[USMC Chuter]

Agreed with the above. The best way to improve your pushups is to do more pushups. One method we used at sea when we were bored was to deal each other a hand of cards (7 cards).. Aces are worth 15, face cards 10, everything else was worth its number.. Deal yourself a hand a couple times a day, add em up, and do that many.

I suggest working on form as well. Get ahold of pushup grips or dumbells, and do pushups with your hands gripping them. It gets you off the deck by a few inches, and allows you to go deeper with each repetition. You may want to supplement your pushup routine with weight training every couple days.. I'd recommend the bench press, as it is the weight exercise that most closely replicates the pushup.

If you train diligently for a few weeks, there's no reason why you can't smoke the pushup portion of the APFT. Work at it, and like Covert said-ignore your inner sissy that tells you to quit. Make sure you stretch your chest and arms a lot and allow yourself plenty of rest. Good luck.