Tip: Take the Texas Push-Up Challenge

Here's how it works:

Begin in a standing position.
Drop to a push-up position and do one push-up.
Stand back up quickly.
Drop back down and do two push-ups
Stand back up.
Drop back down and do three push-ups, then stand back up.

Repeat this pattern until you do 10 reps on the last set of push-ups. So, you'll end up doing a total of 55 push-ups, standing up between sets, and trying not to rest. Or barf.

The Challenge

Goal 1. Just try to finish all the sets. If you do, then congratulations, you're adequate. Whoopie.
Goal 2. Finish all the sets in under two minutes. Do that and you can brag. A little.
Goal 3. Now it gets personal. From this point on, try to beat your previous time. Or, get a few buddies together and see who finishes first.

Tips and Guidelines

Use a full range of motion on the push-ups. None of that halfway stuff. Most people "hit a wall" around the 7th or 8th set, so don't get too cocky when set 6 feels easy. Pride comes before the fall. If you have to rest more than a few seconds between sets, you fail. Try again another time.

Take the Texas Push-Up Challenge on an off day, or do it first thing on the day you train chest or upper body. You may want to truncate your chest workout a bit though since you'll be doing 55 intense reps of push-ups at the beginning of your normal workout.