Assessing Your Current Fitness Level
Simply put, assessments are tools to help you know yourself. When you know where you're starting from, it's much easier to plan an efficient route to your destination. Fitness appraisals provide you with data points so you have a record of your progress — think of them as snapshots of various stops along the way to your goal. Before you take any of the following fitness tests be sure to take the PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) in Appendix A. For best results, repeat these tests no more than once every two months. Give yourself time to improve between tests. Record your results in Appendix B, Chart Your Progress.
Studies show that keeping a record of your activities can help you to achieve your goals and create lasting healthy habits. Each person is different. If you think that tracking your progress will motivate you to stick with your program, give it a try. Keep records on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis — whatever works best for your life. Be sure to reward yourself for meeting both short- and long-term goals.
EQUIPMENT Stopwatch or watch. Wear a pedometer if you have one.
GET READY Find a local indoor or outdoor track where you can measure how far you walk. Most tracks are either one-fourth mile or 800 meters, which is approximately one-fourth mile.
ACTION Start your stopwatch or note the time on your watch and begin walking around the track from the starting line. If you're not using a stop watch, start at an easily remembered point such as on the hour, quarter hour, or half hour. Walk four laps around the track at a comfortable pace. Depending on your level of fitness, you can push yourself harder and walk at a brisk pace.
MEASUREMENTS When you cross the starting point of your fourth lap, click your stop watch or note the time on your watch. Record the number of steps on your pedometer. Record the amount of time in minutes and seconds that it took for you to walk four laps.
EQUIPMENT Exercise mat, towel, or a comfortable carpeted surface.
GET READY Kneel on all fours on the floor. Walk your hands forward until your hands are slightly wider than shoulder width apart and your torso resembles a slanted board. Tighten your abdominal muscles by pulling your belly in toward your spine. Lengthen your torso; avoid arching your back. If you prefer, select another variation, depending on your current level of strength.
ACTION Do pushups by bending your elbows and lowering your torso toward the ground. Straighten your arms and push your body up through your palms. Keep your shoulders relaxed; avoid arching your back.
MEASUREMENTS Count as you perform as many pushups as you can with complete range of motion. When you can no longer maintain form, that repetition does not count. For example, if you start to arch your back and drop your belly toward the ground, it means that you can no longer maintain form and should stop. Record the number of pushups, as well as whether you did them against a wall, on your knees or toes, or in a slant board or tabletop position. When you repeat the test, be sure to use the same style.
TIPS Inhale to prepare, exhale as you push up. Inhale as you lower your torso as low as possible. In the elevated position, avoid locking your elbows. Keep your neck long and straight. Avoid dropping your head. If your wrists are uncomfortable, place a rolled towel under the palms of your hands while your fingers remain on the floor. This reduces the angle at the wrist joint and alleviates pressure.
Your wrists may be uncomfortable due to weak forearm muscles. Alternatives to placing a rolled towel under the palm include holding dumbbells in your hands to elevate your hands so you can keep the wrist joint straight, or doing exercises on your closed fists.
VARIATIONS
(EASIER) If it is not comfortable for you to kneel on the floor, you can do this exercise against a wall. Stand in front of a wall. Place palms on the wall slightly wider than shoulder width apart, directly under the shoulder line. Bend elbows and lower torso toward the wall. Straighten arms as you push through your hands.
(EASIER) On the floor, instead of working from a slant board position, kneel on all fours in a tabletop position. Lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows. Adjust the load by shifting more or less weight from your knees onto your hands. Put as much weight on your hands as you are able to tolerate and execute a pushup with correct form.
(HARDER) On the floor, instead of working from a slant board position, straighten your legs and rest on the balls of your feet, so your body resembles a plank.
EQUIPMENT Exercise mat, towel, or a comfortable carpeted surface and a wall clock or timer.
GET READY Lie on your back on the mat with your knees bent at a ninety-degree angle and your feet flat on the floor. Place the palms of your hands on your thighs. Tuck your chin in slightly, keeping a feeling of length in the back of your neck.
ACTION Set the timer for one minute. If you're not using a timer, watch a clock that you can easily see, or use a watch with a second hand. Start at the beginning of a minute, if you're using a second hand to measure time. Count each complete repetition as you slide your palms toward your knees as you curl your body up. Make sure that your fingertips reach the top of your knees before you curl back down. It helps if you count aloud.
MEASUREMENTS At the end of one minute, note how many sit-ups you completed. Record it on your progress chart.
TIPS Inhale to prepare, exhale as you curl up, and inhale as you roll down. This style of sit-up is not recommended for training purposes because it also uses muscles in your legs. It's useful, however, as a general measure of muscular endurance. Because it uses many hip flexors, it's really a measure of the endurance in both your abdominal and hip flexor muscles.
EQUIPMENT An exercise mat, masking tape, and a yardstick.
GET READY Use the masking tape to attach the yardstick lengthwise in the center of the exercise mat right across the fifteen-inch mark. The masking tape should run cross-wise over the width of the mat and secure the yardstick in place. Take off your shoes. Sit on the mat with your legs stretched out in front of you in a straddle position. Place your heels on the edge of the tape right at the fifteen-inch marking.
ACTION Relax your shoulders. Place one hand on top of the other. Place the palm of the bottom hand on top of the yardstick. Take a nice deep breath. As you exhale, lean forward from your hips and slide the palm of your bottom hand forward on the mat along the yardstick.
MEASUREMENTS Make three attempts. Each time, note how far the farthest tip of your finger made it on the yardstick. Record the best score out of your three attempts on your progress chart.
TIPS Stay relaxed. If you feel tension on the tops of your thighs, go ahead and bend your knees slightly.
Good posture, also referred to as good alignment, not only looks great, but also prevents back pain, muscle aches, pinched nerves, and joint injuries. You can look up to five pounds slimmer and gain up to an inch in height simply by standing up properly. When your spine is aligned correctly, your ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle line up with each other vertically. The natural, gentle
A good training program leads to balanced muscle development and good alignment. Poor postural habits can lead to chronic muscular tension, headaches, restricted blood flow, pinched nerves, faulty breathing patterns, poor digestion, and reduced overall health and well-being. Good posture helps you to stand out in a crowd and reflects confidence and health — all wonderful attributes to help you shine on your wedding day.
Before you begin your wedding workout program, assess your posture to create a benchmark against which to measure your progress.
EQUIPMENT A full-length mirror, form-fitting clothing that enables you to see your physique, and a wall with a visible vertical line from floor to ceiling such as a corner, sliding glass door, or other design feature. If possible, it is ideal to have a friend or family member with a camera.
GET READY Stand naturally, facing sideways, in front of the full-length mirror. If you have a friend and a camera, stand sideways directly in front of a vertical line such as a corner of the room, or the edge of a sliding glass door so that the vertical line is parallel to the center of your body.
ACTION Have your friend take a picture. Paste the photo on your progress chart. Draw a vertical line down the center. If you can't take a photo, simply turn your head to view yourself in the mirror and check your alignment.
MEASUREMENTS Check the photo to see whether your ears and the midpoints of your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles are in a straight line. Notice whether your lower back is flat, excessively arched, or has a relaxed, natural curve. Notice whether your palms face the sides of your body or your shoulders round forward with your palms facing back.
TIPS Your goal is to achieve good alignment along the vertical line with a level chin, relaxed shoulders, and your arms hanging at your sides with your palms facing in.
An excessive arch in the lower back usually means that your hip flexors are tight and that the muscles of your buttocks are weak. Sitting for long hours compresses the lower spine and leads to tightness in the thighs because your legs are bent at the hip. Get up frequently and stretch every hour if you have a job that requires you to sit for long periods of time.
