Push-Ups by Age: How Many Should You Be Able to Do?
A "good" push-up score for a man is 17 to 21 in his 30s, 13 to 16 in his 40s and 10 to 12 in his 50s. For women doing knee push-ups, "good" is 13 to 19 in your 30s, 11 to 14 in your 40s and 7 to 10 in your 50s. These are the standard fitness-test norms used by the American College of Sports Medicine. Anything above those ranges is very good to excellent for your age.
Test your push-ups against your age in The Weekly Combine
Push-up norms for men (full push-ups)
Max push-ups in one go, no rest, until your form breaks.
Ages 20 to 29
Excellent: 36 or more
Very good: 29 to 35
Good: 22 to 28
Fair: 17 to 21
Needs improvement: 16 or fewer
Ages 30 to 39
Excellent: 30 or more
Very good: 22 to 29
Good: 17 to 21
Fair: 12 to 16
Needs improvement: 11 or fewer
Ages 40 to 49
Excellent: 25 or more
Very good: 17 to 24
Good: 13 to 16
Fair: 10 to 12
Needs improvement: 9 or fewer
Ages 50 to 59
Excellent: 21 or more
Very good: 13 to 20
Good: 10 to 12
Fair: 7 to 9
Needs improvement: 6 or fewer
Ages 60 to 69
Excellent: 18 or more
Very good: 11 to 17
Good: 8 to 10
Fair: 5 to 7
Needs improvement: 4 or fewer
Push-up norms for women (knee push-ups)
The standard test for women uses knee push-ups. If you can do full push-ups, great. Your score is even more impressive.
Ages 20 to 29
Excellent: 30 or more
Very good: 21 to 29
Good: 15 to 20
Fair: 10 to 14
Needs improvement: 9 or fewer
Ages 30 to 39
Excellent: 27 or more
Very good: 20 to 26
Good: 13 to 19
Fair: 8 to 12
Needs improvement: 7 or fewer
Ages 40 to 49
Excellent: 24 or more
Very good: 15 to 23
Good: 11 to 14
Fair: 5 to 10
Needs improvement: 4 or fewer
Ages 50 to 59
Excellent: 21 or more
Very good: 11 to 20
Good: 7 to 10
Fair: 2 to 6
Needs improvement: 1 or fewer
Ages 60 to 69
Excellent: 17 or more
Very good: 12 to 16
Good: 5 to 11
Fair: 2 to 4
Needs improvement: 1 or fewer
Source: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology norms, as published in ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription.
How to do the push-up test
Warm up with a few minutes of arm circles and easy push-ups against a wall or bench.
Set up. Hands just wider than your shoulders, body in a straight line from head to heels (or head to knees for the knee version).
Go down until your chest is about a fist's height from the floor.
Push back up to straight arms. That's one.
Keep going without resting on the floor. Stop when you can't keep a straight body or full range.
Write down your number, and re-test every week or two the exact same way.
The most common cheat is the half rep. Get a friend to watch, or film yourself from the side.
Why push-ups matter more after 40
Push-ups are one of the simplest ways to measure upper-body strength and muscular endurance. They also seem to say something about your heart.
In a 2019 study in JAMA Network Open, Harvard researchers followed 1,104 male firefighters for 10 years. Men who could do more than 40 push-ups at the start had far fewer cardiovascular events than men who could do fewer than 10. The study can't prove push-ups protect your heart, and it only looked at firefighters, but the pattern was clear: more push-ups, fewer problems.
More practically: push-ups are how you get up off the floor, push open a heavy door or catch yourself when you trip. That's strength you want to keep.
How to do more push-ups
Practice often, never to failure. A few sets of about half your max, three or four days a week, beats one all-out effort.
Use an incline. If you're under 10, do push-ups with your hands on a bench or counter. Lower the height as you get stronger.
Slow down the lowering. Take three seconds to go down. It builds strength fast.
Train your plank. A strong core keeps your body straight, which is half the battle.
Re-test every week. You'll usually see a jump within a month.
How push-ups fit into your Athletic Age
Push-ups are a classic strength benchmark, and strength is one of the four pillars of your Athletic Age in The Weekly Combine.
Every week the Combine gives you a strength test, along with power, endurance and mobility, with targets set for your age and sex. Your best result counts, so you can take another shot later in the week. Your results roll into your Athletic Age, the age your body performs like. Then challenge your crew: nothing gets you to 30 push-ups faster than a friend who's at 29.
Download The Weekly Combine free on the App Store
FAQ
How many push-ups should a 40-year-old man be able to do?
A 40 to 49-year-old man scoring 13 to 16 push-ups is "good," 17 to 24 is "very good," and 25 or more is "excellent," according to ACSM norms.
How many push-ups should a 50-year-old woman be able to do?
For knee push-ups, 7 to 10 is "good" for women aged 50 to 59, 11 to 20 is "very good," and 21 or more is "excellent."
What is the average number of push-ups for a 30-year-old?
Men in their 30s typically score in the "good" range of 17 to 21 full push-ups. Women in their 30s typically do 13 to 19 knee push-ups.
Is 20 push-ups in a row good?
For a man in his 40s, 20 push-ups is "very good." For a man in his 30s, it's "good." For a man in his 20s, it's "fair."
Do push-ups predict heart health?
A 2019 Harvard study of male firefighters found that men who could do more than 40 push-ups had much lower rates of cardiovascular events over 10 years than men who did fewer than 10. It shows a link, not proof of cause.
See how you stack up
Drop and give us your max. Then find out what it says about your Athletic Age, and see who in your crew can beat it.