The results suggest that pushup ability might be a simple, reliable and DIY-in-your-living-room method of assessing heart health, while at the same time helpfully strengthening the triceps and pectorals. EXPENSIVE AND COMPLICATEDMany medical tests of heart health, however, such as treadmill exercise-stress testing or heart scans, are expensive and complicated and can be difficult to interpret. The data about heart problems was fairly comprehensive, since the firefighters needed their physician’s approval to return to work after even minor heart concerns. And to their surprise, pushup capability proved to be a better predictor, statistically, of future heart problems than the treadmill tests. It can show that more pushups are linked with fewer heart problems, but not that arm strength directly improves heart health or whether becoming able to do more pushups will drop the risk for heart problems over time.

Source: Daily Nation February 21, 2019 14:26 UTC