The more pushups men who were slightly overweight, about 40 years old could do, the less risk they had
to develop cardiovascular diseases.
The study found men who could do 40 or more push-ups were 96 percent less likely to have developed a cardiovascular problem compared to those who struggled to reach 10.
A professor of cardiovascular medicine with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Dr. John Higgins said this is a free way to check your risk.
"Especially if you could do more than 40 pushups. And, the magic number in this study was 41 or more, per day. Basically, that was the lowest risk," said Higgins.
He said short of doing a cardiopulmonary stress test, men can find out for free, at home, their risk of developing heart disease.
"If they're someone that is not able to do, for example, 10 pushups, I would recommend that they think about getting into a training program that is both aerobic and resistance exercise," said Higgins.
He said if you aren't doing pushups, you should start because it is a good resistance training and will work out chest, shoulder muscles and abs, resulting in better blood pressure, cholesterol, insulin levels and weight.
The American Heart Association finds that nearly half of American adults currently have some form of cardiovascular disease.