Are You Fit?

While researching today, I came across an article by Dean Anderson listing tests you can do at home to see if you are as fit as you think. Try them out and see. Then compare your results at http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1202

The Senior Functional Fitness Test
These self-tests are not a substitute for medical evaluation and clearance for exercise, especially if you experience any pain, weakness, or difficulty with any of these activities. So, be sure to check in with your doctor and get yourself cleared before starting any exercise program. These six self-test assessments and age-related performance comparisons have been adapted from the Senior Fitness Test Manual, ©1999 R.E. Rikli and C.J. Jones.

Each of these assessments will measure one or more of the basic elements of functional fitness: strength, power, agility, endurance, balance, and flexibility. Research has demonstrated that a senior’s performance on these assessments is a reliable indicator of his or her risk for having (or developing) functional limitations that will negatively affect quality of life. If your scores fall in the “High Risk Zone” or below the average (see table below), beginning a program of regular exercise can help you reduce your risk.

Note: You can do these tests yourself at home, but several require a partner to help you measure or record your results. You’ll also need a tape measure, a dumbbell or hand weight (five pounds for women, eight pounds for men), and a watch or clock with a second hand. If you can, arrange to do this assessment in a gym with a friend, a personal trainer or fitness professional. Estimating your results or diverging from the instructions could make your results invalid.
Arm Curls: The purpose of this test is to assess upper body strength needed to perform regular household chores and other daily activities involving lifting and carrying things like groceries and grandchildren, opening containers, and more.

Description: Complete as many one-arm biceps curls as you can in 30 seconds, holding a hand weight of five pounds (if you’re a woman), or 8 pounds (if you’re a man).

High Risk Zone: Completing less than 11 curls in 30 seconds with good form

30-Second Chair Stands: The purpose of this test is to assess lower body strength required for daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of chairs, cars, and the bathtub, and maintaining balance.

Description: Sit in a standard chair with a firm seat (such as a dining chair), with arms folded across chest and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down as many times as possible in 30 seconds, without using hands for support.

High Risk Zone: Less than 8 unassisted stands in 30 seconds

2-Minute Step Test: The purpose of this test is to assess aerobic endurance, which is important for walking, stair climbing, and performing many daily activities for an extended period of time.

Description: Stand facing a wall, and put a pencil mark or piece of tape on the wall at a height that is halfway between the top of your knee and the top of your hipbone. Begin stepping in place, raising each knee up as high as the wall marker each time. Step for two minutes, and record the number of full steps taken, counting both right and left legs together as one step.

High Risk Zone: Less than 65 full steps in 2 minutes

Chair Sit and Reach Test: The purpose of this test is to assess lower body flexibility, which is important for proper walking gait, balance, and other common movements such as getting in and out of cars.

Description: Sit with buttocks on front edge of firm chair. Extend one leg straight in front of you, with heel resting on floor. Bend forward at waist, keeping arms straight, reaching hands towards toes. Stretch forward as far as possible without pain. Have a partner measure the distance (in inches) between the tips of your fingers and the tips of your toes.

High Risk Zone: Women with two inches or more between fingers and toes and men with four inches of distance or more

Back Scratch: The purpose of this test is to assess shoulder flexibility, which is important for movements such as brushing hair, putting on clothes over the head, putting on a car seat belt and more.

Description: With one hand, reach behind your back and slide hand up towards opposite shoulder as far as possible. With opposite hand, reach back over same shoulder and try to come as close as you can to touching the tip of other hand. Have a partner measure the distance between your hands.

High Risk Zone: Women with two inches or more between hands and men with four inches of distance or more

8-Foot Up and Go Test: The purpose of this test is to assess agility and dynamic balance, which is important for tasks requiring quick maneuvering, such as getting off a bus, or getting up from a chair to answer the phone, etc.

Description: Measure out a distance of 8 feet from the edge of a chair, and put a marker there. Sit in the chair, and time yourself as you stand up, walk to the marker and back, and sit back down.

High Risk Zone: More than 9 seconds to complete this test