How many pumps you can do can predict the health of your heart

The tractions are notoriously brutal, but the hard movement is a staple of most workout routines for a reason: they work the pectorals, deltoids, triceps and the nucleus.

And now, a study published in Open Network JAMA says that nailing this movement of the whole body can help you avoid heart problems.

Conducted by a team at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the study included more than 1,000 firefighters who participated in routine fitness tests, including a thorough thrust badessment. The researchers found that men who had achieved 40 impressive pumps were 96% less likely to develop heart problems than men who could only do 10.

Many stories about research have highlighted the need to make 40 pumps for a healthier heart. What they fail to point out is that the data showed that even doing 11 pushups was badociated with a lower risk of heart disease, says Dr. Christopher Kelly, a cardiologist and cardiology doctor at Columbia University Medical Center Am I dying? Kelly is not badociated with the study.

"I think the main title is that if you can not do more than 10, you're in bad shape," he said. Men's health.

The study divided the guys into five groups based on push-up abilities: 0 to 10; 11 to 20; 21 to 30; 31 to 40; and more than 40. The researchers compared the heart health of guys who could do up to 10 pumps to other groups. However, they did not investigate whether guys who could do more than 40 pumps had fewer heart problems compared to guys who could only do 11 to 20, says Kelly.

Getty ImagesTom Werner

And while he claims that the research was well conducted and that it is advantageous to have a large sample, it is important to note that the participants were extremely white. This means the results can only be applied to non-white men, Kelly explains. In addition, the study was observational, so it does not mean that starting the pumps guarantees a healthy heart.

Nevertheless, Kelly thinks that testing the push-up abilities can be helpful for guys who do not know their blood pressure or cholesterol, two other indicators of heart health. If you can not do at least 10 pumps, consider visiting a doctor to make sure your health is healthy, he advises.

Of course, there are healthy guys who can run three miles but can not do more than 10 pumps. Kelly says that it's important to remember that the pumps were only the example used in this study. Research to badess heart health could also be done using puppets or squats.

"There is nothing magic about the pumps," he says.

The best way to keep your heart healthy is to exercise, eat a healthy diet and lower your blood pressure.