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:

1. The step test for cardiovascular health
2. The push-up test for upper body strength
3. The plank hold for core strength
4. The sit-and-reach test for lower back & hamstring flexibility
5. 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.

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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!

5. Fewer Gray Hairs

Life can be stressful.  Fortunately, you can run away (at least for a little while).  Running combines the calming effects of exercise with strong mental & visual elements.  The act of running allows your mind to escape the day-to-day and relax into the scenery and steady rhythm of your stride.  Your problems might be there when you return, but you can take those in stride too.

6. A Strong Community

Although running is considered a solitary sport, there can be a great sense of community on the road – if you want to take advantage of it.  Join a training group for the marathon, a local runner’s circle, or convince your family to run with you.  Participating in the sport with someone creates a bonding experience that goes beyond the duration of your run.  Get fit and meet new people at the same time!

7. A Lighter Suitcase

You take vacation in the summer, travel on business, get away for the holidays… if you count all the time you spend traveling, you’re barely left with a few months of routine workouts.  But if you’re a runner… you can bring your workout with you!  Running doesn’t require any equipment, workout space, or club membership.  It’s just you, your sneakers, and the wide-open road.  So no more excuses!

8. You Could Win (Frequently)

The physical and mental benefits of running are all well and good, but sometimes there’s nothing better than being rewarded for all your hard work!  There are lots of road races every month – some of which offer a monetary prize.  And if you’re feeling charitable, why not race for a cause?  You’ll be putting in the miles and getting double the reward.

9. More Money In Your Pocket

Running might just be the least expensive sport around.  You won’t need specialty equipment, helmets, or gear (you do have sneakers*, right?), nor will you need to invest in training to understand how it’s played.  You just step out the door and RUN.

10. More Confidence in Your Step

There will be days when you don’t want to run.  We all have them.  But running despite that feeling… that’s what gives you confidence.  Knowing you conquered that morning run, that hilly terrain, that 26-mile race – whatever it is, you survived and triumphed.  The rest of your day will be a piece of cake.  Because you are a runner.

*I should mention that you will need good, supportive sneakers if you plan to start a running routine.  A lot of sports/running stores will offer gait analysis, which analyzes your running style and arch height.  These results help the store associates recommend the best sneakers for you (which can prevent common beginner running injuries like shin splints).

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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.

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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? 

I’ve compiled a list of the various symptoms that have been linked with OTS, although you won’t necessarily experience all of them.  In fact, the most universal symptom of overtraining is chronic fatigue, so pay attention to your body!  If you feel tired, rest.  A day off here and there is better than having to take a few months off down the road…

Symptoms of Overtraining Syndrome

• Chronic fatigue
• Elevated resting heart rate
• Decreased post-exercise heart rate recovery
• Increased blood pressure
• Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) during exercise
• Decreased performance during workouts
• Decreased motor coordination
• Continual muscle soreness
• Digestive upset
• Restlessness
• Loss of appetite
• Sleeplessness
• Sudden weight loss
• Headaches
• Frequent sicknesses
• Lethargy
• Irritability
• Depression
  

Prevention

Planning recovery time into your program is the key to preventing an overtrained body.  Monitor your fatigue levels, increase your training intensity only gradually, rest when tired, and include cross-training in your workouts to add variety and discourage repetitive movements.  Also be sure to train opposing muscle groups equally and address any muscle imbalances in order to prevent possible overuse injuries.

In the end, it’s important to listen to your body.  Exercise can significantly improve your quality of life, but as with anything else, it has its limits.  If you take the time to recover between workouts now, then you lessen the chance that you’ll have to take months off later.

I’ll be addressing the concept of cross-training in my next article, so be sure to subscribe to my posts!

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