On Push-Ups, Pull-Ups, and Pete Hegseth.

I avoid overt politics in my fitness articles. The world is fraught enough, and if people want to know my beliefs about current events, I'll tell them. Preferably in person, or at least over the phone.

Which bring me to Pete Hegseth. Mr. Hegseth, the current secretary of defense, is one of the most controversial people in the current administration, which is saying something. I'm sure historians will render a judgement on him, so I won't do that. I do, however, want to address another group of people that have rendered a judgment — fitness professionals. According to them, Mr. Hegseth is a fitness fraudster.

First, some background information. Hegseth has instituted wholesale changes in the military, saying "We are no longer the woke department or the weak department." As part of the military revamping, Hegseth fired 20 percent of top military leadership, and has faced accusations of racial and gender bias.

He also instituted drastic changes in military fitness requirements. Lamenting the presence of "fat troops and generals," Hegseth implemented mandatory BMI testing. Additionally, service branches such as the army will have new standards, including a timed two minute run, a three rep max deadlift, a four minute "sprint/drag/lateral/carry" maneuver, a timed two minute max rep push-up test, and a timed max plank hold. The new standards are "sex neutral," but "age-normed," and pregnant and postpartum (less than a year) women are exempt from the tests. Combat arms troops will be required to score an average of 70% across events.

Fitness is obviously crucial for soldiers, particularly those in combat. It's hard to argue with that premise. I also think everyone — men and women — should be able to do a push-up. It's imperative to be able to get yourself off the floor if you fall. Regarding the BMI, I think it's a flawed measure of fitness, as I've written about before.

Where the Defense Secretary ran afoul of fitness professionals was when he decided he wanted to be the poster boy for these new protocols. Hegseth and Bobby Kennedy Jr, the secretary of health and human services, challenged America to see if they could do 100 push-ups and 50 pull-ups in five minutes. Here's the video:

The performances were widely panned. First of all, those are wildly unrealistic numbers for even the fittest individuals. One caveat: pull-ups are perhaps the single hardest exercise in the entire gym, so credit must be given for doing just one. But Pete and Bobby's form was terrible. They did a variation of the exercise called "kipping," which is a cross-fit technique that entails swinging your legs for momentum. Good form requires the person to be still while hoisting their chins above the bar.

My client and buddy Dan (AKA the Mayor) does a series of twenty pull-ups and twenty chin-ups in between other exercises during our group session. That's really impressive, considering The Mayor is two inches taller and twenty pounds heavier than Hegseth, which makes the exercise more difficult. (He also has better hair.)

The duo's form on push-ups was even worse. Bad push-up form has always been a pet peeve of mine. I was once asked to judge a push-up contest at my former gym (UCSF Mission Bay) and it was an aesthetic disaster. Guys (it was all guys) had their backs sagging, head drooping, and shoulders recessed. I thought someone was going to get injured.

There is no way possible to do 100 consecutive push-ups with good form. My limit is 40 good push-ups, which happens to be the number that helps prevent cardiovascular disease in men. RFK Jr. and Hegseth weren't coming all the way up with their arms, and their backs were sagging. They were horrible push-ups.

Good push-ups require you to go all the way down with your chest, keep your back straight, and come all the way up with your arms. Your arms should be shoulder length, and you should use your butt and abs for stabilization. (Most people overlook how important the leg muscles are for doing proper push-ups.)

Here's what it looks like:

If you're struggling to do a push-up, lower yourself as much as possible, then come back all the way-up. Try it until you can go to the ground. Don't do them on your knees (also known, regrettably, as the "girls push-up") because that won't train the deep core muscles that are necessary for the exercise.

Try for one push-up, and then gradually increase in increments of five. Twenty (consecutive or non-consecutive) push-ups per day is a great goal.

There's a famous quote often attributed to Mark Twain: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt."

The same applies to push-ups and pull-ups. If you can't do them correctly ... don't go viral.

Joshua Brandt is an Oakland based personal trainer. He can be reached at joshua@joshuabrandtpt.com or (415) 412-7339. 

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