Are you in good shape? Five ways to test your fitness

Let’s be honest: for many people the main motivation behind a visit to the gym is to look good.

Workouts mostly comprise of hitting up the mirror muscles with set after set of bench presses, bicep curls and abdominal crunches.

Sure, training this way can make you look great, but have you ever wondered how well your body would fare in a real moment of life and death?

Could you outrun a predator on the savannah? Rescue a stranger trapped under a heavy boulder? Physically overpower an intruder in your own home?

Test yourself on my top five physical fitness tests designed to assess your upper body strength, core strength, and physical endurance to see how fit you really are.

1. The Push Up

What are you testing? The push up is a classic exercise designed to test upper body strength with particular emphasis on the chest, shoulders and triceps.

How to do it: From the ground, keep your body in a straight line from shoulder to heel. Place your hands just wider than shoulder width and make sure you are up on the balls of your feet. Brace your abs and slowly lower your body until your chest grazes the ground. Then push back up explosively. Be sure to keep your elbows tucked in throughout.

How do you fare?

Excellent = 40+

Good = 30-40

Average = 20-30

Poor = 20 or below

How to improve: Try tensing your glutes hard throughout the exercise for greater stability. Most people don’t realise that the push up isn’t just an upper body exercise, to keep your body nice and straight throughout you’ll also need a strong core. Focus on increasing the amount of time you can hold a plank for and you will soon see your push-up count rise.

2. The Abdominal Plank

What are you testing? The Plank is a great test of your core strength. The core is the group of muscles that make up your torso. It includes your abdominals, internal and external obliques, your glutes and a host of smaller stabilising muscles. The abdominal plank also works your lower back, hips and buttocks.

How to do it: From the press up position, drop down and distribute your weight between your elbows and the balls of your feet. Interlock your hands and ensure that your feet are waist width apart. Hold this position for as long as you can without allowing your hips to raise or dip.

How do you fare?

Excellent = 3 mins+

Good = 2 mins+

Average = 1 min+

Poor = less than 1 min

How to improve: Focus on compound lifts like squats, deadlifts and bent over rows to strengthen your core. Trust me: no-one with a big squat or deadlift has a weak core! Start lifting heavy and your plank times will go through the roof.

3. The Pull Up

What are you testing? The pull up is a great test of your upper body strength. This exercise primarily works your latissimi dorsi. Commonly known as the lats, these are the large muscles that flare out to the side in your upper back. The pull-up also works your biceps and several other upper back muscles.

How to do it: Grasp the overhead bar using an underhand grip (palms facing the body) with arms fully extended. Pull your body up until your chin is above the top of the bar. Then lower your body until your arms are straight again. Perform each rep in a smooth motion, with no swinging or jerking.

How did you fare?

Excellent = 20+

Good = 15-20

Average = 10-15

Poor = Less than 10

How to improve: Try using isometric contractions to improve your strength. Start by determining the weakest point of your pull-up, then hold yourself at that point for five to ten seconds. Repeat this five times at the end of each workout that incorporates the pull up.

4. 500m Row

What are you testing? Rowing is a great overall body exercise and huge calorie burner. Use the indoor rower to test your high end fitness over a short distance.

How did you fare?

Excellent = <2:00

Good = 2:00-3:00

Average = 3:00-4:00

Poor = 4:00+

How to do it: Getting the right technique on the rower is important. Poor technique will mean you waste energy and also run the risk of back strain. Begin each stroke with legs extended and the handle held close to your body at your lower ribs, torso braced and leaning back slightly. Extend your arms and rock forward from your hips. Then bend your knees as you slide forward. Once your shins are vertical, drive back with your legs, arms still extended. Once the legs are straight draw your arms back to your lower ribs to replicate the starting position. You can now begin another stroke.

How To Improve: Work on strengthening your core. A strong and engaged core will keep your technique tight and avoid jerky movements that rock the boat!

It helps to imagine your workout as a real voyage across water. Focus on steady form and be sure not to waste energy on inefficient movement.

5. Run a Mile

What are you testing? Running is a great test of your cardiovascular fitness (or ‘stamina’). This is essentially a measure of how efficiently your heart and lungs are able to utilise oxygen. Measuring your running time over a mile will give you a great idea of how your fitness holds up over distance.

How to do it: Good running technique is essential if you are going to avoid injury and perform to the best of your ability. Fundamentally, there are a few things to keep in mind. To begin with, always look toward the horizon, never at your feet. This will ensure proper back and neck alignment. Try to run with loose, relaxed shoulders. I see lots of people jog with crunched, high shoulders, but this compacts your form and loses you energy. Run tall throughout the mile.

If you plan to run frequently, it’s worth getting your stride analysed at a specialist shop. Getting the right trainers can make a big difference to the strain running places on your body.

To pace the mile, try to think of it as four sets of 400m (or four laps around a running track). You’ll want to start strong in stage one to give yourself a good early time, taper down in stage two and just cover the distance, ramp up slightly in stage three, and thengo hell for leather in the final 400m to beat that personal best!

How did you fare?

Excellent = <6 mins

Good = 6-8mins

Average = 8-10 mins

Poor = 10 mins+

How to improve: Practice slower paced, longer distance runs once a week. Initially aim for a two or three mile run. The greater endurance will improve your ability to run faster over a single mile. Also try incorporating hill runs into your running regime, replacing your usual one mile running route with an uphill course for one month. You will be amazed at how much stronger and faster you are when you return to your flat mile.