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Method 1: Physical Tests
1. Do push-ups for 3 minutes to test your upper body strength. Push-ups are a great physical fitness test because they assess your strength relative to your body weight. Do this on a carpet or yoga mat. Get on your knees, put your hands under your shoulders, and raise your body up with your legs straight and feet together. See how many push-ups you can do in 3 minutes to assess your strength.
Only count the push-ups where you lower yourself far enough to bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle.
You can do this with chin-ups if you prefer. Chin-ups rely a little more on back muscles, but they’re still a great way to test upper-body strength.
A fit 30-year-old adult man should be able to do at least 20 push-ups. Women should be able to perform around 15 push-ups.
2. See how many crunches you can do in 1 minute to test your core. Crunches are a great way to assess your core and overall endurance. Lie down on a yoga mat or carpet and place your feet firmly on the ground. Cross your arms in front of you or set them on the side next to you. Raise your shoulders and head without lifting your butt off the floor. Do as many crunches as you can in 1 minute to test your core and endurance.
For a 30-year-old male, 40 crunches is considered an average result. For women, this number is around 30.
3. Determine how long you can hold a half-squat to measure lower body strength. Stand with your back against a wall and slide yourself down until your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Start a timer and see how long you can stabilize your body against the wall in a half-squat position. Once you can no longer maintain the position, stop the timer and stand up or lower yourself to the floor gently.
A healthy 30-year-old man should be able to last at least 80 seconds in a half-squat. A 30-year-old woman should be able to make it 70 seconds.
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4. Use a running test to assess your overall endurance or explosiveness. For a larger overall assessment, use a running test. You can either see how long it takes you to run 1 mi (1.6 km), or borrow the NFL’s tool for testing explosiveness and run a 40 yd (37 m) sprint. Use a stopwatch to determine how fast you are.
It actually takes a lot of muscle strength to sprint or run a long distance. While many people believe that running is strictly a cardiovascular exercise, it’s really a whole-body workout.
For a 1 mi (1.6 km) run, 8 minutes is considered the standard threshold for a good time for both men and women.
Anything under 6 seconds is considered good for a 40 yd (37 m) sprint.
5. Opt for a swimming test to check your overall physical fitness. Since swimming requires your body to fight against the resistance in the water, this is a great way to test your general fitness. Have a friend time you as you swim 1-2 laps in a pool and see how fast you are. Alternatively, you can see how many laps you can complete in 5 minutes.
Since pools come in different sizes, it’s a lot harder to assess what a good swimming time is. In general, swimming 300 feet (91 m) in under 2 minutes is considered good.
Warning: Only perform a swimming test under the supervision of a lifeguard. If you start cramping up or struggle to stay afloat, do not continue swimming.
In this method, I explained how to test your strength. Using these steps, you can understand your physical level.
Artemus Vazhui