Women seeking to enhance their fitness levels can benefit from a simple yet effective exercise: the push-up. It might not be the most glamorous exercise, but according to Vonda Wright, MD, every woman should shoot to do a minimum of 11 standard push-ups. Beyond just performance, this benchmark provides a realistic and measurable aspiration for most, lending itself to building strength along with aerobic capacity. Christina Brown, MS, CPT, elaborates on that view. She argues that having a clearly defined goal, no matter how difficult, can motivate individuals to make everyone better at doing push-ups.
Here’s how many push-ups women of different ages should aim for. For younger women, particularly those 20 to 29, a reasonable goal is to be able to do 11 to 15 push-ups. If not, we celebrate when they break 20 push-ups! As women grow older, the targets recommended change with the woman. Women between the ages of 30 and 39 should aim for a minimum of nine or 13 push-ups. By comparison, women in their 40s should strive for at least six to 10 push-ups. After age 50, doing 12 or more push-ups is considered excellent.
Age-Appropriate Push-Up Goals
As women age, the capacity to do push-ups may be lessened by sarcopenia which starts to decline in muscle mass starting in their 30s. In fact, studies show that people start losing muscle mass at a rate of 3%-8% per decade. For example, the average number of pushups for women between the ages of 50 and 59 is four to seven. These benchmarks by age provide women a useful reference point to help them estimate their level of upper body strength.
When an individual can easily do 15 to 20, Carol Ewing Garber, PhD, suggests switching to full-length push-ups. This seemingly simple shift contributes to building strength and better overall fitness. She urges us to appreciate form and technique, to prioritize clarity.
“The head, shoulders, and hips should be in line with each other and your core should be braced. Your eyes should be gazing at your fingertips to keep your neck in line with the rest of your spine,” – Christina Brown, MS, CPT.
This narrowing of focus on alignment in addition to improving effectiveness increases safety and helps to mitigate the risk of injury.
Benefits of Push-Ups
Push-ups fall under the category of important resistance training, key to developing and maintaining muscular fitness of the upper body. They develop muscular endurance as well as improve the quality and quantity of skeletal muscle. This advance is significant for adults trying to preserve their young adult bone mass as they age. The Health Affairs article joins a 2019 study published in JAMA Network Open that found a very strong association. Men who can do more than 40 push-ups experience a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease events.
This deep core strength is the bedrock of the fitness pyramid, and athletes across all sports experience higher performance from having it.
“Learn to lift your own body weight,” – Vonda Wright, MD.
For people who find traditional push-ups difficult, knee push-ups are a good option. They uniquely let people develop power without sacrificing technique. Christina Brown helps beginning exercisers learn to put themselves first and focus on their own improvement. She implores them to stop fixating on a single number.
Strategies for Improvement
She wants you to never become complacent, never stop pushing yourself. Even once you achieve your starting goal, it’s important to continue to stretch yourself.
“It can be a way to motivate someone to work on push-ups if they have a specific number or goal in mind,” – Christina Brown, MS, CPT.
As people get stronger, they can start to bring their hands lower and lower down until eventually they’re able to place their hands flat on the ground.
“Keep challenging yourself even when you do hit your goal,” – Christina Brown, MS, CPT.
As strength increases, individuals can gradually lower their hands until they are placed directly on the ground.
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