8 Ways To Assess Your Fitness Level—And What Your Results Mean
Assessing your fitness level means examining various aspects of your physical fitness, such as muscular strength, body composition, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. It helps you pinpoint strengths and areas that need improvement, establish reasonable goals, and provide a crucial baseline to stay on top of your progress. To get you moving in the right direction, we spoke with experts who share the best ways to assess your fitness level—and why you should care about them.
Before you get started, grab a journal and get ready to do some logging. Experts agree that keeping a consistent, detailed journal or utilizing a fitness tracker is an ideal way to track your fitness over time.
"[These tools allow you to] record, monitor, and analyze all aspects of your fitness journey in one place," explains Michael Betts, director at TRAINFITNESS. "By logging your workouts—including exercises, sets, reps, weights used, distances run, and times achieved—you can track the intensity and duration of each session. Regularly logging body metrics like weight, body measurements (waist, hips, arms), and body fat percentage will give you insights into your physical changes."
How Often Should Someone Put Their Fitness Level to the Test?
According to Alyssa Wilmarth, general manager at Rumble Boxing in Center City, PA, and a USA Boxing Licenses Fighter and Coach, you should strive to complete some form of fitness at least three times a week. Depending on your weekly consistency, you can up the ante once a month or every two months.
"Small example, if you commonly put a specific weight on the barbell or commonly perform a certain amount of reps when completing sets, try adding two additional reps or adding five additional pounds to each side of the barbell," Wilmarth suggests. "If we maintain the same workout routine with no changes, we will eventually stop seeing results as our body becomes 'comfortable' with the challenge."
Now, let's explore the best ways to assess your fitness level.
1. VO2 Max Test
First, consider a VO2 max test. Essentially, this test measures your body's oxygen intake while exercising to determine the greatest amount of oxygen your body can use during intense workouts.
"[The VO2 max test] involves running on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary bike while wearing a mask that tracks oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output," Betts tells us. "The intensity increases gradually until exhaustion. It's the best way to measure cardiovascular fitness, but not accessible for everyone. You can do a variation of this with a personal trainer called the submaximal VO2 max test."
2. 1.5-Mile Run or Cooper Test
Put your aerobic and cardiovascular fitness to the test with a 1.5-mile run or the Cooper Test.
"For the 1.5-mile run, you simply run as fast as you can for the given distance," Betts explains. "The Cooper test involves running as far as possible in 12 minutes, with the distance covered used to calculate your aerobic fitness level. This is also a great measure for cardiovascular fitness."
3. Vertical Jump Test
The vertical jump test measures the power in your lower body.
"You stand next to a wall or a vertical jump board, reach as high as possible to mark the baseline, then jump straight up as high as you can, touching the wall to measure the difference between the baseline and your jump height," Betts notes.
4. Plank Hold
Love them or hate them, planks are an excellent way to assess your core strength and endurance.
"You hold a straight plank position, supporting your weight on your forearms and toes, for as long as possible without your hips sagging or raising," says Betts.
5. Sit-and-Reach Test
The sit-and-reach test may make you feel gym-day nostalgia; however, it's still a great way to measure your flexibility well into adulthood.
"This [test] assesses flexibility, particularly in the hamstrings and lower back," Betts tells us. "You sit with legs straight and feet against a box or ruler, then reach forward as far as you can, holding the stretch for a couple of seconds while your reach is measured."
6. Resting Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability
Paul Kriegler, a registered dietician and certified personal trainer at Life Time, says resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate variability (HRV) are some of the best methods for testing how prepared your body is for more stress.
"Lower RHR and higher HRV (which indicates better recovery or readiness) are significantly correlated with longevity," explains Kriegler.
7. Nutrient Levels
Low levels of vitamin D, aka the "sunshine vitamin," can affect immunity and mood. In addition to vitamin D, Kriegler recommends assessing other crucial nutrient indicators, like iron and essential fatty acid levels.
"Aim to test your vitamin D levels at least annually and supplement accordingly," Kriegler suggests. "Anyone with complaints of low energy, little activity tolerance, or trouble losing weight would also want to assess their iron levels at least every six months. Those who experience slipping mental performance or concerns over extended soreness ought to [consider] testing their essential fatty-acid levels (such as OmegaQuant Omega-3 index testing) to determine [their] omega-3 intake needs."
8. Happiness
Kriegler dubs happiness, or your emotional well-being, "an easy-to-measure-but-hard-to-maximize metric."
"Even people who aren't setting the curve on the earlier tests I mentioned or who have sub-optimal patterns in certain physical areas can still outlive their peers if they meet everyday life with a positive mindset," he tells us. "If we're truly happy, we have better psychological resilience and mental fortitude to overcome these other challenges."
It's always a wise first step to speak with a licensed medical professional, such as a psychologist or therapist, to pinpoint any factors that may be affecting your happiness. In addition to that, Kriegler suggests carving out some time for self-reflection.
"Just as we can track our health measures and physical achievements, we can gauge our personal growth and well-being over time," he explains. "Likewise, we can gather support for this dimension in our journey as we do for our physical health."
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