Why Push-Ups Are a Marker of Your Overall Health

Push-ups are more than just a chest exercise — they are a simple, science-backed way to measure functional strength, endurance, and even cardiovascular risk.

Why are push-ups so valuable?

They test the integration of your upper body, core, and shoulder stabilisers
They reflect your ability to move your own bodyweight, a key marker of real-life strength.

Research links higher push-up capacity with lower risk of heart disease and all-cause mortality. For women, maintaining upper body strength post-menopause is vital for bone density, posture, and hormonal balance.

Proper Technique: Key Alignment Cues

• Keep your core tight. avoid sagging or arching


• Elbows at a 45° angle. not flaring out to the sides


• Externally rotate the shoulders. this protects your joints and activates the right muscles


• Your chest, not your hips, should be the first to touch the ground

👉 I’ll link to a video by Jeff Cavaliere's (Athlean-X) that demonstrates perfect push-up form.

How to Get Started

If you can't do a full push-up yet,  no problem.
 Start with:

• Incline push-ups (hands on a bench or table)
  
• Eccentric push-ups (lower slowly, then reset)
  
• Knee push-ups to build control and alignment
  

Quality over quantity.
Track your reps, challenge yourself, and celebrate progress, one push-up at a time.  

When I started, I couldn't do ANY! Now I am hitting my age- goal, it's taken me years, you can do it too, maybe even faster than me! Check your goal here:

WOMEN

MEN