To help gauge your aerobic fitness, here’s a minimum standard: See when you can walk five flights of stairs at your personal pace without stopping, using only the railing for balance. This test could seem too easy to be useful, but in the times when sophisticated exercise tests were widely available, thoracic surgeons used this test to see if their patients were fit enough for lung surgery. In modern terms, individuals who pass five flight tests have a maximum oxygen uptake value of at the very least 20. This level will get you thru surgery and on a regular basis life, but healthy people should use exercise to double or triple that level.
It is unlikely that a health club will ask you to make use of the steps for a self-assessment, nevertheless it may use a single 12-inch step or bench to evaluate your fitness. With just a little bit help, you’ll be able to do it yourself. Ask someone to time you and count for you so you’ll be able to give attention to the duty at hand (or feet!) On the signal to start out, step up together with your right foot, then bring your left foot up with it. Follow “up, up” with “down, down” to finish a step. Repeat at a rate of 24 steps per minute for 3 continuous minutes. Then rest within the chair for exactly one minute before taking your pulse. Finally, use the YMCA’s criteria (see the table below) to seek out out.
A step-by-step exam will be quite difficult. If you’ve got been diagnosed with heart disease, when you suspect you could have heart disease, or if you could have major risk aspects, ask your doctor about an everyday stress test as an alternative of a step test. And when you’re in a nasty mood or think the test is likely to be difficult for you, take a minute to check how are you?
|
Step Test Pulse Count (using a 60 second pulse count) |
||||
|
age 
|
Excellent to excellent |
Average to above average |
Poor to Fair |
|
|
Men |
18-25 |
84 or less |
85-100 |
101 or higher |
|
26–35 |
86 or less |
87-103 |
104 or higher |
|
|
36–45 |
90 or less |
91-106 |
107 or more |
|
|
46–55 |
93 or less |
94-112 |
113 or more |
|
|
56–65 |
96 or less |
97-115 |
116 or more |
|
|
Above 65 |
102 or less |
103-118 |
119 or more |
|
|
Women |
18-25 |
93 or less |
94-110 |
111 or more |
|
26–35 |
94 or less |
95-111 |
112 or more |
|
|
36–45 |
96 or less |
97-119 |
120 or more |
|
|
46–45 |
101 or less |
102-124 |
125 or more |
|
|
56–65 |
103 or less |
104-126 |
127 or more |
|
|
Above 65 |
105 or less |
106-130 |
131 or more |
|
Excerpt from The No-Sweat Exercise Plan: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Live Longerby Harvey B. Simon, MD