We’ve been told for decades that engaging in regular physical activity is good for our health. Many different health organizations and experts tell us we should walk a certain amount of steps each day and engage in so many minutes of voluntary heart-pumping exercise on a weekly basis. Some of us meet these guidelines, others of us exceed them, and probably a majority of us don’t meet them most of the time. Yikes!
But according to research, there’s a particular physical activity we can engage in that’s proven to potentially reduce our risk of various heart-related diseases and conditions: pushups. I know, I know – pushups suck, they’re hard, they require too much effort, your arms hurt afterward, yada yada yada. However, one of the important takeaways is, pushups aren’t just good for building our triceps and helping us gain upper body strength but also by benefiting our cardiovascular system!
So, if pushups are good for our hearts, how many must we do to be considered heart healthy? Researchers found the magic number: 40. If you can do 40 or more pushups without much struggle, your heart might just be healthier than someone who can only do, say, 10 pushups. While the correlation isn’t exact as many other factors play a role, generally speaking, those who do more pushups are often found to have stronger cardiovascular systems.
Interestingly, the researchers discovered that middle-aged men who were able to complete the exercise successfully were a whopping 96% less likely to develop future problems with their heart. Holy smokes!
But doing pushups isn’t the only thing to keep our hearts in top-notch condition. According to the Heart Foundation, keeping your b***d pressure low, controlling your diabetes (if applicable), refraining from smoking, keeping tabs on your b***d cholesterol, upkeeping a healthy weight, consuming a balanced and nutritious diet, and keeping your mental health in check are all important to a happy heart.
Why is this information so important? At present, heart disease is the leading cause of death among U.S. residents. In 2017, 647,457 deaths were a result of the cardiovascular condition, accounting for 23.5% of the total number of deaths in the U.S. for that year. Right now, it’s estimated that about half of Americans, or 48.5%, have a heart and/or b***d vessel disease. Fortunately, in some cases, cardiovascular problems can be reversible but only by adopting healthy lifestyle changes.
Find out more about how pushups are healthy for your heart by watching below.
