The Push-Up Progression Builder is a free online tool that shows your place on a step-by-step ladder and what it takes to climb higher. Pick the level you can do today, and the tool prints every level from there to the top, with the hold time or rep target for each step and the test you must pass to move up. There is no account, no download, and no sign-up. It runs right in your browser, on a phone or a computer.
Almost nobody goes from zero to a perfect push-up in one jump. Wall push-ups teach the push, incline push-ups add load, knee push-ups teach the floor position, and full push-ups put it together. This builder maps the whole path and tells you the rep target that unlocks each next level.
Using the tool takes two steps. First, find the level that matches what you can do right now: be honest, because starting too high is the fastest way to stall. Second, press the button. The tool prints your ladder from your current level to the top, so you can see the whole path at once instead of guessing what comes next.
The builder orders the levels by load, from lightest to heaviest, and each level has a rep target for moving up. That target stops two mistakes: staying on easy versions forever, and grinding ugly reps on a version you are not ready for. Clean reps at one level earn the next level.
The full ladder looks like this: 1. Wall push-up (3 sets of 15 reps); 2. Incline push-up (3 sets of 12 reps); 3. Knee push-up (3 sets of 12 reps); 4. Full push-up (3 sets of 10 reps); 5. Wide push-up (3 sets of 10 reps); 6. Diamond push-up (3 sets of 8 reps). Each level is a small jump from the one before it, never a leap. That is deliberate. Small jumps let your joints, tendons, and balance adapt along with your muscles, which is what makes progress stick instead of breaking down after two weeks.
How fast should you climb? A good rule is two to four weeks per level, training the move two or three times a week. Some levels will feel easy and pass in a week; others, especially the last two, can take a month or more. That is normal. The move-up test at each level is your permission slip: pass it twice on different days before you claim the next level.
Form comes before numbers at every level. A rep only counts if it looks like the level describes: full range of motion, steady control, and no pain. Half reps with a sagging body do not build the strength the next level needs, and they teach bad habits that are hard to undo. Film yourself from the side once a week; the camera shows what mirrors hide.
Three mistakes slow climbers down. The first is skipping levels because an early one feels boring; easy levels build the base the hard ones stand on. The second is testing the top level every session instead of training the current one. The third is training through sharp pain; soreness is normal, sharp pain is a stop sign, and a week of rest now saves a month of injury later.
This tool gives general fitness information for education only. It is not medical advice, and it cannot diagnose or treat any condition. If you have pain, an injury, or a health condition, talk to a doctor or a qualified trainer before starting a new progression. Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain, and build up slowly: a ladder you climb steadily beats a ladder you fall off.
Spanish version: Constructor de Progresion de Flexiones