Michelle Obama took on Ellen DeGeneres in a pushups contest of First Lady versus comedian on DeGeneres’s talk show Thursday. According to People magazine, DeGeneres challenged Obama while the First Lady was discussing her “Let’s Move” campaign and her own personal workout routine.
“How many pushups can you do?” DeGeneres asked. “Because I like to do a pushup.”
“I can do some,” Obama quickly replied. “Can you?”
The discussion turned to a challenge, and the First Lady dropped to the floor and pumped out a quick 25 as the audience counted out the two women’s progress. DeGeneres quit around 20.
“I just stopped,” Obama said, alluding to the fact that she could have done more.
DeGeneres laughed off her loss and said she was going easy on the First Lady.
“I thought it wouldn’t be good to show up the First Lady, so I stopped,” she said. “Because I thought, this looks bad that I’m going to beat her. I’m 54, and you’re 48.”
Obama has dedicated herself to the issue of physical fitness during her time in the White House, especially pressing children to adopt healthy eating and exercise habits to combat the growing tide of childhood obesity. The “Let’s Move!” initiative was first announced in February of 2010 with the goal of “solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.”
Now America knows that the First Lady practices what she preaches.
