What percentage of body weight do you push when doing a standard pushup?

Question

As a woman of substance, I find that pushups are a lot harder for me than my husband - and I can push as much as he can on the bench press. So exactly how much of my body weight do I push when doing a push up (on my toes)

Answer 1

60% to 80% of your body weight. But take into consideration that women do not have the same physical make up as men. So, even though you two can do the exact same weight on the bench, because of your natural physiology, meaning you got breasts, he dont, dont expect to do the same amount of pushups. Try doing girl pushups as an alternative, with knees on the ground instead.

Answer 2

Women, in general tend to have more body fat and it is distributed differently in women than in men. A bench press also differs a bit from a push up. The bench pree involves lifting a weight in a straight line. Push ups are at an angle, so the force is not in one straight direction. The initial force is straight, but your arms have a balancing act to contend with as well as pushing. Your angle may differ from your husband's because of arm length, body composition and any number of other factors.

Answer 3

i think this is what the first answer was getting at, but just in case:

remember that men and women are different proportions/shapes. women generally hold more weight in their upper bodies/chest and hip area while men generally hold their weight around their waist. for these reasons (plus others) it's impossible for the layperson to calculate how much weight they're pushing in a push up. more accurate comparisons would be comparing standard strength exercises which are the same for both of you - ie bench press, shoulder press, etc.

Answer 4

From undemanding statics, you are able to derive the following formulation for the pressure on your palms (F) in words of your weight W and the gap out of your palms on your center of mass (x), and the gap out of your palms to ft (or knees, in case you do it person-friendly). F = W*(a million - x/L) a good estimate for x/L is about a million/3. subsequently, F is about 2*W/3.