For middle aged men, the number 40 may be more important than a birthday that signifies a perhaps thinning hair line.
A recent study performed at Harvard suggests that push up capacity could be an easy and no-cost method for assessing cardiovascular risk.
The punchline is that active, middle-aged men able to perform more than 40 push ups had a significantly lower risk of various cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery disease and heart failure during 10 years of follow-up compared with individuals able to perform 10 or less during the baseline exam.
Having a low or no cost method for understanding risk factors is huge, especially in a world with ever climbing healthcare costs. But the key here is not to lose the forest for the trees.
A well-balance program which includes calisthenics, load bearing exercise (i.e. weight training), and cardiovascular training should be a center piece of a healthy lifestyle.
If you can't do 40 push ups in a row, it's time to do like every movie drill instructor has commanded, drop and give me push ups!!