Congratulations, if you're reading this blog you've already committed to a fitness routine or are strongly considering doing so (right?!). So now that you're getting after it, how can you measure your success to ensure that your sweat and efforts are truly paying dividends? By benchmarking and reassessing your fitness "Core Competencies"!
Regardless of your fitness end goal, a well designed fitness program should address each of the following areas. My recommendation would be for you to do an initial baseline assessment followed by quarterly reassessments.
Fitness Core Competencies
Body Composition Test - Body Fat Assessment
A person's body composition is comprised by the amount of lean mass (muscle and bone) and fat mass in their bodies. It's very important to maintain a healthy body composition as too much or too little body fat can lead to illness and/or injury. Body fat percentages are separated into five categories; essential, athletic, fitness, acceptable and obese, each of which varies based on gender.
Core Strength Test - Plank Assessment
Your core, which includes the muscles of your abdominal, lower back and hips, are involved in every single movement you do! Your core is not only responsible for stabilizing your spine and keeping your torso upright, but it allows you to bend your torso forward, backward, from side to side, as well as rotate.
Lower Body Strength Test - Squat Assessment
Our leg muscles, specifically the hamstring, quadriceps and glutes, are some of the biggest and most powerful muscles in the body. Not only are these muscles called into play in almost every standing activity we do, but they are also key in preventing knee and hip injuries from taking place.
Upper Body Strength Test - Pushup Assessment
A strong upper body is important for everyday movements such as carrying work materials and picking up groceries and luggage with ease and without risk of injury. Strength and endurance in the muscles of the upper body, specifically the chest, shoulders, triceps and core is a good indication of overall fitness.
Sit and Reach Test - Flexibility Assessment
The sit and reach test is the most common way to measure lower back and hamstring flexibility.
Because tightness in the low back and hamstrings is often related to muscle pain and stiffness, this test may help determine a person's risk for future pain and injury.
12 Minute Run/Walk Test - Endurance Assessment
Cardiovascular endurance is the ability to perform sustained physical activity such as walking briskly, jogging, or running around with your kids. During cardiovascular activity, breathing increases to get oxygen into the lungs and heart rate increases to deliver oxygen to working muscles. Regular cardiovascular exercise yields important benefits as it strengthens the heart and improves the entire cardiovascular system. The aerobically fit heart is more efficient and runs at a lower rate during exercise and at rest.
1/4 Mile Run Test - Speed Assessment
In order for competitive athletes to compete well in races and/or sporting events, speed is important. Whether a person is competing against themselves or another competitor, an effective way to measure improvements is through speed assessments.
For additional information on each each test, please don't hesitate to contact me. Best of luck to you and keep training!
Jake
