If You Can Do This Many Pushups After 50, Your Upper Body Strength Is Elite
Pushups are a simple yet incredibly reliable test of upper-body muscular endurance and strength, says Joshua Dillaha, MS, NSCA-CPT, TSAC-F, founder and movement specialist at Semper Fitness Training, LLC. The best part? This bodyweight move requires zero equipment and can be made more or less challenging with the plethora of variations. Below, Dillaha breaks down how many pushups after 50 signals elite upper-body strength.
“Pushups offer clear benchmarks and engage multiple muscle groups — including the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core stabilizers,” Dillaha explains. “For adults over 50, the pushup is more than just an exercise; it’s a marker of functional capacity, resilience, and aging well.”
Unlike machine-based exercises and drills, pushups also test “relative strength,” which is the ability to move your body weight. For gym-goers over 50, preserving this ability helps maintain muscle mass, core control, and joint integrity.
“It’s also an excellent predictor of functional strength needed for daily activities, from getting off the floor to carrying groceries,” Dillaha adds.
What’s Considered an “Elite” Number of Pushups for Those 50+?
According to Dillaha, while benchmarks may vary slightly across different organizations and fitness platforms, “general performance standards can be drawn from military fitness data, law enforcement testing, and population norms.”
Here’s what to aim for:
Men in their 50s
- Average: 15 to 20 pushups
- Above average: 25 to 30 pushups
- Elite status: more than 35 continuous pushups
Women in their 50s:
- Average: 10 to 15 pushups (modified or standard)
- Above average: more than 20 pushups
- Elite status: more than 25 continuous pushups
“For comparison, younger adults (20s to 30s) often see elite ranges closer to 45 to 55 pushups for men and 30 to 40 for women,” Dillaha explains. “While the numbers may decline with age due to natural physiological changes, maintaining or approaching these benchmarks after 50 reflects exceptional strength, endurance, and musculoskeletal health.”
Maintaining Pushup Ability Is a Key Indicator of Overall Fitness
After you hit 30, you begin to experience sarcopenia—the loss of lean muscle mass—at a rate of 3% to 8% every decade. This decline speeds up after 50, majorly impacting fast-twitch muscle fibers essential for endurance and power.
“Pushup performance reflects not just upper-body strength, but also neuromuscular coordination, shoulder stability, and trunk control,” Dillaha tells us. “Maintaining or improving pushup ability helps counter these age-related declines and correlates strongly with reduced risk of falls, better bone density, and improved cardiovascular health.”
Looking for more easy ways to lose fat? Here’s How Long Your Walking Workout Should Be To Shrink Belly Fat.