So hopefully you’ve now had a chance to complete all five fitness tests and the “what’s your fitness age?” quiz. If not, I’ve provided links to all of these tests below.
Quiz: What’s your fitness age?
At-Home Fitness Test: Step-ups
At-Home Fitness Test: Push-ups
At-Home Fitness Test: Plank Hold
At-Home Fitness Test: Sit & Reach
At-Home Fitness Test: Cobra Stretch
Remember, the point of these tests is to determine your current fitness level and establish benchmarks for yourself moving forward. These tests are a critical component in designing fitness programs for my clients, and they are equally important for your own progress. For this reason, please be as honest as possible when taking each test – this will ensure that your workout is an accurate match to your fitness level.
I’ve spent time putting together three separate workouts for you, based on three different fitness levels. You’ll determine, based on your scores, which workout is for you and begin working towards your fitness goals!
First, you’ll need to tally up all your grades (A, B, or C). If you clearly have more of one letter than any other, then your job is done! Look below for your fitness level description. If, on the other hand, your answers are split fairly equally between two or three letters, follow this guide:
Mostly A’s: Training Pro
You are no stranger to exercise and have maintained a healthy weight and active lifestyle through most of your life. Your fitness tests demonstrate your ability to excel in all three areas of fitness: cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility. You are a well-rounded fitness enthusiast and do a great job cross-training your body. As far as your fitness goals, 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 have only recently begun) but fitness has not been a constant in your life (until now!). Your fitness tests have identified some strengths and weaknesses for you, so you can focus your workouts moving forward. Your fitness goals include changing your lifestyle and making 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 may have done well on a few of the tests, but your strengths are unbalanced (leaning heavily towards only one area of fitness: cardiovascular, strength, or flexibility). Your goal is to improve your health and well-being by bringing fitness into your life. You just don’t know where to begin. You’ve come to the right place!
Over the next week, I’ll post a starter workout for each fitness level: Training Pro, Avid Exerciser, and Fitness Freshman. As we progress through the workouts in the coming weeks, I’ll post more on how to increase the intensity of the exercises and how to effectively track your progress. Once you can complete 3 full sets of each exercise easily (and for 2 consecutive workouts), then it’s time to move to the next fitness level. Good luck!
Besides its efficacy as a flexibility test, the cobra stretch is a popular yoga pose. Not only does it feel great as an abdominal stretch, the cobra helps keep the lumbar spine limber and preserves elasticity in the surrounding muscles and connective tissue. Retaining flexibility in our lower backs is vital as we age; it helps reduce low-back pain (a very common condition) and reduces the risk for back injuries.
From here, press your palms into the mat and extend your arms as much as you can while keeping your hips in contact with the floor. Relax your lower body as you press away from the mat, as demonstrated in the second picture. Pay attention to the distance between your hips and the mat – ideally, you would like to 
You will need a few materials for this challenge: a mat, masking tape, and a yard stick. To begin, set up your mat and apply a piece of masking tape across the top ¼ of the mat – essentially dividing the mat into 2 sections. Align the 15-inch mark of your yardstick with the masking tape (numbers 16 and higher should be pointing towards the smaller section of the mat). The picture to the left illustrates this set-up.
To begin, lie face down on a mat and lift yourself onto your elbows and toes. Your elbows should be positioned directly underneath your shoulders, feet about hip width apart. Look down at the mat to keep your neck and spine in alignment. Also pay close attention to the position of your bum – if it’s too high, you won’t be working your core (that’s cheating!) and if it’s too low you could stress your back. Instead, position yourself so you form a straight line from head to heel. Let’s start the timer!
Once again, A is excellent, B is good, and C needs improvement. The last two tests of this series will challenge your flexibility, so stay tuned for those posts later this week. And remember to keep track of your scores – you’ll need them later to determine your workout level!
The purpose of the push-up test is to evaluate both the 
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.
