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little muscle soreness. Instead, gyms test your muscular endurance: how

many times you can move a much lighter weight. You can do many of these

tests at home. Having a friend count for you and make sure you’re doing the

exercise correctly is a help. Here are some common muscular endurance

measures.

Measuring your upper-body strength ...............................................

Count how many push-ups you can do without stopping or losing good form.

For this test, men do military push-ups, with their legs out straight and toes

on the floor. Women do modified push-ups, with their knees bent and feet off

the floor. Lower your entire body at once until your upper arms are parallel

to the floor. Pull your abdominals in to prevent your back from sagging. Do

this test correctly! One guy we watched didn’t have the strength to lower his

body all the way, so he just bobbed his head up and down.

Use Table 2-3 or Table 2-4 to find out how you stack up against other people

of your age and gender.

Table 2-3 Push-Ups — Men

Age: 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 60+

Excellent 55+ 45+ 40+ 35+ 30+

Good 45–54 35–44 30–39 25–34 20–29

Average 35–44 25–34 20–29 15–24 10–19

Fair 20–34 15–24 12–19 8–14 5–9

Low 0–19 0–14 0–11 0–7 0–4

Table 2-4 Push-Ups — Women

Age: 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 60+

Excellent 49+ 40+ 35+ 30+ 20+

Good 34–48 25–39 20–34 15–29 5–19

Average 17–33 12–24 8–19 6–14 3–4

Fair 6–16 4–11 3–7 2–5 1–2

Low 0–5 0–3 0–2 0–1 0

26 Part I: Getting Your Butt off the Couch