Measure of fitness?

MrO

Hi,
I was thinking about this today and I was wondering what's the best way to gauge your 'fitness'? What measures do you use? what do you understand by being fit?

I suppose there are loads of things you could look at...but I'm curious as to what people do (resting heart-rate, %body fat...)


Thanks!

sharky86

I would suppect you would have to base it more on your goals really...

If its cycling then are you increasing distance/speed
Running prob the same
Lifting are you lifting more weights etc.

TommyKnocker

sharky86 wrote: »

I would suppect you would have to base it more on your goals really...

If its cycling then are you increasing distance/speed
Running prob the same
Lifting are you lifting more weights etc.

tbh I would see these as more a marker of improvement more than fitness, but that is just my opinion.

Personally I base my perceived level of fitness on the following

Lean mass to fat mass ratio
Resting HR
Blood Pressure
Cardio Endurance
The speed at which my breathing and HR return to normal-ish after periods of excertion

Just my 2 cents


M

sharky86

sharky86 wrote: »

I would suppect you would have to base it more on your goals really...

If its cycling then are you increasing distance/speed
Running prob the same
Lifting are you lifting more weights etc.

B-Builder wrote: »

tbh I would see these as more a marker of improvement more than fitness, but that is just my opinion.

Personally I base my perceived level of fitness on the following

Lean mass to fat mass ratio
Resting HR
Blood Pressure
Cardio Endurance
The speed at which my breathing and HR return to normal-ish after periods of excertion

Just my 2 cents


M

Thats what I ment to say :D

dartstothesea

I would also be interested in strength relative to your BW in terms of what you can lift. I guess popular barbell lifts like squat, bench or deadlift would make good measuring sticks for that.

TommyKnocker

dartstothesea wrote: »

I would also be interested in strength relative to your BW in terms of what you can lift. I guess popular barbell lifts like squat, bench or deadlift would make good measuring sticks for that.

Again I would say that I would consider this an indication of my Strenght, like I would consider my 10k time a indication of my speed over a distance. I know these tie into your fitness level.

Personally when I think of measuring my level of fitness I think in terms of how the medical profession would define fitness. But all the above points are relevant.


M

MrO

These guys suggest a 12 point test plan to measure fitness

http://www.netfit.co.uk/fitness/test/fitness-tests.htm

It looks interesting but I guess to measure regularly you would need your own BP & lung capacity monitor.


I like the idea of being able to see an improvement in general fitness along with any improvements in strenght etc. which form the overall picture.

Poncherello

15 Unbroken Body Weight Overhead Squats

BOOOOOM !

The Guvnor

A proper VO2 max test would be a good start of fitness which is very quantifiable.

cc87

The Guvnor wrote: »

A proper VO2 max test would be a good start of fitness which is very quantifiable.

Being able to sustain a high percentage of your VO2 max over a long period of time would be a better indication than the VO2 max itself

Brian?

Ability to easily complete a given task.

rubadub

briankeating wrote: »

Ability to easily complete a given task.

Yep, I take fitness to literally to mean "am I fit to do a job", so you could have a powerlifter with a very high BF% but he is fit to do the task at hand. I am fit to cycle to work, I am not fit to jog to work and this does not bother me.

Some say hand grippers are not great for improving grip on say a deadlift, and I have said before in my job I use handtools a lot and the action of a gripper is very similar, so I am more fit to do my job due to training with them-I am not as concerned about deadlift grip strength, many here would be the opposite.

The Guvnor

cc87 wrote: »

Being able to sustain a high percentage of your VO2 max over a long period of time would be a better indication than the VO2 max itself

In obtaining a VO2 max you are in fact sustaining a high/very high percentage of it for upto 15-20 minutes and in most cases one would have crossed the 4-mmol threshold quite early on.

Are you suggesting that someone with a high absolute VO2 max could/would be classed as aerobically unfit?

I would find VO2 a very good indicator of fitness. If somebody had a 6-7 litre VO2 max or a lighter guy was 70ml/kg/min I would consider both of them to be very fit people.

IMO a VO2 max test would generally be considered the best indicator of an athlete's cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance.

cc87

The Guvnor wrote: »

In obtaining a VO2 max you are in fact sustaining a high/very high percentage of it for upto 15-20 minutes and in most cases one would have crossed the 4-mmol threshold quite early on.

15-20 mintues isnt a long period when talking about cardio

The Guvnor wrote: »

Are you suggesting that someone with a high absolute VO2 max could/would be classed as aerobically unfit?

No

The Guvnor wrote: »

I would find VO2 a very good indicator of fitness. If somebody had a 6-7 litre VO2 max or a lighter guy was 70ml/kg/min I would consider both of them to be very fit people.

IMO a VO2 max test would generally be considered the best indicator of an athlete's cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance.

I didnt say that a VO2 max test isnt a good indicator i was just saying being able to sustain a high percentage of it would be a better one.

There are people with very very high levels of cardio and aerobic fitness yet score low on VO2 test as a VO2 test involves testing over what would be a short period of time and cardio/aerobic fitness, in general, is about endurance.

I cant for the life of me remember his name but i think he was spanish. He was an olympic marathon runner, a top one I believe, but he had a low VO2 (for a marathon runner) yet managed to sustain 80-90% of his VO2 max throughout a marathon

Mellor

cc87 wrote: »

I cant for the life of me remember his name but i think he was spanish. He was an olympic marathon runner, a top one I believe, but he had a low VO2 (for a marathon runner) yet managed to sustain 80-90% of his VO2 max throughout a marathon

Ah he was probably faking it in the VOmax test and not pushing himself

MrO

time for some google-jitsu...what is a VO2 max test and where can I get one

MrO

MrO wrote: »

time for some google-jitsu...what is a VO2 max test and where can I get one

Sounds like as a good a measure as any. Seems to be a couple of places in Dublin that do it.

Jarren

MrO wrote: »

time for some google-jitsu...what is a VO2 max test and where can I get one

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/vo2max.htm

It can be done in:

http://www.leinstersportsclinic.ie/

http://www.ucd.ie/instituteforsportandhealth/serviceprovision/aerobicendurancetesting/

http://www.irishfit.eu/vo2max.html


you can also do vo2 max test in Trinity college

Bernard Donne is your man

http://healthsciences.tcd.ie/pls/public/staff.detail?p_unit=physiology&p_name=bdonne

The Guvnor

cc87 wrote: »

15-20 mintues isnt a long period when talking about cardio

Sorry mate but I disagree with you.

One could say Rowing 2000m or running 1500-5000m or even the boat race is not very long when talking about cardio.

IMO 6-20 minutes is a very, very long time if one is working out at close to or at maximum aerobic capacity.

VO2 Max is just a number and does not mean much in terms of a persons mentality when it comes to competing but as a measure of fitness which is quantifiable it is IMO very hard to beat.

Most world class athletes in endurance sports such as Rowing, Cycling, Running will all have very high VO2 max's and will also be able to sustain a very high level of their vo2 max.

You appear to think that fitness is only something that can be guaged over a much longer timeframe which IMO is not correct. Would you think that Redgrave or Pinsent who raced for only 6 minutes had a good level of endurance or were lacking a bit in the endurance department?

There will of course always be exceptions to every rule but they are in the minority - I take your point of the spanish marathon runner with a low vo2 and likewise a director of the AIS (oz inst sport) who had a very high mid 80's resting heart rate yet did well in marathons despite his resting heart rate suggesting he should be unfit.

However I think we can both agree that 99% of medal winners in endurance events will have both a high vo2 max and the ability to maintain a high percentage of it for a sufficeint period of time relevant to their chosen discipline.:)

Transform

The Guvnor wrote: »

Sorry mate but I disagree with you.

One could say Rowing 2000m or running 1500-5000m or even the boat race is not very long when talking about cardio.

IMO 6-20 minutes is a very, very long time if one is working out at close to or at maximum aerobic capacity.

VO2 Max is just a number and does not mean much in terms of a persons mentality when it comes to competing but as a measure of fitness which is quantifiable it is IMO very hard to beat.

Most world class athletes in endurance sports such as Rowing, Cycling, Running will all have very high VO2 max's and will also be able to sustain a very high level of their vo2 max.

You appear to think that fitness is only something that can be guaged over a much longer timeframe which IMO is not correct. Would you think that Redgrave or Pinsent who raced for only 6 minutes had a good level of endurance or were lacking a bit in the endurance department?

There will of course always be exceptions to every rule but they are in the minority - I take your point of the spanish marathon runner with a low vo2 and likewise a director of the AIS (oz inst sport) who had a very high mid 80's resting heart rate yet did well in marathons despite his resting heart rate suggesting he should be unfit.

However I think we can both agree that 99% of medal winners in endurance events will have both a high vo2 max and the ability to maintain a high percentage of it for a sufficeint period of time relevant to their chosen discipline.:)

who cares its all about the guns and inner chest right?

BossArky

MrO wrote: »

Hi,
I was thinking about this today and I was wondering what's the best way to gauge your 'fitness'? What measures do you use? what do you understand by being fit?

If you can do the below then you are probably fitter than a lot of people. You won't be super fit or anythin close though. Probably good to aim for something like these when starting out.

• Bodyweight x1 bench
• Bodyweight x1.333 squat
• Bodyweight x1.666 deadlift
• 8 pull ups / 10 chins
• run 5km in 25 mins

There was a similar thread called "fitness goals" or "fitness targets" a couple of years ago which had some other benchmarks.

obliviousgrudge

Bleep test

The Guvnor

jarecki1976 wrote: »

It can be done in:
http://www.leinstersportsclinic.ie/

I love the dexa scan and bod pod for measuring body-fat.

http://www.ucd.ie/instituteforsportandhealth/serviceprovision/bodycompositiontesting/

Bod Pod especially!:) Ideal test for those who claim super low single digit bf year round!

Bleep test definitely is a good indicator although as would be obvious it would favour an Eamon Coughlan over a Sean Kelly.

With a VO2 they can put you on a treadmill, bike or ergometer so it can be a bit more sports specific.

That said I remember reading that Chris Boardman did a bleep test and got high 14's or low level 15 which is not too bad for a non runner!:)

dartstothesea

The Guvnor wrote: »

I love the dexa scan and bod pod for measuring body-fat.

http://www.ucd.ie/instituteforsportandhealth/serviceprovision/bodycompositiontesting/

Bod Pod especially!:) Ideal test for those who claim super low single digit bf year round!

That looks and sounds awesome. If I'd the spare cash, getting those dexa scan results would be so good.

Would this bodpod be susceptible to the usual variables like hydration levels and all?

Poccington

If I go out on the ground for a number of days with work and find myself in any kind of trouble, that's when I'd know there's work to be done.

Any training I do after that, is for myself and my career. When it comes to measuring my fitness, I just use how I perform tasks in work to measure it.

Magic Eight Ball

emmetmcl wrote: »

Bleep test

Deadlift bleep test!

menoscemo

If you can do 50 pressups and run 5k in 25 minutes, you are probably fit enough.

Khannie

You're all mental. The answer for how you measure your fitness is: It depends what you want to do.

I may be fit enough to run a marathon but that's no use to me in the ring. I may be fit enough to go 5 rounds in the ring but couldn't run a marathon. I may be fit enough to do a triathlon in a good time but not able to squat my bodyweight and so on and so on and so on.

For me personally I think time for 2000 metres on the concept 2 is a non-useless measurement of how fit I am for fighting. 10K run time not so useful. 5K run time slightly more useful. etc.

Transform

I have done a few VO2 max tests and to be honest it taught me absolutely zero. I mean who flippin cares.

A few years ago I had over 20 clients do a proper VO2 max test with lactate testing and it did not tell me anything i did not already know apart from the establishing of where their overall 'fitness' was i.e. they came to me wanting to get fit, drop some fat and have more energy and gosh wow they scored really low on a VO2 max test!! Fancy that.

I would say for the average person a VO2 max test is a total waste of money and you would be better off setting up some metcon that you can easily repeat every 4-6 weeks to see where you are with your strength/fitness and overall conditioning e.g. crossfit helen, crossfit cindy etc The main thing is that it is measureable and you can repeat under the same conditions all the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37H6vmhGIu8

Running a 5km for time is one test yes but run 400-1km, swing a kettlbell, do some squats, press ups, pull ups etc whatever you want to string together and i think thats going to give you a better picture.

I have had lots of clients come to me saying they are 'fit' and get their ass handed to them in a group session by girls/guys that just had a better overall package of what i think fitness really is i.e. they could bang out some deadlifts, run, do press ups or whatever was on the cards for that day.

I say so bloody what if you can run/cycle/row etc for and extended period of time as the average person will NEVER use this skill in a day to day situation

what use is that if say i want you to help me move house, do some gardening (god i hate gardening), carry shopping home, change a wheel on a car, heck playing with my 2yr old all day today needed more sprinting, jumping and lifting her up and down (she is 13kg) than anything else as you need eyes on the back of your head!!

All i know is what i teach and what i do myself and that incorporates many facets of fitness to help you go about your day feeling good, able to lift things now and again and be able to look in the mirror and know you see an energetic healthy person staring back at you.

discus

Transform wrote: »

1) Running a 5km for time is one test yes but run 400-1km, swing a kettlbell, do some squats, press ups, pull ups etc whatever you want to string together and i think thats going to give you a better picture.

I say so bloody what if you can run/cycle/row etc for and extended period of time as the average person will NEVER use this skill in a day to day situation
what use is that if say i want you to help me move house, do some gardening (god i hate gardening), carry shopping home, change a wheel on a car, heck playing with my 2yr old all day today needed more sprinting, jumping and lifting her up and down (she is 13kg) than anything else as you need eyes on the back of your head!!

All i know is what i teach and what i do myself and that incorporates many facets of fitness to help you go about your day feeling good, able to lift things now and again and be able to look in the mirror and know you see an energetic healthy person staring back at you.

Yeah, but you're talking about measuring fitness of whoever comes in your door to get some personal training and feel "good" about themselves. If you talk about people who actually need to achieve proper athletic goals - ie atheletes - then using "feeling like a healthy energetic person" doesn't really sound like a winner.

I say so bloody what if you can run/cycle/row etc for and extended period of time as the average person will NEVER use this skill in a day to day situation

Jesus, total crossfit mind conditioning happening here. What skill(s) do you need to get by day to day then? People train for endurance sports for many reasons (competition etc), I'm sure that most of them don't do it so that they can run 10km in case of emergency. Suggesting that people need only train to get by day to day means that most crossfitters must be steeplejacks then.

IMO crossfit is a great idea for testing peoples ability to do crossfit. Crossfit is a fairly **** idea to use as a test for anything else.

Transform

discus wrote: »

Yeah, but you're talking about measuring fitness of whoever comes in your door to get some personal training and feel "good" about themselves. If you talk about people who actually need to achieve proper athletic goals - ie atheletes - then using "feeling like a healthy energetic person" doesn't really sound like a winner.



Jesus, total crossfit mind conditioning happening here. What skill(s) do you need to get by day to day then? People train for endurance sports for many reasons (competition etc), I'm sure that most of them don't do it so that they can run 10km in case of emergency. Suggesting that people need only train to get by day to day means that most crossfitters must be steeplejacks then.

IMO crossfit is a great idea for testing peoples ability to do crossfit. Crossfit is a fairly **** idea to use as a test for anything else.

Did you miss the whole highlighted part where i said the average person?

If you are a top level athlete and are on this forum getting training tips here then something is wrong with you and your coaching.

The vast majority of people I personally deal with and the people that read this want to have more energy, get in shape and improve their overall conditioning. The rules are completely different for athletes.

Regards your last point. If I have someone come through my doors and want to see where they are physically I am going to use a number of methods - a VO2 max test is not one of them and I want to see someone do the compound movements well as opposed to some running, cycling test. How do you measure or define fitness?

discus

Transform wrote: »

Did you miss the whole highlighted part where i said the average person?

How do you measure or define fitness?

I don't, because when I'm using the term fitness its relating to a specific purpose.

The vast majority of people I personally deal with and the people that read this want to have more energy, get in shape and improve their overall conditioning.

I can't reaaaaaally see where the term fitness fits in to "feeling good, looking good, being healthy". That's just me. Great side effects, though.

Transform

discus wrote: »

I don't, because when I'm using the term fitness its relating to a specific purpose.



I can't reaaaaaally see where the term fitness fits in to "feeling good, looking good, being healthy". That's just me. Great side effects, though.

then what i teach can be seen as methods of improving your energy. dropping weight and looking your best. I really couldnt care about individuals def of fitness as it varies from person to person.

What i care about is giving my clients what they want i.e. drop fat fast, improve muscle tone etc and I find that my methods (yes they incorporate crossfit methods) deliver that result in the best way possible.