So as part of my effort to do 10-minutes of "yoga" every day, I have recently started doing push-ups, and was intrigued to read this NY Times article on the value of the simple push-up. The article characterizes the push-up as the "ultimate barometer of fitness".
What really intrigued me though was the benchmark provided: the "experts" recommend that 40-year old men should be able to do 27 push-ups. Naturally I had to see if I could hit this target, and I immediately managed to struggle to 32 pushups. Since then I added one a day before hitting a wall at 41. My goal now is to work up to 50 - or even better yet, double the benchmark and manage 54.
5 comments:
thanks for your link. motivated me to do some push ups again ;-)
finally, a post not about caffeine, congratulations!
Yes it is tough to think about anything other than caffeine.
At least doing the push-ups distracts me for a few minutes.
Were you able to hit your target for push-ups?
I thought strengh training for runners mostly meant bouncing drills to develop muscle endurance, elasticity etc... with the occasional shoulder and arm curls for balance. 40 puships seems daunting to me (i dont think i can hit 15...)!
Yes the latest research suggests that if you are specifically seeking to improve your running you should do various squats, lunges and jumping drills - strength exercises that develop balanced muscles in the legs and core area. Push-ups are less targeted at running improvement.
28 push ups. And I'm not 40 yet. Worrying.
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