Endura

Isometric Push Up Hold Strength Standards Calculator

Under strict Isometric Push Up Hold strength standards, Novice starts around 15 sec for men age 20-29 and 10 sec for women age 20-29, while Elite starts around 1:35 for men and 1:20 for women.

Enter your sex, bodyweight, age, and hold time to see whether your Isometric Push Up Hold is Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, or Elite for your bodyweight and age.

The calculator compares your valid hold time with the Isometric Push Up Hold standards for your sex, bodyweight, and age. This keeps the result focused on bodyweight performance instead of load, estimated 1RM, or a different exercise.

Understanding Your Isometric Push Up Hold Strength Score

Your Isometric Push Up Hold score is one continuous valid hold time. A hold lasting 75 seconds is entered as 75 seconds, not as separate segments. The calculator compares that result with the standards for the sex, age range, and bodyweight you select.

The score is useful only when every attempt follows the same movement standard. Begin the attempt from this position: start in a standard push-up plank with hands set consistently, elbows extended, body straight from shoulders through hips to ankles, feet fixed, and no external load or assistance. Lower under control to the mid-range hold position with elbows bent near 90 degrees, chest a few inches off the floor, body straight, shoulders and trunk controlled, and no contact with the floor other than hands and feet.

Count the result this way: count continuous seconds from the valid 90-degree mid-range hold to the first invalid position or voluntary stop; do not aggregate multiple holds or count a pause during push-up reps as the same test. The attempt ends when the athlete stops, presses upward out of the hold, drops the chest or hips to the floor, knees touch, hips sag or pike, elbows drift clearly outside the approved hold angle, hands or feet move, or outside assistance occurs. Keep retests comparable by using the same hand width, foot width, floor surface, footwear or barefoot convention, chest-height standard, elbow-angle standard, and observation angle so entered seconds mean the same thing over time.

Isometric Push Up Hold Strength Standards

These are Endura’s standards for comparing consistent Isometric Push Up Hold attempts. They are exercise-specific practical benchmarks, not population averages.

How Endura set these standards: The approved Isometric Push Up Hold model defines Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite valid hold-time benchmarks for men and women in five age groups. Each exact threshold and tier boundary is checked against the calculator before publication.

The tables organize Isometric Push Up Hold standards by sex and age. Compare your valid hold time with the Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite columns. A result below the Novice threshold is classified as Beginner.

Men — Isometric Push Up Hold Standards

AgeNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
20-2915 sec35 sec1:001:35
30-3915 sec30 sec55 sec1:30
40-4915 sec30 sec50 sec1:20
50-5910 sec25 sec40 sec1:05
60+10 sec20 sec35 sec50 sec

Women — Isometric Push Up Hold Standards

AgeNoviceIntermediateAdvancedElite
20-2910 sec30 sec50 sec1:20
30-3910 sec25 sec50 sec1:15
40-4910 sec25 sec45 sec1:05
50-5910 sec20 sec35 sec55 sec
60+5 sec15 sec30 sec45 sec

For example, men age 20-29 reach Intermediate at 35 sec, Advanced at 1:00, and Elite at 1:35. Women age 40-49 reach those same levels at 25 sec, 45 sec, and 1:05. These examples come directly from the table values above.

Use the calculator to apply your exact inputs, place your result in the correct level, and see the next target without doing the table lookup yourself.

How the Isometric Push Up Hold Calculator Works

The calculator uses your sex, age group, bodyweight, and one continuous valid hold time. Enter the duration of one continuous valid hold; do not add separate attempts together. It compares that score with the exercise-specific Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Elite thresholds. Because higher is stronger for this test, more valid seconds can move the result to a higher level.

The result shows your standards level, entered score, the sex and age group used, and your next target. An exact threshold counts as the higher level. Using the men’s age 20-29 reference row, 35 valid seconds is Intermediate and Advanced begins at 60 valid seconds (1:00), making the next target 25 additional valid seconds. The calculator handles the tier lookup and target math automatically.

The calculator cannot inspect your attempt. It assumes the number entered follows the Isometric Push Up Hold Testing Rules. If the attempt became invalid before you stopped, enter only the valid time reached before the first break in the required position.

Isometric Push Up Hold Testing Rules

Use one continuous hold and record its valid duration. The calculator compares the number you enter with the Isometric Push Up Hold standards, but it cannot verify how the attempt was performed. Use the exercise-specific requirements below before entering a score.

Isometric Push Up Hold Testing Checklist

Testing ruleRequirement
Exact testTimed strict mid-range push-up hold from a standard plank, lowered to elbows bent near 90 degrees with the chest a few inches off the floor, scored by total continuous valid hold seconds.
StartStart in a standard push-up plank with hands set consistently, elbows extended, body straight from shoulders through hips to ankles, feet fixed, and no external load or assistance.
Valid range or positionLower under control to the mid-range hold position with elbows bent near 90 degrees, chest a few inches off the floor, body straight, shoulders and trunk controlled, and no contact with the floor other than hands and feet.
Count or timeCount continuous seconds from the valid 90-degree mid-range hold to the first invalid position or voluntary stop; do not aggregate multiple holds or count a pause during push-up reps as the same test.
Tempo and pausesNo movement tempo applies after the hold starts; small balance corrections are allowed only if the athlete remains inside the valid mid-range hold standard without floor contact or assistance.
AssistanceNo knee support, hand support beyond the floor, partner help, bands, machines, elevated handles, external load, or setup changes unless explicitly allowed by this spec.
StopThe attempt ends when the athlete stops, presses upward out of the hold, drops the chest or hips to the floor, knees touch, hips sag or pike, elbows drift clearly outside the approved hold angle, hands or feet move, or outside assistance occurs.
Retest consistentlyKeep retests comparable by using the same hand width, foot width, floor surface, footwear or barefoot convention, chest-height standard, elbow-angle standard, and observation angle so entered seconds mean the same thing over time.

What Counts and What Does Not Count

Enter only the exact Isometric Push Up Hold test described in the checklist. The examples below separate that test from common substitutions that use different loading, assistance, range, position, equipment, or counting rules.

Attempt or variationEnter it?Why
Isometric Push Up HoldYesThis is the exact exercise when it follows every start, range or position, counting or timing, assistance, and stop rule above.
straight-arm plank hold, forearm plank hold, regular push-up repsNoThese are nearby movements or positions, but they are not the same test.
weighted push-up hold, weighted vest hold, plate-loaded holdNoAdded resistance changes the exercise and the meaning of the score.
knee push-up hold, incline push-up hold, wall push-up holdNoExternal support changes the work required and makes the result noncomparable.
top plank hold, chest-rested bottom hold, hip-sag holdNoAltered range, position, resets, or counting can inflate the entered result.
rings, parallettes, push-up handlesNoA different setup can change support, leverage, range, or difficulty.

When a call is borderline, stop the time at the first break in the required position and enter only the valid duration. That keeps Isometric Push Up Hold results useful for comparison over time. Apply the same checklist every time you retest.

Elite Isometric Push Up Hold Strength Levels

Elite begins when your continuous valid hold time meets or exceeds the Elite threshold for the applicable sex and age group. Because the tier boundary is lower-inclusive, a score exactly equal to the threshold counts as Elite. The table shows every public Elite starting point for Isometric Push Up Hold.

Reference groupElite starts at
Men age 20-291:35 valid hold time
Men age 30-391:30 valid hold time
Men age 40-491:20 valid hold time
Men age 50-591:05 valid hold time
Men age 60+50 sec valid hold time
Women age 20-291:20 valid hold time
Women age 30-391:15 valid hold time
Women age 40-491:05 valid hold time
Women age 50-5955 sec valid hold time
Women age 60+45 sec valid hold time

An Elite result still has to follow the same Isometric Push Up Hold Testing Rules; if the attempt became invalid earlier, use only the valid time reached before the first break in the required position. After Elite, the calculator can show a separate hold-time stretch target when one is available, but that target does not replace or redefine the Elite threshold.

Milestones and Next Targets

Your next Isometric Push Up Hold target is the first strength-level threshold above your current valid hold time. The calculator uses your selected sex, age group, bodyweight, and one continuous valid hold time, subtracts your result from that threshold, and shows the exact additional valid seconds needed.

The table shows the complete jumps between level starting points for the age 20–29 reference group; your personal gap may be smaller because it begins from your current result rather than the previous level’s minimum.

ProgressionMen age 20-29Women age 20-29
Novice → Intermediate+0:20+0:20
Intermediate → Advanced+0:25+0:20
Advanced → Elite+0:35+0:30
Related toolWhat it measures and why it’s useful
Pike Push Ups Strength StandardsMeasure strict pike push-up reps with the hips elevated and head traveling through the required path. This provides an accessible bridge from floor pressing to handstand push-ups.
Handstand Push Ups Strength StandardsCount strict vertical bodyweight pressing reps from the required handstand setup. This gives you an overhead-strength benchmark that also demands full-body control.
Weighted Dips (Parallel Bars)Estimate maximal dip strength from external load and strict parallel-bar reps. This provides a loaded chest and triceps benchmark beyond bodyweight dip endurance.
Forearm Plank Hold Strength StandardsHold a strict forearm plank for one continuous valid attempt. This gives you a simple anti-extension core-endurance benchmark that is easy to repeat.
Inverted Row Isometric Hold Strength StandardsTime a motionless top-position hold in an inverted row. This isolates static horizontal-pulling endurance without allowing repeated reps to mask a weak position.
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