By Dailymail.com Reporter
Published: 16:00 GMT, 15 February 2019 | Updated: 17:09 GMT, 15 February 2019
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Being able to do more than ten push-ups slashes the risk of getting heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
Middle-aged men who can do over 40 push-ups in one go had a 96 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease events compared with those able to do less than 10.
And dropping to the floor and showing your GP how many you can do is a better indication of your risk than treadmill tests.
First author occupational medicine resident Dr Justin Yang at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston said: 'Our findings provide evidence that push-up capacity could be an easy, no-cost method to help assess cardiovascular disease risk in almost any setting.
Men who can do more than 40 push-ups in one go are at a 96 percent lower risk of heart disease - and the exercise is a better measure than treadmill tests, Harvard researchers say
'Surprisingly, push-up capacity was more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease risk than the results of submaximal treadmill tests.'
While there is growing evidence for objectively assessing cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) as a vital sign for health risk, it has been neglected by researchers.
Senior author Professor Stefanos Kales explained: 'The most commonly used physical activity assessments are the patient's self-reported history and health and lifestyle questionnaires.
'However, objectively measured CRF levels are often
