Assess Your Muscular Strength

Nobody loves a pushup, right? They're practically a hallmark of every basic-training Army scene—usually performed by a bunch of soldiers laboring under a brutal drill sergeant and in a torrential downpour. Pushups don't have to be quite so punishing, though, and they're an excellent indicator of your muscular strength.

Men and women will perform this test differently: Men will assume the full-body pushup position, with hands shoulder-width apart, back straight, toes on the ground. Women, meanwhile, will perform a "knees pushup"—identical to the men's in the upper body, but abbreviated below so that their knees are on the ground.

Once the basic set-up is mastered, simply perform as many pushups as possible in two minutes, keeping the back straight and lowering the body until the chin touches the ground. Don’t let the stomach touch, though. On the way up, be sure to completely straighten the arms—bending them so that only half a pushup is performed is not allowed.

Once the two minutes are up, you’ll want to record your score and see how you’ve done. It’s a bit complex, as age and gender affect the evaluation.



By Diane Vadino for MSN Health & Fitness