Push-Up Progression: 40 to 60 Reps
The 40-to-60 push-up bracket covers candidates whose max set falls between 40 and 60 reps. It straddles the PST minimum of 50, which makes it the bracket where a candidate first becomes eligible to qualify. The prescription is 4-5 sets of 15-20 reps, for 60-100 total reps per session.
What This Bracket Means
At 40-to-60 reps the candidate is either just under or just over the 50-rep PST minimum. Both positions are fragile. A minimum-level score qualifies on paper but leaves no margin for a bad day at the test, and it is far from the 80-100 range that counts as competitive. The NSW guide reduces the set count to 4-5 here and raises reps per set to 15-20. Fewer, longer sets teach the body to keep producing quality reps as fatigue builds, which is exactly the skill a two-minute timed event demands.
The Daily Workout
Do 4-5 sets of 15-20 push-ups, 4-5 days per week, with 1-2 minutes of rest between sets. Session totals run from 60 to 100 reps. Start the week at the low end, 4 sets of 15, and add reps as sets feel easier, moving toward 5 sets of 20 by the time your max approaches 60. Keep the tempo controlled during training even though the PST asks for speed. The guide is explicit that most training reps should be slow, with an occasional fast max set to check progress. This is also where the two-minute clock starts to matter, so practice a steady cadence you can hold.
Testing and Moving Up
Retest with a single max set roughly once a week. When the max set reaches 60, graduate to the 60-to-80 bracket. If the max stalls around 50 for several weeks, check recovery first. The calisthenics block appears 4-5 times per week alongside strength and cardio work, and the guide warns against exhausting the same muscles with lifting and calisthenics on the same day. A weekly PST-style push-up test with a partner counting strict reps gives a more honest number than a solo count, and honest numbers are what keep the bracket assignment correct.
Daily prescription for this bracket
| Sets | Reps per set | Total reps |
|---|---|---|
| 4-5 | 15-20 | 60-100 |
Passing 50 is not the goal, it is the floor. Treat 50 as the number you can hit on a bad day, then keep building.
Related Terms
The 60-to-80 push-up bracket is the middle tier of the NSW progression, for candidates who max between 60 and 80 reps. This is comfortably above the 50-rep PST minimum but still short of the competitive range. The guide prescribes 4-5 sets of 20-25 reps, for 80-125 total reps per session.
The under-40 push-up bracket is the entry level of the NSW calisthenics progression, for candidates whose current max set is fewer than 40 push-ups. The guide prescribes 5-6 sets of 10-15 reps, for 50-90 total reps per session, performed 4-5 times per week.
Push-ups are a foundational upper-body calisthenics exercise and one of the five scored events in the Physical Screening Test (PST). In BUD/S preparation, push-up training follows a progressive volume approach where daily targets scale based on the candidate's most recent PST max.
PST standards define two thresholds for each of the five Physical Screening Test events: a minimum score that qualifies a candidate to enter the Naval Special Warfare pipeline, and a competitive score that reflects the level successful candidates actually arrive with. The gap between the two is the target of the 26-week preparation program.
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