Michelle Obama Battles Ellen DeGeneres in Pushup Contest

By Tim Nudd

02/02/2012 at 01:45 PM EST

Michelle Obama is known for her commitment to health and exercise. But who knew she was so tenacious when it comes to pushups?

On her talk show Thursday, Ellen DeGeneres invites the First Lady to do some pushups with her. And Mrs. Obama doesn't disappoint – quickly dropping and doing 25, much to the surprise of the host.

"I just stopped," the First Lady says, hinting that she could have done plenty more.



DeGeneres says she was going easy. "I thought it wouldn't be good to show up the First Lady, so I stopped," she says. "Because I thought, This looks bad that I'm going to beat her. I'm 54, and you're 48."

But Mrs. Obama clearly didn't need the help. "How amazing is that?" DeGeneres says.

Elsewhere in the interview, DeGeneres gets to the bottom of a pressing issue – whether President Obama picks up his socks.

"No, no, he doesn't pick up his socks," Mrs. Obama reveals. "He thinks he's neat, but he has people who help him. I'm like, 'It's not you that's neat. It's the people who pick up your socks. Those are the neat people.' "