The number of pushups you can do depends not only on your strength but also on a lot of other factors as well. Known as the simplest yet most effective exercise in your workout arsenal, pushups are a quintessential upper-body exercise that trains multiple key muscle groups.

According to fitness experts, your ability to do push-ups indicates more than just how muscular your arms are — the number you can do also offers clues about your overall health.

Recently on social media, people have been going gaga over the 11-push-up challenge, which was started by Mel Robbins, a longevity expert and orthopaedic surgeon who believes “everyone should be able to do 11 push-ups—regular push-ups." The clip took off on TikTok with thousands of women accepting the challenge and posting videos of their attempts at completing 11 push-ups from their feet.

But where does this number come from, and are there any markers of overall health?

According to a study conducted by Harvard researchers, middle-aged men should be able to perform at least 20 push-ups to get a significantly lower all-cause mortality risk over ten years. The study highlights the importance of maintaining muscular endurance as you age.

However, experts say even less than ten are good. Even though most people look at push-ups as just another exercise, they demonstrate and can predict a great deal about your long-term health and longevity.

And so, the answer to how many push-ups you must do ultimately depends on goals and experience. Experts say doing 10, 20, or 30 push-ups may not sound like a lot, but it is actually more challenging than people realise because what is more important is a proper form of doing it, rather than the number. A proper pushup, according to fitness trainers, is not just going down halfway and coming up a little bit—it is fully lowering your chest to an inch from the ground and then being able to drive all the way up.

Another pushup error that is common among practitioners is rushing through sloppy reps - which puts unnecessary stress on your joints and potentially leads to injury.

Push-ups are a form of resistance training that helps improve the muscular fitness of the upper body. They also protect your body against some of the negative effects of ageing by boosting the quality and amount of skeletal muscle you may have, thereby improving your bone health. According to experts, it is considered the best resistance training for women who are post-menopausal, as decreased estrogen levels put them at a greater risk of bone loss.

Push-ups are also the best way to ward off muscle loss. As you age, you may experience more muscle decline—around 3-8 per cent of muscle mass per decade starting in your 30s. This is also associated with an increased risk of falls, fractures, and frailty - apart from being linked to chronic conditions like heart disease.

To do proper push-ups, start with a high plank position with your hands placed at chest level slightly outside your shoulders and feet at a hip-width distance. The trio of your head, shoulders, and hips should be in line with each other, and your core should be properly based.

Make sure that your body is in a straight line from your head to your heels.

Thereafter, lower your body by bending at the elbows and dropping your chest to elbow height. As you go lower, try to keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle to your body or closer, not flared out excessively to protect your shoulders. Then, slowly descend so that your chest comes on one fist-width from the floor, and push your hands into the floor to bring your torso up to the start position. Always keep your elbows slightly bent as you reach the top position to avoid locking them.

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