Push-Up Challenge FAQs
We’re asking supporters to complete 100 push-ups a day throughout the month of November.
The challenge starts on November the 1st and finishes on November the 30th.
Whilst we encourage everyone to complete this challenge in November, this is a personal challenge, and you can start/finish your challenge at a time that is convenient for you. If you can’t complete your push-ups count on any day, then you can make up for it at any point of the month.
Push-ups can aid in strengthening between the shoulder blades, a strength which is essential for good posture. Exercise programs that include push-ups have also been found to stimulate and improve bone density.
For more information please see:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4499985/
You can complete the challenge in a way that suits you. There are people of all levels of fitness doing this challenge. The important thing is that you’re doing something that challenges you, whether that’s all 100 push-ups in one go or split up over the day. It should be tough, but doable. However, you choose to complete the challenge and raise money, you’ll be helping beat cancer.
There are many ways you can complete a push-up correctly, below is the traditional method, but there are easier ways to do it too
- First, get into the starting plank position. Keep your legs together, with the balls of your feet and toes planted firmly on the floor. Your arms should be straight, with your hands placed just wider than shoulder width apart.
- In this starting position, your fingers should be spread out and pointed forwards. Most importantly, your body should form a straight line from your heels to your shoulders, with your head up.
- Start lowering yourself down towards the floor, concentrating on maintaining your straight body position. If you pull in your glutes (they’re the muscles in your backside) and your abs, this will help you maintain a rigid body position throughout.
- Keep lowering yourself until your chest almost touches the floor. Pause before pushing back up until your arms are straight. That’s one repetition – you should be doing at least 10 in a set. Go slowly at first, concentrating on perfecting the correct body position
For more tips, tricks, and variations on how to do push ups, follow this link to ‘fitandwell’.
There are many variations of push-ups that can accommodate each individual's level of strength, see below 2 versions the ‘knee push-up’ and NHS recommended ‘wall press up’
Knee Push-Up Guidance (see this link for further tips and guidance on knee push ups):
A. Kneel on the floor
B. Extend arms and put hands shoulder-width apart on the floor in front of you.
C. Tighten abs while you bend arms, lowering your torso until chest grazes the floor.
D. Push torso back up by straightening arms., slow and steady
E. Repeat!
Wall Push-Up Guidance (See this NHS link for advice):
A. Stand at arm’s length from the wall. Place your hands flat against the wall at chest level, with your fingers pointing upwards
B. With your back straight, slowly bend your arms, keeping your elbows by your sides. Aim to close the gap between you and the wall as much as you can.
C. Slowly return to the start
Once you have signed up, complete the linked form to receive your free t-shirt, fundraising pack and Online Fundraising Page. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for your t-shirt to arrive.
Visit our landing page for more information on the challenge.
You can also join the Facebook Group dedicated to this challenge.
We recommend using our push-up calendar to keep track of your progress. Tick off each day you’ve completed your push-ups and track the number of push-ups you’ve done so you can see your overall total. Don’t forget to post about your progress regularly on your Online Fundraiser to encourage donations!
Unfortunately, medals come at a huge cost to the charity so we will not be sending these out. We will, however, send all supporters a digital certificate and you can access digital badges to shout about your achievement on social media.
Sending out your t-shirt comes at a cost to Cancer Research UK so please only order one t-shirt to ensure as much fundraising goes towards our life-saving research. We ask if you do request a t-shirt that you set up an Online Fundraiser and donate to your page.
Additional t-shirts can be purchased here.
Unfortunately, returning t-shirts comes at a cost to Cancer Research UK, therefore, we ask that you keep hold of it for personal use (for example bed, gym, give to a friend, etc). If you would like a replacement, please use our online shop linked below: https://shop.cancerresearchuk.org/product/cancer-research-uk-t-shirt
We currently send out a t-shirt to all our supporters taking part, so they can wear them during their challenge and encourage donations for their efforts. If you do not wish to receive a t-shirt, you can simply set up a giving page.
To set up an Online Giving page, please follow the link below:
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/signup/?fundraising_page_type=25188066-6c46-4d37-9878-61209ad4ccae=push-up-tiktok-nov-2023
If you have any further questions, please email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 0300 1231022 (lines open 08:00 – 20:00 Monday to Friday and, 09:00 – 17:00 at weekends)
Online Fundraisers is the easiest way to raise money. You can set up an Online Giving page here:
https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/signup/?fundraising_page_type=25188066-6c46-4d37-9878-61209ad4ccae=push-up-tiktok-nov-2023
You can then share the page with your friends and family to gather sponsorship for your challenge.
Yes, under 18s can take part in this challenge, but we do not market to them and any third-party platform forum (e.g. a Facebook forum) is only available to over 18s. If under 18s are taking part, their parent/guardian must consent to the child’s participation, supervise the challenge and accept responsibility for complying with the challenge rules. Currently we are unable to accept registration for a child, so the child’s parent/guardian must register on the child’s behalf. Similarly, if a child wants to raise money online and/or join a forum, the child’s parent/guardian must register for an online fundraising page and/or join the forum on the child’s behalf.
There is not a minimum amount of fundraising that we set for participants, but we recommend that supporters set a reasonable target of raising about £150.
Yes, if you don’t have TikTok or Facebook, you can set up a Cancer Research UK Giving Page using the link below and collect sponsorship for your 100 Push-Ups challenge here: Online Giving page
Complete the below form to receive your free t-shirt in the post. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for your t-shirt to arrive:
https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/push-up-challenge-nov-2023
If you have not received your t-shirt in this time, please contact supporter.services@cancer.org.uk.
You can add an offline donation onto your own page and send this donation through to us as a cheque, along with the sponsorship form, which you can download below:
The only thing that matters is that you challenge yourself, so try to complete as much of the challenge as you can. Whether you complete the full 100 push-ups a day for the whole of November or not, the money that you fundraise will allow Cancer Research UK to continue to fund life-saving research and we can’t thank you enough.
Don’t worry you can make up the number of push-ups on another day or extend your challenge into the following month if needed. Complete the challenge in a way that suits you.
We trust you! You don’t need to provide evidence that you’ve completed the challenge to us. Updating your friends and family on your online fundraising page, however, is important! Make sure you keep them posted on your progress and share videos and photos throughout November – the more updates the better. Supporters who regularly post their progress raise 40% more on average.
We have plenty of fundraising tools and ideas to help you raise life-saving donations. Please see our fundraising hub with everything you need from the challenge here:
There is NO entry fee for this challenge. Participants are required to collect sponsorship to Cancer Research UK through their Online Fundraiser. This will automatically be sent to us once paid onto your fundraising page.
You can use our sponsorship form to raise money rather than using an online method. Simply download it and print it off to keep track of all your collected or pledged sponsorships. Once you have completed your fundraising, please send the form with a cheque to:
November 100 Push-ups challenge, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ.
Please note we are currently experiencing a delay in receiving and processing donations so do bear with us if it takes a little longer than usual to receive an acknowledgment.
This challenge is specifically a fundraising initiative developed by Cancer Research UK, and therefore all fundraising must go direct the charity.
Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means Cancer Research UK can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated, without it costing you or your sponsors an extra penny. If the donation is eligible for Gift Aid, sponsors need to fill out the sponsor form, following the guidelines at the top of the page.
Facebook Fundraisers are automatically set up to only stay open for ten days. To make the most of your fundraising efforts, you need to change the end date to keep your fundraiser open throughout and after the challenge. To change the end date simply, click ‘More’ under the invite button, then click ‘Edit Fundraiser’. We recommend setting this date to at least a month after your challenge has ended so you can continue to collect vital donations for your efforts!
Unfortunately, once your Facebook Fundraiser has finished you cannot reopen the same fundraising page. However, you can create a new one and set the end date for past your challenge, so that you can continue receiving donations once you’ve finished your challenge: http://www.facebook.com/fund/cancerresearchuk/
To see your past fundraisers, go to the Facebook home page on a desktop and look underneath your name on the left-hand side - click fundraisers > your activity > scroll down the page until you reach "your past fundraisers"
Donating on Facebook is safe and secure and there is no fee taken from Facebook to set up a Facebook Fundraiser. If you have any suspicious charges, we recommend speaking directly to your bank. If you have any questions about your Facebook Fundraiser please contact Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/help
Sign up to the challenge
Challenge yourself to complete 1,000 push-ups in November to help beat cancer. All of your burning questions will be answered before you start the challenge.
Sign up to receive:
Online Giving Page
Digital fundraising pack