THIS IS HOW MANY PUSH-UPS YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO, BASED ON YOUR AGE

'Learn to lift your own body weight,' instructs Dr Vonda Wright, orthopaedic surgeon and mobility and musculoskeletal ageing expert, on The Mel Robbins Podcast. 'Every woman should be able to do 11 regular push-ups,' she continues. That means 'proper' push-ups – not on your knees.

In fitness, we love to assess our capabilities using all manner of metrics – miles covered at a particular pace, weight lifted for a certain number of reps, heart rate – and that's why many women have now taken it upon themselves to display how they measure up in videos of themselves meeting or falling short of the yardstick.

Such a seemingly arbitrary standard, however, may not apply to everyone. 'Broad-brush benchmarks can leave people feeling discouraged, especially women who are dealing with hormonal changes like menopause or rebuilding strength post-injury,' says Lauren Chiron, menopause and wellbeing expert and CEO of Women of a Certain Stage.

More fittingly, perhaps, are guidelines based on your lifestyle or exercise level, and we've gone for age-based parameters. Even then, don't see them as a fixed pass/fail test of your fitness.

Meet the experts: Freddie Chatt is a fitness instructor. Adam Clark is a fitness expert from rugbystuff.com. Sophie Bankes has been a PT for over five years and is the founder of Stable gym.

Push-up age-based guidelines

Push-ups are an excellent exercise that strengthen your chest, arms, shoulders, back and core.

According to Freddie Chatt and Adam Clark, a woman of average fitness should be able to complete the following number of push-ups:

• 15 to 19 years old – 18 to 24 push-ups
• 20 to 29 years old – 15 to 20 push-ups
• 30 to 39 years old – 13 to 19 push-ups
• 40 to 49 years old – 11 to 14 push-ups
• 50 to 59 years old – 7 to 10 push-ups
• 60 years old or over – 5 to 11 push-ups
• 70–79 years – 3-8 (modified knee push-ups are fine here)
• 80+ years – 2-5 (modified push-ups are also OK)

Push-up pointers

And just to make sure that they're quality, not partial or rushed, here are some form tips.

1. Get your chest as low to the floor as possible

You don’t need your chest to smack the floor, but go low enough so your elbows are bent around 90 degrees before pushing back up, notes Chatt. The lower the chest, the more range you’re getting, clarifies Sophie Bankes.

2. Don't let your hips sag

If you find that your hips are sagging or sticking up too high, you may need to improve your core strength, say Chatt and Clark. You can try to master completing push-ups from your knees first.

3. Don't flare your elbows out

Flaring your elbows during a push up shifts the load to your shoulders, rather than your chest, and can increase your risk of a shoulder injury, Clark suggests. 'Try to keep your elbows close to your sides.'

4. Place your hands correctly

Your shoulders should be slighter further forward over your hands and your core should be engaged, advises Bankes. 'At the bottom of the push-up, when your chest is on the floor, you want your fingertips to be just below your collarbone.'

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2025-04-11T14:23:19Z