If your health is generally good, but you suspect your fitness level needs work, ask at your local gym or recreation centre if they offer fitness appraisals, or where you can have one done. You’ll get an accurate idea of your cardiovascular health, your muscular strength and endurance, and your flexibility. Having a fitness test done before you begin an exercise program is a great way to monitor your progress.
You can also do a self-test at home. It won’t be as accurate as a test given by a certified appraiser – and you won’t have a knowledgeable person explain your test results. However, a self-test at home is still a suitable tool to measure your progress.
Visit TopEndSports.com for a series of tests to check your cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength. These simple tests involve the step test, push-up, sit-up and squat and use minimal, if any, equipment. Your test results allow you to compare your fitness level with others of your age and gender. Be aware, the results completely depend on the accuracy of your technique. Be sure you know the right way to execute the exercises before you begin.
Here is a simple test for hamstring and lower back flexibility (range of motion):
You’ll need a tape measure and a small piece of tape. Sit with your back against a wall, and legs straight out before you. Keep your buttocks against the wall, and your legs as straight as possible. Your legs are about six inches apart and your knees and toes should face the ceiling (not turned outward or inward). Do a few warm ups by bending slowly forward at the waist, reaching and stretching your arms forward between your legs.
Hold the tape with both hands, so the sticky area is even with the tips of your fingers, sticky side facing down toward the floor. Try to keep your back straight (no rounding it) and legs completely straight (no bending at the knees) as you lean forward at the lower back, to stick the tape on the floor between your legs. Reach as far forward as possible without losing good form. Avoid twisting the spine to allow one hand to reach farther than the other (no cheating!).
With the tape measure, measure your reach from the wall to the tape and record the results. Test each week to see how you improve. Unfortunately, this is not a standardized test where you can compare your results to others of your gender and age. Only a fitness test using standard equipment can determine this. The home test merely allows you to gauge your own progress.
Avoid doing an unsupervised fitness test if your health is not good and/or your fitness level is very poor. Have a complete physical check-up and talk with your physician or physiotherapist first.
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Eve Lees has been active in the health & fitness industry since 1979. Currently, she is a Freelance Health Writer for several publication and speaks to business and private groups on various health topics.