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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.
August 28, 2009
I love to run. Of course, there are days when I hate it, when I struggle to get up the first hill, let alone the last five. Yet even on those days I have to admit that running is truly one of the best sports around – both physically and mentally. You build strong bones, reduce your risk for disease, relieve stress, and feel more accomplished. And let’s face it – you burn a LOT of calories! I know that alone is enough to motivate me some days!
 I’ve been running for years, and even though I don’t have the opportunity to run as much as I used to, I’m still addicted to the road. I love the sense of freedom that comes when you just step out the door and run. I also love the peacefulness of being alone on the road – my problems somehow seem to melt away. Plus I get the best ideas when I’m running!
Thus, in this post, I’ve decided to share with you all the wonderful benefits of running, in the hopes that you’ll embrace the sport as I have. If you’re not a runner yet (or even if you are!), then read on for the ten reasons that you, too, belong on the road.
1. A Healthy Heart
Cardiovascular exercise does wonders for your heart and circulatory system, including reducing blood pressure, decreasing resting heart rate, improving general heart function, reducing total cholesterol, increasing HDL cholesterol, and drastically reducing your risk for cardiovascular disease.
2. A Slimmer Body
Any sustained cardiovascular activity will help you burn calories, decrease body fat, and lose weight, but running in particular is a major calorie blaster. Start training for a race and you’ve not only guaranteed your own exercise adherence, but you’re sure to burn about 100 calories per mile!
3. A Longer Life
Regular exercise has the power to reduce your risk of acquiring major diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and some cancers. In addition to these, running will build strong bones to help prevent osteoporosis later in life.
4. Consistent Results
Participating in a running program requires motivation, discipline, and consistency – the same principles that guarantee workout results. And when you take your run outdoors, you have the opportunity to switch up the terrain, elevation, scenery, and speed with every workout. This versatility makes running one of the best sports for avoiding those dreaded workout plateaus!
Continue reading “10 Reasons You Should Be A Runner” »
August 14, 2009
Every day, I create workout programs for clients looking to achieve their goals, be challenged, and receive extra motivation. But for every one client I train, there are 4 long-time gym members on the floor doing the exact same routine they were doing last week, last month, or even last year. It’s the routine procedure, the familiarity, the “comfort zone” that they are uncomfortable stepping out of. Unfortunately, they also won’t see results.
When To Update Your Workout
 Muscles must be continually stimulated in order to produce changes, and our bodies get used to movement patterns very quickly. If you continue to use the same program with no added challenge and no new exercises, then you will stop seeing results (also referred to as a “hitting a plateau”), you put yourself at risk for overuse injuries, and you increase the probability that you’ll give up on exercising all together. If I wasn’t seeing results and had the same routine to look forward to day after day, month after month, I’d get bored and give up too! This is why workout programs should get updated every 4 to 6 weeks (yes, you heard me right). I know that sounds like a lot of work, but there are lots of ways to change up your routine without a lot of effort.
Cross-Training For Results
Cross-training, by definition, is the use of a variety of exercises to stimulate strength gains, reduce injury risk, increase motivation, and drive results. You can cross-train just within the aerobic category or between both aerobic and strength training disciplines. With aerobic cross-training, you would vary the type of aerobic activity that you perform. For example, if you are an avid runner, you should cross-train with swimming or biking – two equally beneficial aerobic activities that will also allow your joints to rest and recover from the wear and tear that running can cause. Balancing your routine this way allows your body to recover while you continue to exercise. This is called “active rest.”
Likewise, it would also be beneficial for a runner to balance his/her aerobic program with some strength training. One to two days per week would add considerable strength, agility, and power to the running routine. The strength training in this case could also be called cross-training, since its purpose is to support the main goal of improving his/her running. Additionally, adding cross-training to a runner’s routine adds variability and a change of scenery. Going swimming or attending a sculpting class is something new and unexpected that a runner can look forward to a couple times per week, allowing him/her to return to running stronger and more refreshed.
I encourage my clients to have at least one secondary activity on their workout plan – even if it’s only done once a week. This way they have something to fall back on if they get bored or don’t feel like performing their “scheduled” exercise (I know we’ve all used that as an excuse, so this practice actually encourages adherence to your workout routine).
So don’t get stuck in a rut with your workouts! Remember to change your exercises or pattern of exercises every 4 to 6 weeks to ensure continuous progress toward your goals. Balancing your routine, both on the aerobic and strength sides, will bring you faster results, prevent overuse injuries, create a more well-rounded physique, and eliminate your excuses for not working out.
August 10, 2009
When it comes to your fitness program, more is not always better. Just as it’s important to exercise your body on a regular basis, it’s also critical to allow your body time to recover from those strenuous workouts. Now I realize you’re thinking, I just got myself motivated to GO to the gym, and now you want me to take time off?!? But trust me, even one day off each week will give your body the time it needs to repair muscle damage, refuel energy stores, and everything else it needs in order to give you the results you want. That’s right – if you don’t let your body rest from its training, your results will suffer… along with your performance, your muscle strength, your energy, etc. And if you continuously deprive yourself of rest between workouts, you put yourself at risk of developing overtraining syndrome.
What Is Overtraining Syndrome (OTS)?
Exercise has a myriad of health benefits, from lowering blood pressure and cholesterol to increasing energy and reducing risk of injury. Ironically though, too much exercise will cause the opposite to occur. With overtraining syndrome, you could experience a higher resting heart rate, higher blood pressure, less energy, more injuries… the list goes on. You fall victim to overtraining when you continuously exercise in excessive amounts without planned recovery time. This behavior will inevitably lead to injury, chronic fatigue, and a host of other symptoms that not only hurt your performance, but will require time off to recover from.
One such consequence of overtraining syndrome is the overuse injury. As the name implies, this type of injury occurs from repetitive movements performed over an extended period of time. Although not always associated with overtraining, an overuse injury can be a preliminary sign to step back from your training a little. Overuse injuries can also be caused by muscle imbalances or inflexibility that have gone unchecked or by training too hard for your fitness level. Examples here would include runner’s knee, swimmer’s shoulder, tennis elbow, shin splints, tendonitis, and IT band syndrome. If you are suffering from an overuse injury, allow yourself time to heal with plenty of rest, icing of the injured area, and cross-training with different activities.
What Causes Overtraining Syndrome?
Overtraining is usually caused by one of these situations: 1) not enough planned recovery time in a training program, 2) too much high-intensity training, 3) increasing the intensity or frequency of your training too quickly (a good guideline is to increase your workout intensity by no more than 5 to 10% at a time), or 4) a combination of too much training, too much stress, and too little sleep – all of which have an impact on your body’s ability to rest, repair, and recover.
A carefully designed program must include adequate recovery time, during which your muscles build strength, heal minor tissue damage, synthesize proteins, and refuel. The length of time required is determined by the type and intensity of your workout and your individual fitness level. This is the central reason why strength training is done on non-consecutive days; the body needs about 48 hours to rest and repair before you challenge it again.
Signs & Symptoms
So how do you know if you’re overtraining?
Continue reading “Overtraining: Too Much of a Good Thing” »
May 26, 2009
Q: What is the difference between the “fat burn” and “cardio” settings on a treadmill? If I’m looking to lose weight, am I limited to only the fat burn programs?
A: I am asked this question at least once a day – no exaggeration. The truth is… Absolutely not. Exclamation point. The cardio machine programs were designed to give you options, to help you out if you are sans trainer, and to point you in the right direction. Each program was designed for a special purpose, sure, but there are health-related benefits and training advantages to each program no matter what your goals.
 The main difference between the fat burn and cardio settings on those machines has to do with heart rate. If you’ve tried similar programs in the past, you’ll remember that you probably had to give the machine your pulse – either by strapping something to your chest or holding your palms on the silver handles. Or by making up a number just to get the machine moving (yes, I’ve see you do it!). In all honesty, if you choose the fat burn program because you want to lose fat, then it’s to your advantage to give an accurate heart rate.
That being said, what is Heart Rate?
Literally, heart rate is the number of times the heart beats per minute (abbreviated bpm). Monitoring your heart rate during exercise allows you to monitor exercise intensity* and cardiorespiratory responsiveness. Tracking your heart rate over time can be an excellent way to reveal your fitness progress. In essence, the more fit you are, the lower your pulse will be for a given exercise intensity.
 Heart rate can be obtained by feeling the pulse at the neck (carotid artery), the wrist (radial artery), the head (temporal artery), or the chest (apical artery), although the wrist is usually more convenient. To measure, place two fingers (index and middle) on the underside and thumb side of the wrist, feeling for a pulsing sensation. You shouldn’t use your thumb to determine heart rate; it tends to have a pulse of its own. Without pressing too hard, count the number of beats in 30 seconds. Then multiply this number by 2 to get beats per minute (bpm). This is your heart rate.
You can observe the changes in your heart rate during various activities by taking your heart rate at different points throughout the day. To begin with, take your pulse first thing in the morning before you even get out of bed. This is your resting heart rate. For more accurate results, take your resting heart rate three mornings in a row and average the results. You can also choose to take your heart rate before, during, and after routine activities. The higher your heart rate rises above its resting pulse, the more difficult that activity is for your body to perform.
Heart Rate & Exercise Intensity
The optimum exercise intensity for fitness improvement falls within a range of 50-90% of your maximum heart rate (although this figure can vary by fitness level, gender, and/or age). Monitoring your heart rate (and thus your intensity) allows you to exercise at the proper intensity for your fitness level and goals.
Continue reading “Stuck in the Zone: Fat Burn v. Cardio Programs” »
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