You don't have to be a super athlete to feel good about yourself. Take these quick tests and you'll know how fit you really are.
How is it possible that you can hit the gym hard, but still be out of breath when you climb the stairs with heavy shopping bags? And why not put your fingers to your toes, while being the fastest in your spinning class? You can't just measure whether you're in shape by how fast you can run or how long it takes you to get out of breath. It is a sum of muscle strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition (fat percentage). You don't have to go to the gym to know if you're fit. See how you score on these simple home gardening tests and check what to do if they don't come easy for you.
Muscle strength literally means the strength of your muscles. Stronger muscles are less likely to fatigue, so you can last longer to cycle, lift heavier bags and climb more stairs without getting out of breath. The more muscle mass you build, the faster your metabolism runs, so you burn more calories and therefore lose weight and fat.
Stand in a high plank:put your elbows directly under your shoulders, curl your toes into the floor and straighten your legs. Keep your buttocks low and tighten your abs. Do not arch back and do not hang in your lower back, but keep your core straight. Stand for a minute. Longer is also allowed!
›› Test: if you are under 40, you are fit if you can stand for 45 to 60 seconds. Older? Then 30 to 45 seconds of planking is long enough.
Place yourself in a high plank position on the floor. Place your arms wide at your sides. Slowly lower your body down your arms and push yourself back up. Do this ten times. Choose whether you can do this on your knees or toes.
›› Test: if you are under 40, 8 to 10 push-ups are the standard. Above that age you should 'get' 2 to 5.
Stand on a high plank. Bring your knee to your chest. Do this with your other knee as well. Try to perform the movements as quickly as possible for a minute.
›› Test: As with the plank, a woman under 40 should be able to mountain climb for at least 45 seconds (and preferably a minute). Above 40, 30 to 45 seconds is enough.
Stand next to a wall and touch the wall as high as you can with your hand without jumping. Mark this spot with a sticker (or plaster). Then jump as high as you can and touch the wall again at the highest point. Compare the difference.
›› Test: a difference of 20-35 centimeters is average for women up to 40 years. If you are older, you can jump high enough if the difference is about 15 to 25 centimetres.
Cardio requires your heart to work hard for a longer period of time. Cardio training improves your endurance, allowing you to run for long periods of time or climb a high mountain. But don't do cardio to lose weight; You do not lose fat mass or very difficult with cardio. That goes better with strength training.
Stand in front of a step. Step up and down:up, up, down, down. Do this for 3 minutes at about 96 heartbeats per minute.
›› Test: feel your pulse afterwards (i.e. after those three minutes) and count or measure the number of heartbeats for 60 seconds. Then wait a minute and count your heartbeats for a minute in this resting position. The faster your heart rate drops, the fitter you are. If you are 26 to 35 years old, 104 to 110 resting beats per minute is fit. Between 36 and 45 years old? Then you are fit at 107 to 112 heartbeats per minute. If you are 46 years or older, then 113 to 118 is normal.
Keep a stopwatch handy and time how long it takes you to walk, jog and/or run 1.5 kilometers.
›› Test: if you finish within 16 minutes, you are fitter than the average woman under 40 years old. If you are older, 17 minutes is the healthy, fit standard.
Until now we calculated our BMI (Body Mass Index) to check whether we are a healthy weight. But if it's up to the researchers at Mayo Clinic and the University of Westminster, the Body Volume Indicator (BVI) is taking over. In addition to height and weight, the BVI also looks at the amount of fat around the abdomen. The BVI also takes age, gender and the extent to which you are physically active into account. The BVI is measured with an app and a number of photos. On the basis of this you can see whether you have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Knowing more? Check out:Bodyvolume.com.
Everyone has fat, in principle there is nothing wrong with that. But too much visceral fat is dangerous. Visceral fat is the fat that - for protection - is located around the organs in your torso and in your abdomen. Too much of this increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancers. The fat cannot be seen from the outside; even slim people can have too much visceral fat inside, with all the associated risks.
Take a measuring tape and put it around your waist, at the level of your navel. Take a deep breath and exhale. Then check the number where the end of the measuring tape stops.
›› Test: as a woman you should score below 80 centimeters for a healthy shape. If the measuring tape shows a higher number, have your doctor check whether your weight is healthy.
You can run for miles without shortness of breath, spin 'til you drop, but if you pick up a pen from the ground, you'll feel very old. You can barely touch your toes. How is that possible? Stiffness has nothing to do with how sporty you are or how good your condition is. But it does say something about your fitness.
Sit on the floor with your feet against the edge of a stair step and your legs straight. Stretch your hands forward and stretch a little further until you can't go any further. Count to three and mark the spot on the step (with a sticker or plaster) where you finished. Measure the distance from the step to the point where your hands touched with a tape measure or ruler.
›› Test: do this test three times. On average, a distance of at least 45 centimeters is fit enough. Are you stretching under 45? Then there is stretch work to be done.
Place your desk chair as low as possible. Get up from your chair and sit down again without hands. Make a squat movement. Sounds like a simple exercise, but you'll be surprised how hard it is to sit down after a few times.
›› Test: the intention is that at least one complete movement without hands succeeds. Isn't this okay? Then this means that your muscles are too stiff. It is then a must to make them more flexible through extra training.
Lie on your back. Straighten your legs with your toes curled up. Let your left leg stretch out on the floor. Lift your straight right leg into the air. See how high you can lift this leg and how long you can hold it. Then switch legs and do the same.
›› Test: if you can hold your leg at a 30-degree angle and hold it high for 30 seconds, you've passed flexible-fit. Does this not work? Practice.
Image:GettyimagesSource:Santé archive, text:Loes van de Mosselaar
