4 Ways to Measure Your Personal Fitness Level

Assessing your personal fitness level is a bit like getting a report card that tells you if your hard work is paying off or if you need to do more homework. We've got four ways to measure your personal fitness level and see if you're making the grade.

Personal fitness is evaluated by measuring your cardiac health, strength, flexibility, and body composition. When you measure all four, you get a pretty clear report on what areas of your fitness plan are working for you and what needs more focus.

1. How to measure cardiac (aerobic) fitness

Start by counting your resting heart rate for a full minute first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.

Next, after a 5-minute warm up exercise, walk for one brisk mile (1.6K) and measure your pulse again.  This time, count your pulse for 6 seconds and multiply by 10.  For example, if you count to 14 in 6 seconds, your heart rate in one minute is 140. 

Write these numbers down and check them again monthly.  As your fitness level improves, your resting heart rate and one-minute mile heart rate should be lower.

Another way to test cardiac fitness is by timing how long it takes you to walk that mile. Start with a 5-minute warm up then time yourself as you walk as fast as you can for one mile.  Then measure your time with the ACE charts below.

Men:

Women:

2.  How to check muscle strength

The Mayo Clinic says you can measure your muscle strength by keeping track of how many pushups you can do. Here's how:

• Lie facedown on the floor with your elbows bent and your palms next to your shoulders.
• Keeping your back straight, push up with your arms until your arms are extended.
• Lower your body until your chest touches the floor.
• Push your body upward, returning to the starting position.
• Count each time you return to the starting position as one push-up.
• Do as many push-ups as you can.

• Write down the number and check again in a month.

3. How to measure flexibility

You'll need a buddy to help you with The Mayo Clinic's  "sit-and-stretch test."

• Tape a yardstick to the floor across the 15-inch (38-centimeter) mark.

• Place the soles of your feet even with the mark on the yardstick.
• Ask a helper to place his or her hands on top of your knees to anchor them.
• Reach forward as far as you can, holding the position for two seconds.
• Note the distance you reached.
• Repeat the test two more times.
• Record the best of the three reaches.
• Check again in a month.

4. How to evaluate body composition

Start by recording your waist measurement. As you become more fit, this number will get smaller.

Calculate your body mass index (BMI) with the help of the National Institutes of Health BMI calculator at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.  Just plug in your weight and height measurements and compare them to this chart:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
• Overweight = 25-29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Once you have a baseline measure of your personal fitness level, track your progress over time and see how far you've come. 

Sources:

National Institutes of Health

Calculate your Body Mass Index

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

American Council on Exercise

How do I measure resting and exercise heart rates

http://www.acefitness.org/fitnessqanda/fitnessqanda_display.aspx?itemid=323