At 48, the “Let’s Move!” pioneer isn’t at all inhibited by her age, besting both Ellen DeGeneres in a push-up contest—she did 25 without breaking a sweat!—and Jimmy Fallon in a series of physical challenges, including push-ups, dodge ball, and even a potato sack race. Impressed? So are we, especially since starting around age 35, women start to lose about a half-pound of muscle a year, and by age 50, that can jump up to a one-pound loss each year. Push-ups are the ultimate baromoter of overall fitness, requiring strength in your arms, chest, stomach, hips, and legs. “Being able to do a push-up means you’re pretty fit,” says Jonathan Ross, fitness expert and author of Abs Revealed. “It means your entire body is strong and stable enough to keep you in a straight line, and you have both strength and mobility for when you need it.” So how many push-ups should women be able to do—at least 25 like Michelle Obama? If a woman can do eight to 10 quality push-ups, then that’s a great demonstration of strength and ability, says Ross. The perfect push-up looks like this: Lie facedown on the floor, hands by your shoulders and knees bent. Press your palms into the floor, straightening your arms. Keep your head, neck, back, and hips in line as you lift your body off the floor. When your arms are almost fully extended, hold. Now slowly lower, but before you touch the floor, push back up. Not there yet? No problem. You can work up to it by modifying the basic push-up by putting your knees down, or even standing and doing them against a wall. Ross also suggests these tips for boosting your strength:
Get on your hands and knees, and then push up onto your toes so that you’re working your arms, abs, and glutes together. Slowly lower back down onto your knees, and repeat as many times as you can. Boost arm strength by getting into a plank position on your forearms and shifting your body side to side. Then, shift your body in circles so that you imagine your chest is drawing a circle around your elbows. Repeat two times. When doing push-ups, work on varying your hand positioning on the floor so that you’re not just strengthening the same muscles. Move your hands higher and lower, and rotate them around to strengthen your upper body and shoulders.
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