Getting Started Welcome! If this is your first visit here, check out my Getting Started page. Fully stocked with my best articles on nutrition, exercise and weight loss, Getting Started has all the information you need to stop planning and start doing.
It's time to see results!
|
January 29, 2010
 The purpose of the push-up test is to evaluate both the strength and endurance of the upper body, including the chest, shoulders, and triceps. As much as we hate them (I can actually hear you groaning in despair…), push-ups are one of the best exercises I know. Not only do they work every “problem” area on a woman’s upper body, they are extremely effective at engaging your core (both your abdominals and your lower back). I can learn a lot about a client’s fitness level and muscle weaknesses simply by watching them perform push-ups.
To begin, set up a mat and get into push-up position. For men, this is on your hands and toes, making sure your hands are directly underneath your shoulders and your body is straight.
 For women, set yourself up on your knees and hands, again making sure your hands are directly underneath your shoulders. I’ve demonstrated this position in the pictures the the left.
The test requires you to perform as many push-ups as you can in one minute. In order to count the push-up, you must lower yourself to only a couple inches off the floor and return to the top without breaking form.
Count how many you did and compare to the charts below. Just as with the step test, A is excellent, B is good, and C needs improvement.
My next post will test your core strength through plank holds (basically holding the top of a push-up for one minute). So go ahead and start practicing!
 
January 27, 2010
Just as we are using your measurements as a benchmark for inches lost, fitness tests act as a point of reference for improvements in your health and fitness. You’ll test yourself in three key areas (cardiovascular health, strength, and flexibility) and compare your scores to others of your age and gender. Then you can retake the tests at a later date to see how much you’ve improved!
There are a multitude of tests you could use to determine your fitness level in cardio and strength, speed and power, and flexibility and balance. And, as you can imagine, the equipment used to perform these tests ranges from absolutely nothing to very expensive, high-tech gadgets that measure probably more than you care to know about your body! For our purposes here (and because I try to provide you with stuff you don’t need to spend money on!), I’ve narrowed the field down to 5 tests that you can do at home with little-to-no equipment:
- The step test for cardiovascular health
- The push-up test for upper body strength
- The plank hold for core strength
- The sit-and-reach test for lower back & hamstring flexibility
- The cobra stretch for trunk flexibility
Today we’re going to start with the step test…
At-Home Step Test
To begin, you’ll need to measure your resting heart rate. Place the tips of your right index and middle fingers on the inside of your left wrist, at the base of the thumb, and press only lightly. Move your fingers ever so slightly back and forth until you feel your pulse. Count the number of beats in 30 seconds and multiply that number by 2. For a more accurate reading, take your pulse twice and average the numbers. Average pulse rates for women are around 75 beats per minute, while men average about 70. However, a “normal” resting heart rate can range from as low as 40 bpm to as high as 100 bpm. The more fit you are, the lower your resting heart rate will be.
Next, stand in front of a 12-inch-high step. If you don’t have an “aerobic step” at your house, just use stairs or another sturdy surface. Emphasis here on sturdy. The height of the step is important too, since you will be comparing your scores to standards based on this step height. A shorter step is technically cheating (and I know you want to find your real score)!
Place your right foot on top of the step, then step up with your left foot. Step down the same way: right, then left. You will continue in this pattern of “up, up, down, down” for 3 minutes at a very steady pace. Once the 3 minutes are up, take your heart rate again for 30 seconds. Multiply by 2 to get your beats per minute and your step test “score”. You can then compare your post-step test heart rate with the values in the tables below. Record the corresponding letter (remember, we’ll be tallying the results from ALL fitness tests next week!). For now, I’ll just say that A is excellent, B is good, and C needs improvement.
We’re basically looking to see how high your heart rate gets after doing an activity like stepping for 3 minutes. The more fit your heart is, the less of a difference you’ll see between your resting heart rate and your post-step test heart rate.
My next post will be the upper body strength test… the push-up! To make sure you don’t miss the rest of the fitness tests and other posts, you can subscribe to Trainer Confidential via email or RSS.
January 26, 2010
Are you ready to re-define your lifestyle (and your body)? In this series of posts, we’re looking to achieve new definitions in 2010 – in fitness, nutrition, and overall wellness. To start, you’ll need to set benchmarks for your progress and assess your starting fitness level, or what I am calling your “fitness age.”
Now that you have your circumference measurements recorded, it’s time to review your exercise history and assess your current fitness level. When I sit down for a goal-setting session with a new personal training client, it’s important that I run through a health screening process for two reasons. Firstly, it identifies any risk factors, medical conditions, medications, recent surgeries, or recent injuries the client might have. If any medical conditions exist that would make exercise more difficult or more dangerous for the participant, he or she must get written consent from their doctor before proceeding. And secondly, it paints a picture of my client’s experience with exercise, so I have a starting point to work from. The program I create for someone that has never stepped foot in a gym will be extremely different from that of a competitive runner.
The following exercise history questionnaire is an abbreviated version of what I use in my gym to assess my clients’ exercise habits and risk factors. Choose the letter answer that best describes your current habits. If you can’t decide between two, pick the lesser value (between A and B, choose B).
If you plan on taking the fitness tests I’ll be posting over the next week or so (which I hope you are!), then keep track of the number of A’s, B’s, and C’s you chose. The fitness tests will also have letter answers and, at the conclusion of the fitness tests, you’ll tally your letters and reveal your starting level workout program!
What Is Your Fitness Age?
1. Your exercise history has been…
A. Consistent for years (regularly 3-4x/week)
B. Consistent only within the last year
C. Non-existent or sporadic
2. Your workouts consist of…
A. A combination of total body strength training and cardio
B. Mostly cardio with sporadic strength training
C. If I do anything, it’s cardio-based (walking, biking, elliptical, etc.)
3. Your age is…
A. Younger than 30
B. 30-54
C. 55+
4. Your BMI is…
Calculate BMI by dividing your weight (kg) by your height2 (m).
A. Under 25
B. 25-30
C. Over 30
5. You are currently diagnosed with/recovering from the following health conditions and injuries…
A. None, I’m healthy!
B. I was injured and/or sick over 6 months ago but have fully recovered since then
C. One or more of the following: surgery, broken bones, hospitalization, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid disorders, hypertension, high cholesterol, severe asthma, bronchitis, COPD, seizures, heart murmur, hernia, osteoporosis, severe arthritis, chronic or recurring joint pain, or pregnancy.
Note: if you circled “C” above, please consult with your doctor before beginning this or any other exercise program. If you are on medication for any of the above conditions, you should ask your doctor about any side effects that might interfere with your participation in an exercise program.
Your Results…
Mostly A’s: Training Pro
You are no stranger to exercise and have maintained a healthy weight and active lifestyle. You are looking to add variety and an extra challenge to your workouts. Congratulations!
Mostly B’s: Avid Exerciser
You have exercised in the past (or only just recently) but fitness has not been a constant in your life (until now!). You are looking to change your lifestyle and make exercise a regular activity. Good for you!
Mostly C’s: Fitness Freshman
You are new to exercise and/or it’s been a VERY long time since you worked out. You are looking to bring fitness into your life, and you need a routine to get you started. You’ve come to the right place!
Although you can establish a general starting level with the answers above, I find fitness tests to be invaluable in truly depicting the “fitness age” of a new client. So remember your answers to this quiz and stay tuned for the 5 fitness tests I’ll be posting this week. Remember, the more tests you perform, the more accurate your results!
January 21, 2010
In order to achieve “new definitions” this year, we must first determine our starting line. Establishing a complete “before” picture of yourself and your body today will set you up to see immediate progress from your efforts all year long. And you can do it at home, by yourself!
Every time I sit down with a new client I take body composition measurements. They are not glamorous, definitely not fun, and can be downright discouraging for a lot of us. I know this. BUT they are the single best way to track your progress and keep you motivated throughout the year as you work towards your goals.
 As you progress with your weight loss program, you will be losing inches on different areas of your body. Oppositely, if your goals include gaining muscle size, you will actually be gaining inches. Either way, these are the changes we’ll want to track with circumference measurements – literally measuring the circumference of different body parts. Common areas of measurement include the waist, hips, chest, thighs, etc.
Circumference measurements, in particular, are my favorite method of tracking changes in body composition because most people see a difference within only a few weeks. They are also the easiest and least expensive tool for assessing change over time. Additionally, there are no “standards” to compare yourself with (or to discourage you!), since each person’s body is different. You take your own measurements to start (creating a standard for yourself) and every measurement moving forward is compared to your benchmarks. You are your only competition!
All you need to measure yourself is a non-elastic cloth or fiberglass tape measure (something bendable, like what you’d use for sewing). When you are measuring, make sure not to pull the tape too tight – you want it taut enough to stay in position without causing any indentation of the skin. So no cheating to get smaller numbers! Accuracy is critical at this stage of the game – remember, you’ll be tracking your progress all year!
I’ve written before about how to take circumference measurements, so I’ve included a few clips from that article below. The important thing to keep in mind is to be consistent in your measurements.
Where to Measure
To ensure the accuracy of your readings, it is helpful to associate anatomical landmarks with each reading (like taking your abdominal circumference at the level of your belly button). This practice keeps your recordings consistent and reduces the chance for error. The list below contains specific measurements and their landmarks.
Circumference Locations & Landmarks
Waist: the narrowest point between the bottom of your rib cage and the top of your hip bones
Hips: with your feet together, the point where your butt sticks out the most (not our favorite measurement, I know…)
Abdominal: at the level of your belly button
Chest: the very center of your chest, across the nipple line (without a padded bra ladies!)
Upper Arm: with your arm extended, you want to measure the largest part of your upper arm (the belly of the muscles)
Forearm: with your arm extended, the largest part of the lower arm (usually right below the elbow)
Wrist: with your arm extended, the narrowest point above your hand
Thigh: stand with one leg in front of the other, measure the front leg at the largest part of the thigh (again, the belly of the muscle)
Calf: measure the front leg at the largest part of the calf (the lower portion of the leg)
The important thing is to take your measurements in the same place every few months. Make notes if you decide to measure elsewhere, so you’ll remember to do the same later on. For example, perhaps you have a birthmark on your upper thigh and you decide to measure at that level. It’s perfectly fine to do this – you’ll be losing weight across your whole body so all of these measurements (and more!) will work to follow these changes. Whatever you decide, just be consistent.
If you’d like to read more on body composition measurements, check out my previous articles on the subject:
The Secret to Seeing Weight Loss Results
Do-It-Yourself Body Composition Measurements
Your Guide to At-Home Body Fat Analysis
The next several posts in this series will go into more detail on setting benchmarks. Now that we have circumference measurements, it’s time to begin assessing your fitness level. There are a number of fitness tests designed to evaluate your strength, stamina, speed, balance, cardiovascular health, and flexibility, and we’ll go into a few of them here on Trainer Confidential. Again, everything can be done at home with little or no equipment, which makes these tests easy and accessible for all of us.
Remember, it’s a new year, the start of a new decade, and it can be the beginning of a healthier you, if you make the decision to change. So choose your health, take some circumference measurements today, and together we’ll work towards achieving new definitions in 2010!
January 4, 2010
It may sound cliché to talk about “the new you” or “new year’s resolutions” in my first January posting, but the truth is we all have hopes for this year. Dreams about what we’re going to accomplish, goals we’ll finally reach, and anticipation for what we only hope will be a fantastic 2010.
 I have my own list of to-do’s started already and my own resolutions to pursue. In all honesty, this is one of my favorite times of the year because of this hope for a “new beginning” (I know, cliché right?). But at this point in the year, we can accomplish all of our goals. Nothing is out of reach, the sky is endless, etc, etc. And hopefully (knock on wood) we will achieve and conquer in 2010.
In the spirit of the new year, I’ve put together a series of posts on how to reach your health and fitness goals (the series is fittingly titled “New Definitions”). We’ll cover everything from the beginning stages of goal-setting, to creating a workout routine, keeping a food journal, and finally tracking your progress.
Besides writing for TC, I spend the majority of my days working full-time at a corporate gym, doing everything from personal training to health education lectures to teaching group exercise classes like kickboxing and boot camp. The posts that I’ve put together for this series include everything that I do with my clients at the gym – from the first time we sit down together to talk about their goals to our training sessions and beyond.
My ultimate goal with this series is to make exercise easy and accessible for you, no matter where you work out. You don’t need to spend lots of money on gym memberships or equipment. Everything I put on the site can be done at home, and that includes the posts in this series.
So sit back and think long and hard about what you’d like to accomplish for your health in 2010. Really define your goals and think about what obstacles stood in your way of accomplishing them last year. How can you change your patterns? Taking just a few minutes today to answer these questions is the best way to prepare yourself for achieving ALL of your goals this year.
I’m looking forward to achieving “New Definitions” in every aspect of my health this year, and I hope this series of posts will enable you to do the same! Enjoy, and as always, let me know your thoughts!
Happy 2010!!
Nicole
|
|
