I push up like an exercise
February 2, 2012 10:05 AM   Subscribe

Push-up contest - Ellen Degeneres Vs Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama was on the Ellen show to promote Let's Move.
posted by cashman (105 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
Just watched this from another source earlier. When Ms Obama said "I'm not sure how many" I thought it was one of those things where a leader is going to turn out to not be following her own advice. But she nailed it in good form.

Also, I though Ellen was joking at the end when she said she was 54. But that's right! Oh man, I'm old.
posted by DU at 10:08 AM on February 2, 2012


The first lady was cheating just a bit. (Please, federal agent reading this, don't arrest me.)
posted by oddman at 10:08 AM on February 2, 2012 [4 favorites]


Well, I know what I'll be dreaming of tonight.
posted by the bricabrac man at 10:09 AM on February 2, 2012 [4 favorites]


Dear Obamas, please stop competing for my love. I HAVE ENOUGH LOVE FOR YOU BOTH I PROMISE.
posted by elizardbits at 10:10 AM on February 2, 2012 [35 favorites]


The first lady was cheating just a bit. (Please, federal agent reading this, don't arrest me.)

I noticed that also. A proper pushup is when the arms get to at least a 90 degree angle. Michelle was not going low enough but Ellen was.
posted by Danf at 10:11 AM on February 2, 2012 [6 favorites]


Wow, I was impressed by both of them.

Ellen was getting more depth, though.
posted by delmoi at 10:15 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Michelle was not going low enough but Ellen was.

O_O
posted by chavenet at 10:16 AM on February 2, 2012 [11 favorites]


Isn't just like those Nazi Obamas to be telling us how to live with her doing push-ups on TV?!
posted by NoMich at 10:18 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


Is not Michelle Obama the coolest first lady ever? She just rocks, man.
posted by lumpenprole at 10:19 AM on February 2, 2012 [42 favorites]


Reminds me of when Betty Ford drank Jonny and Ed under the table on the Tonight Show.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:21 AM on February 2, 2012 [43 favorites]


Yeah, Ellen's form is better, but that was still awesome from both of them. And now I know that I can do as many pushups as the First Lady! (But my form is more like Ellen's.)
posted by rtha at 10:23 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Is not Michelle Obama the coolest first lady ever? She just rocks, man.

Bullshit. Laura Bush did the same thing with Peggy Noonan.

Oh, wait. That was lip curls.
posted by R. Schlock at 10:23 AM on February 2, 2012 [15 favorites]


For balance, Ellen should have a contest with Sarah Palin to see how many cookies they can shove down a child's gaping maw. The first kid with diabetes is "the Real American".
posted by Davenhill at 10:24 AM on February 2, 2012 [21 favorites]


Is not Michelle Obama the coolest first lady ever? She just rocks, man.

I predict she is going to be a major force in American politics after her husband leaves the White House.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:26 AM on February 2, 2012 [13 favorites]


Aren't they rich enough to hire someone to exercise for for them?
posted by jonmc at 10:29 AM on February 2, 2012


"I predict she is going to be a major force in American politics after her husband leaves the White House."

Indeed. And she'll only be 53 or so.
posted by bz at 10:29 AM on February 2, 2012 [5 favorites]


I'm sick to death of the Obamas beating us over the head constantly with their 'groundbreaking' ideas for pectoral system reform.
posted by TheRedArmy at 10:34 AM on February 2, 2012 [12 favorites]


Oh man, I love our First Lady. She is all kinds of awesome.

Yeah, her push-ups weren't quite as far as Ellen's, but part of the difficulty of doing many push-ups is the cardio endurance. So she still did awesome. Definitely turns the common "First Lady" image on it's head a bit, no?

I also have much love for her jumping jacks campaign. And I like that these are challenges that don't require a lot of money or equipment to do. Definitely approachable for most children in the US and can be fun, too.

Look at the grins on Michelle's and Ellen's faces when they stopped. That right there is golden. Exercise is fun, what?
posted by jillithd at 10:35 AM on February 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


I was also going to say that, based on her body language, there was no way Obama was going to let Ellen beat her at pushups (which is why she "cheated" at the beginning). Also, Ellen is too much of a good host not to let a guest win.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:36 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


Great, yet another first lady who can no doubt kick my ass. That's all of 'em.
posted by bondcliff at 10:37 AM on February 2, 2012 [4 favorites]


Ellen starts out with better form, but towards the end she's not pushing all the way up. Michelle's form actually improves as she goes on.

Weird to have seen both Ellen and Jon Stewart involved in pushup competitions in the same week. Jon, I think, could give Michelle a serious run for her money.
posted by yoink at 10:40 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Upon seeing this clip, David Letterman's entire writing staff died of brain hemorrhages while trying to figure out a way to shoehorn a clumsy Oprah joke into tonight's monologue.
posted by Optamystic at 10:40 AM on February 2, 2012 [10 favorites]


Ha I just finished my daily push up/jumping jack/stretch thing. Both Ellen and the First Lady would run circles around me.
posted by The Whelk at 10:43 AM on February 2, 2012


Jon Stewart/Michelle Obama arm wrestling match. You know you'd watch it.
posted by The Whelk at 10:44 AM on February 2, 2012 [7 favorites]


I predict she is going to be a major force in American politics blood sports and shootfighting after her husband leaves the White House.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:44 AM on February 2, 2012 [9 favorites]


Tonight's Top 10 List: "Slogans for the Let's Move campaign"

10. Oprah
posted by swift at 10:44 AM on February 2, 2012


I'm exhausted just watching the competition.
posted by wittgenstein at 10:49 AM on February 2, 2012


Letterman could just say Uma Oprah Obama.
posted by drezdn at 10:54 AM on February 2, 2012 [4 favorites]


So the point is that neither Ellen nor Michelle Obama can do pushups, but Ellen can not-do them significantly better than Obama, but she has the tact to let Obama beat her in numbers, on the air?

No, no, no. The point is that Michelle Obama can even fake it as well as she can, and bothers to, and that's awesome.
posted by gurple at 11:00 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


I love Michelle Obama. And knowing she could soundly kick my ass makes me love her even more.
posted by PuppyCat at 11:01 AM on February 2, 2012


I was trying to figure out how the Republicans are going to counter this one, a la their response to the First Lady's eat healthier in schools program. Then it hit me. An image so repellent that it seared itself into my brain forever:

You know that scene in The Matrix where Neo is lying presumably naked on the table with all the electrical needles stuck in him to stimulate the muscles he'd never used before?

Okay. So now mentally replace Keanu with Rush. Nude. In a Barco Lounger. With electrical needles stuck in him.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:01 AM on February 2, 2012


For those of you who are sniveling.

Seriously! When I started, I could only do two. Now I do about a hundred a day.
posted by hermitosis at 11:04 AM on February 2, 2012 [11 favorites]


Watching Palin trying to do 25 push-ups would be amusing.
posted by bonehead at 11:04 AM on February 2, 2012


There's no denying Sarah Palin's physical fitness.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:07 AM on February 2, 2012


Ellen handled it pretty well. She looks over and notices that Michelle is not doing full pushups and instead of calling her out, she adjusts her own form to match.
posted by bonobothegreat at 11:07 AM on February 2, 2012


I don't see Ellen adjusting her form -- I see her form breaking down as she gets tired.
posted by hermitosis at 11:09 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


I do 80 perfect pushups every morning.

I don't have any point, whatsoever. I just don't very often have even a weak pretext to say that.
posted by gurple at 11:10 AM on February 2, 2012 [16 favorites]


I guess I'm alone in finding this an undignified exercise in populist political marketing.
posted by lucia__is__dada at 11:10 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Boy, lucia, is it going to be a looooong year for you...
posted by hermitosis at 11:12 AM on February 2, 2012 [14 favorites]


You are not alone.
posted by Optamystic at 11:12 AM on February 2, 2012


But yeah, you'd better get used to it.
posted by Optamystic at 11:12 AM on February 2, 2012


what lucia and opta said
posted by beshtya at 11:15 AM on February 2, 2012


It is kind of a funny post for MetaFilter.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:18 AM on February 2, 2012


I've tried the hundred pushups challenge so many times it's ridiculous. Every time I get halfway through week 5 and my back gets so crunchy that I have to take a break for a few weeks and then start all over. Also, as a 5' muscle-maker...the guns, the guns are body builder scary. I guess what I'm trying to say is yeah, I could totally out-pushup the first lady AND Ellen Degeneres, but they'd probably mistakenly call animal rescue for a wild beast removal if they saw me doing it. Oh, to be lithe.
posted by iamkimiam at 11:19 AM on February 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


This was fun to watch. Once Michelle threw down with a "I know you have back issues", there was no turning back.

I cannot do a single proper pushup and probably have never done one. And I am significantly younger than either Michelle or Ellen. And I suppose it matters not that I could probably beat either of them in some sort of needlework contest. Sigh.
posted by orange swan at 11:19 AM on February 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


I guess I'm alone in finding this an undignified exercise in populist political marketing.

"Political marketing" is what a politician is supposed to do. A politician who fails to do that is failing to do their job. Michelle Obama is trying to promote a national agenda of personal fitness--this, clearly, helps get that message out.

As for "dignified"--push ups are undignified? Really? Should we worry about the fact that she was wearing pants, too?
posted by yoink at 11:22 AM on February 2, 2012 [11 favorites]


I do 80 perfect pushups every morning.

That's nothing, I do crunches every morning (I can do 1000 now!)
posted by atrazine at 11:23 AM on February 2, 2012 [7 favorites]


This was fun to watch. Once Michelle threw down with a "I know you have back issues", there was no turning back.

Well, it was good acting on Michelle's part anyhow. I assure you the entire thing was completely planned, if not outright scripted.
posted by hermitosis at 11:24 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


This was fun to watch. Once Michelle threw down with a "I know you have back issues", there was no turning back.

I think the point of no return was two weeks ago when Ellen and her producers and Michelle and her handlers agreed that this would be something that they "spontaneously" do on the show.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 11:24 AM on February 2, 2012 [19 favorites]


Aren't they rich enough to hire someone to exercise for for them?

You're thinking of Ann Romney and Callista Gingrich.

Oh, man. Can you imagine either of them 'stooping so low' as to have a push-up contest with a Hollywood liberal lesbian?
posted by ericb at 11:25 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


In the morning if my face is a little puffy I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches.
posted by and for no one at 11:25 AM on February 2, 2012 [6 favorites]


I have vigorous sex for two hours every morning.

I think it's neat how we all have these morning rituals, the things that we do, all alone, that help us center ourselves before the day starts in earnest.
posted by gurple at 11:26 AM on February 2, 2012 [47 favorites]


When I first saw this post I thought it was about pushup bras. I'm really glad I was wrong.
posted by alms at 11:27 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


I am a 23 year old man - I can do two pushups. This is a bit embarrassing.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 11:30 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


I guess I'm alone in finding this an undignified exercise in populist political marketing.

So, should Michelle Obama stop advocating for a healthier lifestyle? What should she be doing differently?
posted by dirigibleman at 11:31 AM on February 2, 2012


Great, yet another first lady who can no doubt kick my ass. That's all of 'em.<>

I hear Eleanor Roosevelt was a real bad-ass.

posted by Billiken at 11:33 AM on February 2, 2012


That's nothing, I do crunches every morning (I can do 1000 now!)

Me too!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 11:36 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


are going to be really surprised over the next several months.

Just wait until Ellen and Callista have a French Horn cutting contest.
posted by yoink at 11:37 AM on February 2, 2012


I am a 23 year old man - I can do two pushups. This is a bit embarrassing.

Then do something about it. It's not going to get easier as you get older. Good thing her PR stunt resonated with someone. Now...drop and give us 20!
posted by VicNebulous at 11:38 AM on February 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


So, should Michelle Obama stop advocating for a healthier lifestyle? What should she be doing differently?

Well, obviously she probably actually cares about the cause she's championing, but at the same time her advocacy work is part of a public relations campaign for her husband.

But let's get real: does it really matter in a forum like the Ellen Show? Talk shows are designed to be a marketing channel for their guests.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:40 AM on February 2, 2012


Now...drop and give us 20!

Dad?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:40 AM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


lets be real, ann romney is probably not going on ellen, she might catch the gay or tarnish her own eternal marriage.
posted by nadawi at 11:41 AM on February 2, 2012


I do 80 perfect pushups every morning.

That's nothing, I do crunches every morning (I can do 1000 now!)


That's nothing. I have been doing crunches non-stop 24/7 ever since I joined MetaFilter.

But seriously, that was amazing.

And for those unfit mefites like me who started feeling smug because some mefites upthread have called out those pushups as Pushup Lite, here is my advice: DO NOT THINK THAT YOU CAN DO PUSHUP LITES BETTER THAN THOSE LADIES. You can't. I tried. It's not easy, even if they aren't exactly the most technically accurate pushups.
posted by vidur at 11:50 AM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


1001, 1002, 1003... Yeah, just finishing off those crunches. Yes, that's right, over a thousand.

In all seriousness, I'm pretty sure both ladies in question would beat me in push ups, as I've not been excercising... I mean MY KNEES. Yes, those terrible weak knees of mine. Blast them and their traitorous lack of load bearing capacity.
posted by Slackermagee at 11:56 AM on February 2, 2012


That's nothing. My right arm is hyper-enlarged, like a male fiddler crab, from lifting cigarettes, beer mugs, and ho-hos to my mouth.
posted by Ad hominem at 11:57 AM on February 2, 2012 [8 favorites]


Doing 1000 crunches would be super boring. Seriously how long does it take you? After a 100 or so does it even matter? I would think doing 100 crunches and 5 minutse of cardio to show your abs in the first place would have more effect.
posted by amazingstill at 11:59 AM on February 2, 2012


But let's get real: does it really matter in a forum like the Ellen Show? Talk shows are designed to be a marketing channel for their guests.

And, again, marketing her cause is precisely what she is supposed to be doing as a politician. How on earth is using a channel specifically designed for marketing supposed to make this somehow irrelevant? What you're saying is that she chose the right venue in which to do her job. And that's equally true no matter whether we're talking about her job of "making Obama look good by association" (which is certainly part of her job) or whether you're talking about her job of "promoting physical fitness to the nation."

I will never understand the weirdly puritanical attitude some people have towards politicians doing politics. If you vote for politicians who suck at politics because you somehow think they're 'nobler' people, you're throwing your vote away.
posted by yoink at 12:00 PM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


Better still do maybe half a dozen crunches think fuck it and get liposculpture.
posted by tigrefacile at 12:01 PM on February 2, 2012


I'm doing a kegel right now.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:03 PM on February 2, 2012 [17 favorites]


I'm doing a kegel right now.

O.K., so an Ellen v. Michelle kegel-off would be undignified.

And anyway, no one's ever going to touch Eleanor Roosevelt's record.
posted by yoink at 12:07 PM on February 2, 2012 [7 favorites]


I'm doing a kegel right now.

What are you wearing?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:12 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


I am a 23 year old man - I can do two pushups. This is a bit embarrassing.

I started with half-pushups because I have a bad back and my core strength sucked. Kept at it and now I can do the full pushup kind. It's totally doable if you're persistent and listen to your body.
posted by rtha at 12:12 PM on February 2, 2012


I predict she is going to be a major force in American politics after her husband leaves the White House.

Really? She doesn't seem that into politics. But maybe she's just doing a good job of staying out of her husband's way.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:16 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


It's totally doable if you're persistent and listen to your body.

Your body obviously isn't saying the same things mine is.
posted by Shepherd at 12:20 PM on February 2, 2012 [6 favorites]


hermitosis: "For those of you who are sniveling.

Seriously! When I started, I could only do two. Now I do about a hundred a day
"

Well, I certainly applaud anyone wanting to do a hundred pushups...
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 12:21 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


It's totally doable if you're persistent and listen to your body.

Your body obviously isn't saying the same things mine is.


Bette Midler on exercise (paraphrasing):

"I exercise. I do aerobics to that song, you know, 'Let's get physical, physical, I wanna hear your body talk, body talk.' Well, my body says fuck you!"
posted by orange swan at 12:24 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


You're thinking of Ann Romney and Callista Gingrich.

Oh, man. Can you imagine either of them 'stooping so low' as to have a push-up contest with a Hollywood liberal lesbian?


I won't speak for Mrs. Romney, but the real thing for the third Mrs. Gingrich is that if she stooped at all her gold titanium helmet might slip loose, revealing the thick scales beneath for all to see. And as I understand it President Gingrich has no intention of ceding full control to the reptilian invasion forces until his third term.

(It's in Revelations, people!)
posted by gompa at 12:29 PM on February 2, 2012 [5 favorites]


I'm doing a kegel right now.

Eh, that's nothing. Betty Ford could do a kegel stand.
posted by howfar at 12:32 PM on February 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


Michelle: '...I just stopped.'
posted by shakespeherian at 12:32 PM on February 2, 2012


My right arm is hyper-enlarged

check out these this gun
posted by zippy at 12:34 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


delmoi: "Wow, I was impressed by both of them.

Ellen was getting more depth, though.
"

I'll be in my bunk.
posted by Splunge at 12:36 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]




I'm doing a kegel right now.

I'm doing a keg, hell, I'll probably do two kegs by the end of the night.
posted by e1c at 1:12 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Just wait until Rick Santorum and Stephen Colbert play Shot-A-Minute. That game gets everyone.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:33 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


The best thing about the Sarah Palin Runner's World article linked above was how after her official emails were revealed it turned out she'd had to borrow the jogging stroller that's in the photo.

Unlike that fraud, FLOTUS is keeping it real.
posted by Biblio at 1:43 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


The real reason Ellen has such great core strength: The Hawaii Chair!
posted by vespabelle at 1:46 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Well, I know what I'll be dreaming of tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwbOYdMnceQ
posted by NorthernLite at 1:56 PM on February 2, 2012


oh god remember when we were all so obsessed with palin that the article about her in Runner's World was talked about everywhere on the internet for two weeks

oh god oh god oh god
posted by shakespeherian at 1:57 PM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


My friends and I all did the hundred-push-up challenge from Jpfed's link this pasty summer. It is well worth one's time.
posted by Navelgazer at 2:33 PM on February 2, 2012


That was the politest version of "Bitch, Please" I have ever seen. The only way it could have been politer would be if they spoke Victorian English in Recieved Pronunciation.

That being said, this is another subtle clue that THINGS HAVE CHANGED. Two (ostensibly) middle-aged women, sexy as all geddow, in an exercize contest. And giving it hell!

I love living in the future.
posted by djrock3k at 2:38 PM on February 2, 2012 [4 favorites]


A million fat-armed men with large gun collections, living in trailers in the desert, just winced audibly when they discovered that a lesbian and a black woman can do more push-ups than them.
posted by tumid dahlia at 2:54 PM on February 2, 2012 [21 favorites]


I was at the dentist on Monday and, while I was sitting in the waiting room, I looked over the Architectural Digest where they visit Ellen and her wife at home. I'm not sure a pool table and tennis shoe collection are macho per se, but they are kind of guy-ish at least, surely?
posted by stinkycheese at 3:14 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Goddammit, a ping pong table. Not a pool table.
posted by stinkycheese at 3:14 PM on February 2, 2012


Mod note: Bunch of comments removed; don't know what the heck that was about, but please cut it out.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:47 PM on February 2, 2012 [3 favorites]


Ann Romney rides. She is, I hear, actually okay at her level of dressage and surely getting better because she regularly flies across the country to take lessons with a trainer who lives that far away and she keeps at least one of her horses with that trainer. All schoolchildren and less-than-fit adults should follow her example.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 4:02 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


Mod note: eggtooth, drop us a line at the contact form if you need to talk about something, but please give this thread a rest. Thank you.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:13 PM on February 2, 2012


I was trying to figure out how the Republicans are going to counter this one, a la their response to the First Lady's eat healthier in schools program.

Yes, there she goes acting all un-First Lady-like again. I'm wondering which stereotype the wingnuts are going to try to pin on her this time. The Mammy won't really work so I'm guessing either the Jezebel or the Sapphire. Better listen to Rush tomorrow to find out.
posted by fuse theorem at 6:56 PM on February 2, 2012


Also, Ellen is too much of a good host not to let a guest win.

Yeah, totally. And now, let's bring out the cutest baby sloth . . .
posted by The Bellman at 7:29 PM on February 2, 2012 [2 favorites]


Like so many here (and elsewhere) I can do 1000 crunches. However, it is more like the sound of cartilage making crunchy breakfast cereal noises as I writhe in pain from attempting to do a couple of crunches.
posted by datawrangler at 8:06 PM on February 2, 2012


The whole push-up thing is worth it. I started off doing about 20 and then passing out. This morning I did 55, cleaned my teeth, and then did another 30 (my goal is the mythical 100). My wife commented this evening that my shoulders and arms are noticeably bigger and that I'm an even more awesome physical specimen than I was before. I mean, I thought I was showing more muscle, but she confirmed it.

It's like running. At first you struggle to cover a mile. A year later you realize that you are "one of those people" who run six miles (not fast, but you do it) most mornings and don't think that's a big deal. You'd be amazed what patience will bring.

Last comment: 48 and 54? Daaaaaaaamn.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 8:34 PM on February 2, 2012 [1 favorite]


I watched this at the gym. Do I win something?
posted by lollusc at 12:36 AM on February 3, 2012


I just don't know what possible meaning there could be to such a contest....it seems to have less than no meaning....it seems to steal meaning from somewhere else.
posted by eggtooth at 10:27 AM on February 3, 2012


The Whelk" Jon Stewart/Michelle Obama arm wrestling match. You know you'd watch it.

Watch it? Hell, I'd beat... a path to the TV to watch it. Yeah.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:45 AM on February 3, 2012


Ann Romney rides. She is, I hear, actually okay at her level of dressage and surely getting better because she regularly flies across the country to take lessons with a trainer who lives that far away and she keeps at least one of her horses with that trainer. All schoolchildren and less-than-fit adults should follow her example.

Heh, subtle, Lesser Shrew. Well played. White-gloved clap.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:46 AM on February 3, 2012


check out these this gun

From ... arm-wrestling. Riiight ...
posted by Amanojaku at 12:34 PM on February 3, 2012


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