Fitness tests are the starting point of any successful exercise program and a handy tool for tracking your progress. Once you determine your base fitness level, you can set goals, develop a workout plan, and control your advancement.
Usually, fitness experts use tests to assess 4 key areas of physical condition:
- Aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness, which measures how well your heart and lungs deliver oxygen to your body during prolonged periods of exercise.
- Muscle strength and endurance, which indicates how much force and for how long you can put out.
- Flexibility, which is the ability to move joints through their full range of motion.
- Body composition, which shows the proportions of body fat, bone, and muscle in the body.
After completing a fitness test, your results should be compared to normative scores across different demographic groups to determine your level amongst peers.
1. Cardiovascular fitness: Target heart rate zone test
A target heart zone test is essential for understanding the intensity of your workouts.
To determine your target heart rate, you need to first know your maximum heart rate (MHR). This is the maximum rate your heart can beat during exercise. There are several formulas for calculating MHR:
- Fox formula (the simplest formula): 220 – your age
- The HUNT formula (for active people): 211 – (0.64 x age)
- Tanaka formula (for people over age 40): 208 – (0.7 × age)
Your heart zones are calculated as different percentages of your MHR:
- Zone 1 (Recovery zone): 50-60% of MHR
- Zone 2 (Aerobic base): 60-70% of MHR
- Zone 3 (Aerobic endurance): 70-80% of MHR
- Zone 4 (Lactate threshold): 80-90% of MHR
- Zone 5 (Maximum speed): 90-100% of MHR
For optimal aerobic development, your fitness program must include workouts in different heart zones. It is recommended to spend 30% of training time in Zone 1 (including warm-up and cooldown time of each workout), around 50% in Zone 2, and the remaining 20% can be distributed between Zones 3-5. A heart rate monitor will help you stay in your target zone during a workout.
A functional threshold power (FTP) test is considered a more accurate assessment than a training zone. This metric indicates the amount of work you can sustain for long durations, measured in watts per kilogram.
You can ascertain your threshold heart rate through a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test, like the one offered on CAROL Bike. After you perform a rigorous 20-minute session at your maximum effort, your average heart rate from this session will be reduced by 5% to give you your threshold heart rate (this is the peak heart rate that you can maintain for an hour–a more practical measure than HR Max for defining training zones.)
Your FTP increases with regular exercise, and you should continue to adjust your training regimen and reset your training zones based on your FTP level over time.
2. Cardiovascular fitness: VO2max test
VO2max is the key indicator of aerobic fitness. It shows the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during physical activity. This indicator is important both for your performance and endurance—enabling you to finish sprints faster and to endure longer distances.
A traditional VO2max test is done on a treadmill in a lab, testing your cardiovascular endurance. During the test, you wear a mask that records your oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production.
CAROL Bike offers an accurate assessment of VO2max at home. Our VO2max test comprises a gentle 4-minute warmup at 30-watt target power, then a 4-minute ride at a personalized submaximal target power, finishing with an optional 3-minute cooldown.
CAROL is considered one of the most versatile bikes on the market, offering short, science backed workouts as well as a range of fitness tests and extensive integrations with third party apps.
3. Muscular strength and endurance tests
Muscular strength and endurance tests give you insight into your overall fitness and help you assess the ability of specific muscles or muscle groups.
Push-up test
You can do this simple test at home to measure your upper body strength.
Take a standard push-up position facing down with your weight distributed on your hands and feet, arms straight, and body rigid. Then, lower your chest toward the floor and then return up to the starting position. Do as many pushups as you can, and compare results with your age group in the table below. If your result is below average, you need to work on your upper body strength.
Age | Men | Women |
20-29 | 17-29 | 9-13 |
30-39 | 13-24 | 7-12 |
40-49 | 11-20 | 5-9 |
50-59 | 9-17 | 4-8 |
60-65 | 6-16 | 3-5 |
Women have the additional option of using the “bent knee” technique—a simplified push-up position with knees touching the floor.
You can use different bodyweight exercises instead of push-ups to assess other muscle groups—such as bench presses, leg presses, or bicep curls.
Core strength test
Core muscles play a crucial role in our posture and stability. They prevent your upper body from unnecessary movements and ensure you move efficiently during exercise. You can assess your core strength by doing several exercises:
Raising arms and legs from a plank position:
- Hold a plank position for 60 seconds.
- Lift your left arm for 15 seconds.
- Lift your right arm for 15 seconds.
- Lift your left leg for 15 seconds.
- Lift your right leg for 15 seconds.
- Lift your left leg together with your right arm for 15 seconds.
- Lift your right leg together with your left arm for 15 seconds.
- Hold a plank position for 30 seconds.
If you can complete this exercise without discomfort, your core muscles are in good form.
Sit-ups
In this exercise, you start sitting on the floor, hands at your sides, knees bent, and feet off the ground. Straighten your legs out in front of you, then bring them back to your chest, without touching the floor. Repeat this movement as many times as possible. 25 repetitions is the minimum number for passing this test.
4. Flexibility tests
A good range of movements is essential for healthy joints. You can assess your joint health with these 4 tests for different body parts.
Lower back and hamstrings
The sit-and-reach test is the most common flexibility test that measures a combination of hip, low back, and hamstring flexibility. A sit and reach box is typically required, however you can use a ruler and a box at home. Sit on the floor with your legs out straight, placing the soles of your feet flat against the box. Overlap your hands and fingers and slowly reach forward as far as possible between your feet. Once you’ve reached as far as you can, hold that position for 2 seconds. Measure the distance reached by your hands from the start of the box.
Here are the normative results for men and women per age group:
Age | Men | Women |
20-29 | 28cm | 31cm |
30-39 | 26cm | 30cm |
40-59 | 22cm | 28cm |
60-65 | 19cm | 26cm |
Shoulders
Shoulders can be particularly tight if you work at your laptop or sit for prolonged periods. You can do a hand-to-elbow or hands-behind-back test to measure the flexibility of this area.
During the first test, from a standing position, bring both arms back and try to touch the opposite elbow.
In the hands-behind-back test, you raise one hand up, bring another hand behind your back, bend your elbows, and try to connect your hands at the level of your shoulder blades.
If you can’t do these tests, focus on stretching this area.
Spine and neck
Slowly make a 180-degree turn from a cross-legged seated position. If you can do a full turn to both sides, your spine and neck muscles are in good shape.
5. Body composition test
Body composition shows the amount of fat mass compared to lean muscle mass, bone, and organs. Body composition test plays an important role in evaluating your health and setting your weight loss goals. This test provides valuable insights into how to change lifestyle, exercise plan, and diet. During your fitness journey, it allows you to accurately track the actual percentage of your body fat, muscle mass, and water.
There are several methods to run this test:
- Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA): During this test, electrodes located on the soles of your feet send a weak electric current through your body. The difference in resistance of different body tissues gives an estimate of your body composition.
- Body mass index (BMI): A generalized formula calculates the percentage of body fat based on height and weight.
- Skinfold measurements: Skinfold calipers measure the thickness of subcutaneous fat at 8 anatomic sites on the body. Based on the measurements, it’s possible to calculate the total body fat percentage.
Whilst BIA provides the most accurate measurements, BMI is the easiest way to assess your body composition at home. You can use the following formula:
BMI = body weight in kg/height in m2
Then, check your result in the table below:
BMI index | Category |
< 18.5 | Underweight |
18.5 – 24.9 | Normal weight |
25.0 – 29.9 | Overweight |
30.0 – 34.9 | Obese class I |
35.0 – 39.9 | Obese class II |
>= 40.0 | Obese class III |
Conclusion
These 5 fitness tests will give you a great insight into your physical shape and can be done from the comfort of your home. You will be able to identify fitness areas that need improvement and build a personalized exercise plan based on your goals. As well as measuring your VO2max and FTP, CAROL Bike’s AI personalized workouts will help you achieve your goals faster—and they’re all backed by science.
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