Contemporary Nutrition 3rd Edition by Gordon Wardlaw, Anne Smith, Angela Collene

Exercise 21

How Physically Fit Are You?
The fitness assessments presented here are easy to do and require little equipment. Also included are charts to compare your results to those typical of your peers.
Cardiovascular Fitness: One-Mile Walk
Measure a mile on a running track (usually four laps) or on a little-trafficked neighborhood street (use a car's odometer to get the right distance). With a stopwatch or watch with a second hand, walk the mile as fast as you can. Note the time it took.
Strength: Push-ups
Men: Get up on your toes and hands. Keep your back straight, with hands flat on the floor directly below your shoulders.
Women: Same position, but you can support your body on your knees if necessary.
Lower your body, bending your elbows, until your chin grazes the floor. Push back up until your arms are straight. Continue until you can't do any more push-ups (you can rest when in the up position).
Strength: Curl-ups
Lie on the floor on your back with your knees bent, feet flat. Your hands should rest on your thighs. Now squeeze your stomach muscles, push your back flat, and raise your upper body high enough for your hands to touch the tops of your knees. Don't pull with your neck or head, and keep your lower back on the floor. Count how many curl-ups you can do in one minute.
Flexibility: Sit-and-Reach
Place a yardstick on the floor and apply a two-foot piece of tape on the floor perpendicular to the yardstick, crossing at the 15-inch mark. Sit on the floor with your legs extended and the soles of your feet touching the tape at the 15-inch mark, the zero-inch facing you. Your feet should be about 12 inches apart. Put one hand on the other, exhale, and very slowly reach forward as far as you can along the yardstick, lowering your head between your arms. Don't bounce! Note the farthest inch mark you reach. Don't hurt yourself by reaching farther than your body wants to. Relax, and then repeat two more times.
Now check your results. Want to improve? You know the answer:
• Do aerobic exercise that makes you breathe hard for at least half an hour on most or all days of the week.
• Lift weights that challenge you two to three times per week.
• Stretch after activity at least a couple of times per week.
• Walk more.
Cardiovascular: One-mile walk (time, in minutes)
Source: Cooper Institute.
Strength: Push-ups (number completed without rest)
Source: Golding LA, YMCA of the USA: YMCA Fitness Testing and Assessment Manual , 4th ed, 2000. www.topendsports.com.
Strength: Curl-ups (number completed in 60 seconds)
Source: Golding LA, YMCA of the USA: YMCA Fitness Testing and Assessment Manual , 4th ed, 2000.
Flexibility: Sit-and-reach (in centimeters)
Source: Golding LA, YMCA of the USA: YMCA Fitness Testing and Assessment Manual , 4th ed, 2000.
These charts are typical charts used by health and fitness experts. For a more thorough assessment of fitness or for development of an exercise plan appropriate for your fitness level, consult a certified personal trainer or other fitness professional.