The moment you attempt your first proper push-up, it takes stock of every strength exercise your workouts have conveniently skipped until then. Yet, for all the markers we associate with being fit, a surprising number of women still can't perform a single textbook push-up. Or as Meghana Jayesh Sheth, senior clinical physiotherapist, puts it, "A good push-up is really a measure of strength and stability". The irony, she adds, is that stronger shoulders, chest and back don't make women look masculine – they make women more capable. "When you train upper-body strength, you're preserving muscle mass, supporting metabolic health and maintaining function as you get older," explains Sheth.