A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that men who can pump out 40 consecutive push-ups are substantially less likely to experience a heart attack than men who can complete just 10 or fewer.

Here are the surprising findings:

• Men who completed at least 11 push-ups had less risk of developing heart problems in the following decade than those who could do fewer than 10.

• Most eye opening? The men who did 40 or more push-ups had 96 percent less risk of heart problems in the next 10 years than those who quit at 10 or fewer.

• To the researchers’ surprise, push-up proficiency proved to be a better predictor of future heart problems than the classic treadmill aerobic assessment.

So get down and give me 11!

If you can’t do 11, no worries. Start where you are, and gradually work your way up….hopefully to 40!

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If you’re one of my personal training clients, you know exactly how many push-ups you can do..

My clients all do push-ups and for two key reasons: they’re super-efficient at strengthening every muscle in the body, and they’re the most empowering exercise of all.

And now, of course, heart health is a third reason.

If you shy away from push-ups, don’t be intimidated by them.

There is a variation for every fitness level—from the basic standing-at-the-kitchen-counter option to the advanced feet-elevated-on-a-bench version.