Simple fitness tests measure and motivate

By DAN STRAYTON
As published Sept. 17, 2008

You often hear that there are five components of fitness: body composition, aerobic endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. Measuring and tracking these components is an excellent way to get better results from your exercise program and enjoy it more in the process.

It does this by 1) giving you concrete numbers by which to measure whether your exercise program is actually working, 2) helping you set realistic goals for yourself, and 3) motivating you from day to day. I’ve always said that I think the biggest problem most people have with their exercise program is that they do not exercise with a “purpose”. They are not working toward anything and are simply putting in time on the treadmill or in a class.

With a few simple fitness tests, you can find out where you are now, measure your progress as time goes on, and work towards a specific, realistic goal based on your personal fitness level. Then, as your levels improve and you reach your goals, you can set new goals that will continue to motivate and challenge you to reach new heights of health and fitness.

You can even use the results of these tests to compare yourself against others of your age and gender. Tracking your progress with these tests can do wonders for your motivation and your enjoyment of exercise and, as a result, for your results as well. In my last column, we discussed Body Mass Index and its value as a health and fitness tool.

Over the next few columns, we will look at tests for the other components of fitness listed above, beginning with aerobic endurance.

Aerobic endurance (AE) is the measurement most people use when judging whether someone is “fit”. AE is the ability to sustain physical activity for an extended period of time (as in running and biking) and is a measure of the health of our heart, lungs and vascular system.

When you hop on the treadmill or go out for a walk, you are performing aerobic exercise (also called cardiovascular exercise, or “cardio”). Most people participate in aerobic exercise in an effort to lose weight, burn body fat and improve the health of their heart.

You can measure your AE with a simple walking or running test. For example, there is a common 1-mile walk test you can do that can help not only track your progress against yourself but also in comparison to established norms for your age/gender. Simply find a flat 1-mile loop, preferably a track, and walk a mile as quickly as you can (after a gradual warm-up, of course).

As soon as you complete the mile, count your pulse for 10 seconds (multiply by 6 to get your pulse for a minute).

You have now established a baseline for your aerobic endurance based on two factors – the length of time it took you to complete the mile and your heart rate when you were done. You can repeat this test every 4-6 weeks to track your progress.

You are looking for a couple of things to happen. You should find you can complete the mile in a faster time and/or your heart rate should be lower when you are done. Both of these things (faster time, lower heart rate) will indicate that your aerobic fitness level has improved.

If your time does not improve but your heart rate is lower, that still indicates that your fitness level improved – you managed to complete the same amount of work with less effort. Similarly, if you complete the mile in a faster time at the same heart rate as before, that also demonstrates a marked improvement – you accomplished more work with the same effort as before.

This test can also be performed on a treadmill if you wish.

There are a number of websites that will allow you to enter your results and get a measure of your predicted VO2max and compare that to the established norms. One good site is provided by The President’s Council on Physical Fitness under their President’s Challenge site –adultfitnesstest.org.

There you can enter your time, heart rate, gender and age and the site will spit out an estimated VO2max and a percentile number. VO2max is the standard measure of aerobic endurance and indicates how much oxygen your body can take in and utilize during physical activity. Highly trained aerobic athletes have very high VO2max numbers (60+) while individuals suffering from heart conditions like congestive heart failure have very low numbers (often below 20).

Other simple tests include a 1.5 mile run (also on President’s Challenge site) and the Harvard 3-minute step test (health.harvard.edu) while more elaborate tests can be found in your cardiologist’s office (often called stress tests).

So, before your next workout, try performing one of these easy tests. Create a baseline by which you can monitor your progress and establish regular intervals by which you will “re-test”. Put them on your calendar now and treat them like events for which you are training.

You’ll find you are more motivated to make it to your workouts and more motivated to push yourself a little more each time. When you start to see your time and your heart rate dropping, you’ll know you’re making progress and you’ll be even more motivated to get out there and exercise. It’s a win-win!

Of course, you need to choose your test based on your current fitness and exercise levels. Don’t try the 1.5 mile run if you’ve never run and skip that step test if you have real bad knees. We’ll discuss other fitness tests in future columns.

Good luck and keep moving!


[Dan Strayton, general manager at Health Unlimited on Century Drive in Mt. Airy, holds a master's degree in exercise physiology and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about exercise, health and fitness. Write to him in care of the Mt. Airy Messenger, P.O. Box 897, Mt. Airy, MD 217710897; or send e-mail to dans@myhealthunlimited.com.]