It may not take extensive blood tests or multiple body scans to determine how healthy you are.
It turns out, a classic workout move could reveal the truth.
Experts at the Mayo Clinic said pushups are a good measurement of muscular strength and endurance.
The exercise engages most major muscle groups throughout the entire body, including legs, abs, shoulders, back and arms.
The move involves beginning face down on the ground, with your toes tucked, elbows bent and hands about shoulder height.
Keeping your body straight and parallel to the floor, push yourself up until your arms are straight and you are on your hands and toes.
Then, lower yourself back down to complete one full push up and continue until you need to stop and rest.
Beginners can perform a modified version done on the knees and hands.
Based on age and sex, the Mayo Clinic gave a target number for pushup counts, beginning with 25-year-old men and women. Men should set a goal for 28 pushups at one time and women should work toward 20 to ‘show a good fitness level.’
As age increases, the target goal declines.
In the 35-year-old age bracket, the number drops by one for women, while men should be able to perform 21 pushups, according to the online guide.
According to Mayo Clinic experts, the number of push ups you can do is a good indicator of fitness levels
Fast-forward 10 years to 45, the Mayo Clinic says women should be able to do 14 pushups, while the count stands at 16 for men.
For 55-year-olds, the count decreases to 10 pushups for women and 12 for men.
For the oldest age the Mayo Clinic lists, both 65-year-old men and women should be able to do 10 pushups at a time.
While the guide is touted as an indicator of good fitness levels, fitness experts say it should be taken with a grain of salt.
New York-based personal trainer Natalya Alexeyenko told DailyMail.com she doesn’t agree with the Mayo Clinic’s suggestions.
She explained: ‘I respect various experiments and studies, but in this case, I lean more on my personal experience training individuals.
‘Most of my clients lead a moderate lifestyle and work out two to three times a week.
‘Given that, I believe realistic norms might be lower for women by about three to five repetitions and higher for men with a sports background by about five to 10 repetitions compared to the Mayo Clinic’s recommendations.’
Ms Alexeyenko also highlights that physical strength and fitness levels for both men and women are influenced by numerous factors, ‘making it hard to set strict age-to-push-up correlations.’
She adds: ‘Training history, past injuries or surgeries, current lifestyle, nutrition, stress levels, posture, joint mobility, sleep quality, and recovery all play a role in determining how many push-ups someone can do.’
Caroline Beckwith, also based in Manhattan as a fitness director, agrees with these sentiments.
She told this website: ‘I teach classes here and train lots of older men and women, and what I see in-person versus what I read online does not really align.
There is now evidence that just 20 minutes of physical activity per day slashes the risk of cancer, dementia and heart disease
‘I teach a class that usually has a about 20 attendees between 40-65. We do push-ups in every class for 40 seconds.
‘Out of everyone, there may be a single person who can do them starting from a plank position. Everyone else is on their knees.
‘Push-ups are really a full body exercise, requiring core strength as well as upper body and glutes. I think the most important – by so far – thing about building strength is setting realistic goals and working on them consistently.’
A 2019 study, which only included men, found adults who could finish pushups were 96 percent less likely to develop heart conditions.
And regular exercise has been associated with a whole host of benefits, including a 29 percent reduced risk of colon cancer; a 31 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality; a 35 percent reduced risk of dementia; a 38 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease; and a 42 percent reduced risk of diabetes.
And while exercise is beneficial at any age, the CDC notes ‘additional benefits for older adults are reduced risk of falling, more years of independent living, and improved brain health.’
The CDC’s official exercise guidelines recommend people get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or roughly 20 minutes per day, including two days of dedicated strengthening workouts.
Moderate activities include biking, dancing, hiking, jogging, brisk walking and swimming and muscle-strengthening exercises include weight-lifting, push ups, pull-ups and squats.
