BeastieThe office push-up
challenge, refereed
Every office push-up challenge ends the same way: someone claims 40 and nobody saw it. Here’s how to run one people actually believe — pairs, a bracket on the whiteboard, and a phone camera that only counts the reps that reach depth.
your phone
No honor system. That’s the feature.
Push-ups, squats or jumping jacks · the link opens without the app · no account needed to accept
One week. Pairs.
Winners duel winners.
Pick the move and the week
Push-ups are the classic. Squats and jumping jacks work in office clothes and let people in who don’t do push-ups. One exercise per round keeps every duel comparable.
Pair people up
Every duel is one-on-one. One person does their set and sends the link in Slack or Teams; the other opens it without the app installed and does theirs in front of their own phone — at a desk, at home, before the deadline.
Winners duel winners
Keep a simple knockout bracket on a whiteboard or a shared doc. Every result arrives with receipts — clean reps, form score, best streak — so the bracket updates without a single “he definitely didn’t go all the way down”.
The rules that stop the arguments
- The camera decides. A rep that doesn’t reach depth with the hips in line doesn’t count — for anyone. That rule applies to the CEO too.
- Same move for the whole round. Switching exercises mid-bracket makes every earlier result meaningless.
- A deadline, not a time slot. People do their set whenever suits them before it closes, which is what makes it work across meetings and time zones.
- Opt in, never pushed. Nobody should feel they have to take part, and anyone should skip anything that hurts.
Want the full rulebook for a proper contest? Here are push-up competition rules that define exactly what counts as a rep.
One honest limit: Beastie doesn’t run the bracket for you. Duels are one-on-one and there’s no office leaderboard in the app — the whiteboard does that job, and does it fine.
Before you send the first link
How do you run a push-up challenge at work?
Pick one exercise and one week, pair people up, and have each pair settle a one-on-one duel before the deadline. Winners then duel winners, tracked on a whiteboard or a shared doc, until one person is left. The part that usually breaks is the counting, so let a phone camera referee every set the same way.
Does everyone need to download an app?
To do their reps, yes, because the phone camera is the referee. To receive a challenge, no: the link opens without the app installed, shows who sent it and the number to beat, and no account is needed to accept.
What if people work in different offices or from home?
That works the same way. Each person does their set in front of their own phone, wherever they are, any time before the deadline, and both attempts are counted by the same rules.
What if someone can’t do push-ups?
Run the round on squats or jumping jacks instead. Beastie counts all three, and both are easier to do in office clothes. Keep the whole thing opt-in, and anyone should skip anything that hurts.
Is it free?
Accepting your first full duel is free, and the solo counter is free every day. Unlimited duels come with Beastie Pro, an optional subscription.
Beastie is a general fitness product, not medical advice. Check with a professional before starting a new exercise routine, and stop if something hurts.
Somebody in the next meeting reckons they’d win.
Find out before Friday. Do one honest set, send the link to whoever keeps bringing it up, and let both phones referee — they don’t even need an account to accept.
- Free — no card, no trial to cancel
- No account needed to try it
- Video never leaves your phone
- Counts with no signal
your phone
One set takes about a minute. If the number disappoints you, nobody else ever sees it.
Your move, beastie.
More ways to settle it: challenge a friend, the couples challenge, or push-up competition rules.