Michelle Obama Recalls Push-Up Challenge From Ellen
Michelle and Amy were discussing doing push-ups when Michelle brought up that she doesn't bend her arms all the way. "I can [do regular push-ups] but it's hard," Michelle explained. "I think my arm length, I don't go all the way down." She then recalled, "You know who pointed that out was Ellen, because my first term, she challenged me to a push-up competition."
She continued, remembering thinking to herself, "I'm the first lady, you know? So I'm on her show doing push-ups, and I did more push-ups than her," she said. It's true—Obama won with a whopping 25 push-ups. "But she still says I didn't go down all the way," Michelle added. "Anatomically, I don't think I can. My arms are very long and she's a much smaller person than me."
Ellen Challenges Michelle Obama To Push Up Competition
In the 2012 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the pair were talking about Michelle's morning routine when the topic of push-ups came up. "You get up at 4:30 every morning to workout, is that right?" Ellen asked. Michelle confirmed that she works out every day between 5:30am and 7:30am and does all sorts of exercise, from cardio to strength training to plyometrics.
Ellen then asked her how many push-ups she could do, and when Michelle gave a vague answer, Ellen went into for the challenge: "I was just wondering if you can do more push-ups than I can do," she said. They then jumped to their feet and took off their jackets, ready to face-up. Ultimately, the first lady won out over the talk show host, completing a total of 25 push ups.