Three Fitness Tests You Can Do At Home

When it comes to setting fitness goals it is important to have clear benchmarks for judging progress. There are several different areas we can measure to judge fitness such as; strength, core stability, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance and body composition. Many of these require specific environments or equipment to test but there are a few you can do at home which I am going to outline for you here.

You can do these no matter where you are in your fitness journey, just make a note of your score and the date so that when you come back to them in a few weeks or months you can see what progress has been made.

Test lower body strength - Squat.

To do this you will need a chair or table that when you sit on will let your thighs be parallel to the ground.

Stand in front of the chair facing away from it, squat down so that your bum lightly touches the chair and stand back up again. Repeat this as many times as you can without stopping.

Test Core Strength and Stability - Forearm Plank

Plank Holding is considered the benchmark for good core strength and is a fundamental part in many different sporting disciplines. This test measures core strength and stability.

To perform the plank correctly start on all fours, drop down to your forearms keeping the elbows directly under the shoulders. Then step each foot back so that your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels. Time is for how long you can maintain perfect form - don’t let those hips creep up or down!

Cardiovascular Fitness - Resting Heart Rate

Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute. It is a good indicator of how efficient your heart is at transporting oxygen around the body. A lower resting heart rate means better cardiovascular fitness.

Many smart watches now have heart monitors built in so finding this information can be as simple as checking an app. However, if you don’t have a smart watch you can measure your RHR yourself by finding your pulse on your wrist and counting the number of beats in 60 seconds. I find it easier to set a timer on my phone rather than watching a clock.

Once you have your scores you can tailor your exercise program to work on areas you may be weak in. Perhaps you need to work on your core strength? Or maybe you need to do a bit more cardio to work on your heart health? Or maybe this has peaked your interest and you want to do some more fitness testing!? Whichever path you would like to go down I am here to help.

From one to one bespoke sessions to programme planning, I can help you get fitter, stronger and healthier. Call 07747676414 to get started today!