who could do more than 40 push-ups had a 96% lower rate of cardiovascular events than men who could do fewer than 10. The study was observational and included only active men.
• Why does the calculator ask for time?Holding the plank position between reps and resting between sets both burn energy. Time adds that baseline cost. Enter the full time from first rep to last.

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References

1. Herrmann SD, et al. J Sport Health Sci 2024. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities
2. Nakagata T, et al. J Strength Cond Res 2022. Estimating energy cost of body weight resistance exercise using a multistage exercise test
3. Ebben WP, et al. J Strength Cond Res 2011. Kinetic analysis of several variations of push-ups
4. Poulios A, et al. J Strength Cond Res 2024. The energy expenditure associated with body-weight resistance exercises of various movement patterns performed at different durations
5. Nakagata T, et al. Physiol Int 2018. Energy expenditure, recovery oxygen consumption, and substrate oxidation during and after body weight resistance exercise with slow movement compared to treadmill walking
6. Kikuchi N, Nakazato K. J Exerc Sci Fit 2017. Low-load bench press and push-up induce similar muscle hypertrophy and strength gain
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition
8. Yang J, et al. JAMA Netw Open 2019. Association between push-up exercise capacity and future cardiovascular events among active adult men