And , no , they ca n’t be push - ups on your knees .

If you’re into podcasts, you’ve probably heard of the hugely popularMel Robbins Podcast, which is currently the No. 1 podcast on Apple Podcasts and is in the Top 10 podcasts on Spotify.

If you are n’t familiar , Robbins is a motivational author , verbalizer and podcast host who on a regular basis talks about mental health topic such asanxiety , stress and sureness , as well as forcible wellness topics such as disease bar and woman ’s fitness .

Her podcast episodes often inspire lots of conversation and even modus vivendi changes , and a March episode of the podcast was no different .

On the episode, podcast guest Dr. Vonda Wright, who is an orthopedic surgeon and longevity expert, shared with Robbins the weekly exercise regimen that all women should follow: It included walking a total of three hours each week (broken up over at least four days), lifting heavy weights at least twice a week, and learning “to lift your own bodyweight” — which according to Wright means all womenshould be able to do 11 push-ups. Robbins asked if those push-ups could be done on your knees, and Wright replied, “No.”

The 11 button - up idea quickly trance theattention of womenacross the country , who take on to social mediato try the challenge . But do all womenreallyneed to be capable to do 11 push - ups ? Or are there better measures of fitness ?

Below , trainers portion out their honest thoughts on this 11 push - up challenge :

No, all women should not be able to do 11 push-ups.

According toKatie Gould , thefounder ofKG Strong , a strength - grooming gym in Philadelphia , the idea that all cleaning lady should be able to do 11 push - ups likely come from a2019 study of 1,100 male firefightersthat find that men who could do more than 40 push - ups had a humble peril of cardiovascular disease compared to military man who could do fewer than 10 push - ups .

“ So , these findings are n’t really directly … applicable to women , ” Gould noted .

Danielle Repetti , the laminitis and question manager atIron and Mettle , a women ’s force training gym in San Francisco , agreed and said the 11 push button - up issue feel arbitrary .

Person with glasses, smiling, sits at a table with a microphone labeled "Mel Robbins." Background has shelves with books and decorative items

Gould also interrogate how truehearted people were doing the push button - ups , which can make them sluttish to do , or if they were doing them with resistance , which can make them tougher , and if they even had proper form .

“ If you ’re doing three crack slow push - ups , to me , I would say that that ’s an even bang-up indicant of potency than doing 11 improper form degenerate push - ups , ” Gould say .

“ I ’ve had client that can bench press 100 , 125 pounds , and they are n’t able to do 11 push - ups on their toe , and that does n’t intend that they ’re not hard , and it does n’t really mean anything about them as people in a body , ” Repetti say .

Two women doing push-ups outdoors, smiling and enjoying a sunny day in the park, surrounded by trees and buildings in the background

Both Repetti and Gould pronounce there are many reasonableness why a fit , unassailable person ca n’t do a pectus - to - level push - up . Maybe they just had a babe , have wrist issues , have larger bodies or are older , Repetti said .

“ I ’m not going to ask them to do a full - range thrust - up . It does n’t feel good , it hurts . So that ’s not how we ’re needs going to strengthen their upper body , ” suppose Gould .

“ We ’re going to do exclusive - arm floor press , or we ’re live to do a board and hold in that . There ’s so many other exercises that can build your upper body if a full - chain hand - on - base push - up is n’t approachable to you , ” Gould noted .

Person doing a plank exercise on a yoga mat indoors, wearing a sleeveless top and leggings, with visible arm tattoos

Your strength goals should be personal and should make you feel good.

While it ’s significant to have benchmarks when it comes to better your wellness and fittingness , it does n’t mean one across - the - dining table benchmark is right for everyone , noted Gould .

“ Your personal goal are really survive to be the determining broker for what your benchmark should be . Not everybody ’s goal is going to be to do 11 push - ups , ” Gould said .

“ Strength end should be personalise , and while push - ups are a really worthful measure of upper body and heart forcefulness , they ’re not the only index of fitness , and they ’re not a sole indicant of health conditions , ” Gould added .

Person doing yoga plank on a mat, watching a laptop for guidance in a cozy, home environment with plants and books

Plus , your strong point goal should n’t make you experience bad . That will only discourage you from returning to a workout class or personal education session in the future tense .

“ Any clock time we venture on a strength journey , I think it ’s really of import to feel good about your consistence while you ’re doing it , and not look at it from the lens of ‘ Oh , I failed and that mean something about me and my dead body , ’ ” Repetti added .

An 11 get-up-and-go - up challenge is a profligate - data track elbow room to feel discouraged if you ca n’t come to the number .

A person with braids and glasses exercises in a plank position under a large, modern structure, wearing a long-sleeve top and leggings

Everyone extract strength in unlike way , and everyone has different piazza where they excel and where they skin , Repetti said .

“ If you go and do the thrust - ups and you ca n’t do it … I just really require woman to know that does n’t think of anything about you and your own strength , ” Repetti noted .

In strength grooming , you ’ll find the trend that you ’re great at and not so great at . “ It ’s important that women do n’t recollect of the energy - up as being the close all be all , ” Repetti added .

A woman focused on doing push-ups, wearing workout attire with a wrist wrap, on an exercise mat in a gym

But push-ups do have benefits when it comes to healthy aging and building strength.

“ So , push - ups study pretty much all the muscles in the upper body — chest articulatio humeri , triceps , those are all part of the horizontal pressing movement , and then push - ups also challenge our heart and soul , ” Repetti said .

thrust - ups benefit your bearing , your functional strength , and can avail with daily activities like lifting things , press things off , pulling yourself up and even boost your bone density ( which is essential for women as they age and bone density drops ) , sound out Gould .

pushing - ups can also aid you have the strength to drive yourself off the soil , whether you ’re playing with your grandkids , your pets , or if you fall down , both expert say .

Like all military strength training , get-up-and-go - ups can help you proceed to do the thing you require to do as you get old , such as move around your home , go up and down stairs , even trip the light fantastic .

“ How you finger in 50 year is kind of dependent on some of the thing you ’re doing now , ” Repetti said . “ We really want to construct as much military posture as we can so that … we do n’t have to be one of those people who are like , ‘ Oh , I used to do that , and now I do n’t anymore because my body does n’t sense good when I do that . ’ ”

If you do want to be able to do push-ups, there are steps you can take to get there.

So , not being capable to do a push - up ( nonetheless 11 ) on your toe does n’t mean anything about you or your physical fitness , but if you do have a goal to be able to do some push button - ups , the trainers who spoke with HuffPost have some tips .

First , you may endeavor to dopush - ups on your knees , but Gould said she prefer anincline push button - upas a style to build your upper body enduringness .

For this type of push - up , you ’ll need to put your hand on an elevated control surface like a bench or box , said Repetti . Or , you may even do it with your men on your couch .

This way , you ’re moving less of your body weight while still asseverate a campaign - up position . you’re able to also see your progress as you move to lower and downhearted surface , read Gould , “ and that is a heavy thing for me with my clients . ”

These alteration reserve you to “ educate the full range of motion and get the most out of take that movement , ” notice Repetti .

“ So , once you strengthen some of those muscle , then the push - ups in and of themselves get loose , ” Repetti said . “ We want to fundamentally make the movement sluttish at first , so that our body can memorize how to do it , and then slowly and step by step over prison term , make that movement more and more thought-provoking . ”

“ I would view a push button - up on your toes one of the more thought-provoking variation of the push - up , ” Repetti aver ― and noted that you may make a push - up even harder by adding weight .

“ But , for most people , I recollect watch some of the easier variation and then slowly building up to push - ups on your toes is the best way to get better at push - ups , ” she said .

And , if you encounter that you ca n’t slay 11 push - ups even with some extra training , that ’s all right . There are other way to get unattackable and rest strong — what matters most is that you find a sustainable strength regime that makes you feel good and keep you moving . This article originally seem onHuffPost .