Share and Follow
Aiming to age gracefully with strength and poise? This guide provides a benchmark to help ensure you maintain robust physical capabilities as the years go by.
Possessing a strong, resilient body is key to moving confidently through life, especially as you grow older. Everyday activities such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs, or playing with your grandchildren demand strength and stamina. To gauge where you stand, we consulted an expert who explains how achieving a specific number of pushups after the age of 50 signifies exceptional upper-body strength.
As you hit your 30s, the natural process of sarcopenia begins, resulting in the loss of lean muscle mass at a rate of 3% to 8% per decade. To counteract this, engaging regularly in resistance training is crucial. This can include exercises using weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight. Incorporating pushups into your routine is an excellent way to build and sustain a powerful upper body.
Maria Vazquez, a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM-CPT) and the Head of Training at MYWOWFIT, specializes in empowering women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond to achieve enduring strength through effective training methods. “Pushups are a great measure of relative strength, using your body weight as resistance,” Vazquez explains. “They also gauge mobility, balance, and shoulder stability, which tend to decline with age. If you can perform full-range pushups with proper form, it indicates that your connective tissues, coordination, and muscles are in excellent condition.”
“Pushups use your body weight as resistance, so they reveal a lot about your relative strength,” says Maria Vazquez, NASM-CPT and the Head of Training at MYWOWFIT, who helps women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond build long-term strength through simple and productive training modalities. “It also assesses mobility, balance, and shoulder stability in adults over 50 since these factors deteriorate with age. If you can do full-range pushups with good form, then your connective tissue, coordination, and muscles are in great shape.”
If You Can Do This Many Pushups After 50, Your Upper-Body Strength Is Elite
For men who are in their 50s, being able to complete 35 pushups in one set is considered elite. For women in their 50s, performing 25 or more pushups signals top-notch upper-body strength.
“Younger athletes might double those numbers, but the real difference lies in how forgiving their joints are. If you’re over 50 and can hit those numbers, then you’re performing at a very high level for your age,” Vazquez tells us.
Vazquez notes that men typically have a greater amount of upper-body muscle mass, while women tend to maintain better endurance and mobility. That’s why range of motion and proper form matter more than benchmarks.
“A woman in her 50s who can do 20 perfect pushups has better shoulder joint stability and control than a man in his 20s who can do 40 with poor form,” Vazquez stresses.
How Upper-Body Strength Changes With Age
As you age, your body endures many changes. You begin to lose muscle fibers that are responsible for strength and power.
“Pushups maintain these muscles as well as improve blood flow to muscle cells,” says Vazquez. “If you can still do pushups in your 50s, you have resisted muscle loss. You also develop cardiovascular endurance.”
How To Perform Pushups With Proper Form
While there are many variations of this classic bodyweight exercise—including diamond, narrow-grip, wall, TRX, and knee pushups—traditional pushups are a stellar test of upper-body strength. Here’s how to do them with proper form:
- Assume a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your body straight.
- Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor.
- Maintain a long, straight body as you lower.
- Press back up, straightening your arms.