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Push-ups
How to measure push-ups correctly, the published reference values (American College of Sports Medicine test description; Cooper Institute FITNESSGRAM), and what your own number does — and does not — say.
How to measure it
From a full plank, lower the chest to about a fist's height off the floor and press back up without the hips sagging. Count consecutive reps to fatigue.
Published reference
There is no single universal adult norm. The widely reprinted adult tables descend from fitness-testing batteries (notably the Canadian CPAFLA approach), and published population values vary enough that this page does not print a table it cannot tie to a primary publication. For school-age children, the Cooper Institute FITNESSGRAM defines Healthy Fitness Zone standards per age and sex.
Source: American College of Sports Medicine test description; Cooper Institute FITNESSGRAM · checked 2026-09-03
Your number
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What is meaningful is your own trend: test the same way monthly and watch the number move.
Reference values describe populations, not you. Your own trend — same test, same method, month after month — is the comparison that actually matters.
Frequently asked questions
How is push-ups measured?
From a full plank, lower the chest to about a fist's height off the floor and press back up without the hips sagging. Count consecutive reps to fatigue.
What is a good push-ups result?
There is no single universal adult norm. The widely reprinted adult tables descend from fitness-testing batteries (notably the Canadian CPAFLA approach), and published population values vary enough that this page does not print a table it cannot tie to a primary publication. For school-age children, the Cooper Institute FITNESSGRAM defines Healthy Fitness Zone standards per age and sex.
What if my push-ups result is outside the reference?
What is meaningful is your own trend: test the same way monthly and watch the number move. A single number outside a population reference is a data point, not a diagnosis — but symptoms are always a clinician's business.
Resting heart rate
American Heart Association
Cooper 12-minute run
Cooper KH, "A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake" (JAMA 1968); formula as published.
Plank hold
McGill SM, "Core training: evidence translating to better performance" (2010)
Grip strength
JAMAR test protocol; population reference values as reviewed in published handgrip normative studies
VO2max estimates
Kline GM et al., "Estimation of VO2max from a one-mile track walk" (Med Sci Sports Exerc 1987); Cooper 1968
The trend beats the table
TempoLife stores your resting heart rate and workouts over time, so re-tests read as a trend, not a verdict.