It’s not always easy to determine how fit you are. That’s because fitness covers various physical components from strength to cardio, endurance and flexibility. You may excel at running but lack the power to lift weights; you may be a great swimmer but not that successful in doing sprints.
That’s why knowing some standard fitness benchmarks can help you find out your fitness level, monitor your progress and improve your overall performance to achieve your fitness goals. Let’s see if you pass!
The two-mile run is a test used by the US army for cardiovascular performance and leg muscle endurance. The idea is to be able to finish the two-mile run as fast as possible.
To pass this test and be able to acclaim your good fitness level, you should aim to complete the run in under 17 minutes. This equals eight laps on a 400-metre track. Don’t forget about warm up.
Such speed training is also good for building more muscle and preventing injuries as well as improving your overall bone strength.
One rep max is a popular test that measures the maximum weight a person can lift in one repetition. The max differs from exercise to exercise. The general idea, however, is to come closer and closer to your maximum lift each time you perform a certain exercise with an achievable weight.
At a given time you will reach the maximum weight and have to lift it with one repetition. This is useful in terms of tracking how much you’ve managed to increase your isotonic muscle strength.
Push-ups are a staple bodyweight exercise which engages multiple muscles at the same time. It is a good way to measure your upper body strength and endurance.
Age and gender play an important role in terms of the number of push-ups you should perform. As an indicator of a good fitness level, you should be able to do as many as you can in 1 minute. Or minimum 20 reps in the case of women and 25 in the case of men.
Position and form are very important so if you pass the broom test, namely if you place a broom on your back and it does not roll off, then you’re doing the right push-ups.
This type of exercise evaluates the strength and endurance of abdominal and hip-flexor muscles. These are extremely important for the stability of your core and stability of your back.
The test lies in how many sit ups you can do in 60 seconds. Again, it mainly depends on age and gender. However, to achieve a good fitness level, women should aim to perform at least 30 reps while men should be able to do minimum 40 reps. Those who strive for excellent fitness level should be able to perform as many sit ups as possible in 30 seconds.
This test is used to measure acceleration, maximum speed and speed endurance for 200 meters. It also indicates how well you are doing in terms of cardio efficiency.
Prior to starting the actual sprint, start with some standardized warm up such as stretches or jogging. Then do timed 50, 100 and 150 meter sprints to gradually increase power in your legs. Then go for the 200-meter sprint.
A good fitness level allows you to achieve the sprint in half a minute or less.
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