RSS

• About GoWorkoutMom
• Contact
• Sitemap

« Housecleaning Workout Tip: Unloading the Dishwasher | Main | Run, Mom, Run »

Home Assessment Measures up to Gym Assessment

By Cindy | September 13, 2007

In the Starting Line Series, I designed a process to conduct a Home Assessment of your Phyiscal Fitness. I wanted to see how a Home assessment could compare against a computerized Program such as Microfit® , provided by the Local YMCA:

MICROFIT®: The AMAZING NEW HEALTH & WELLNESS TOOL

Take your workout into the 21st century with Microfit® , a new software system designed to analyze your fitness, health & nutritional needs and provide recommendations to help you achieve all of your wellness goals.

Microfit® includes:
· Total Wellness Profile, a complete evaluation of your health & fitness status, receive a health history screening, health risk appraisal & fitness profile measuring everything from your body fat and blood pressure to muscular strength & flexibility. Included free with your membership.
· DietMaster Pro, a nutritional planning tool that will develop a meal plan to help you lose weight or reduce the risk of suffering health conditions including strokes, heart disease and cancer. It will even provide you with a grocery list to make your meal planning a breeze. Three days of menus included free with your membership.
· Extreme Nutrition Makeover, the next level of the nutritional component of Microfit that tailors food exchanges based on your health and wellness goals and eating preferences. Provides you with four weeks of menus! This plan can be purchased as part of YMCA personal training.

Appointments are available for Microfit® services in the wellness center.

My Conclusions based on Assessment Comparisons

Advantages of the YMCA/Microfit® Assessment:

• Conducted in 40 minutes
• Trainer available to answer questions
• Everything is completed in a nicely, decorated room
• Use of Skinfold Calipers
• A sample three-day, nutritional menu created

Disadvantages of the YMCA/Microfit® Assessment

• Required appointment to keep
• Gym Membership needed
• Does not measure muscular endurance

Advantages of Home Assessment

• No set schedule required
• Do over a course of days if necessary
• Access to tape measure and home scale at any time (for continued comparisons)
• No gym membership needed
• Measure muscular endurance

Disadvantages of Home Assessment

• Must follow directions on how to conduct assessment
• Need a level one-mile distance to conduct walking test
• Due to interruptions, it might take more than 40 minutes to complete. Possibly days.
• Uncertainty of body composition assessment accuracy. Higher possibility of margin of error.

Overall, I discovered that the home assessment mirrored the results of the computerized assessment. The largest discrepancy fell in the body weight and body composition category. The calipers used by the trainer should reflect a more accurate estimate of body composition. Due to my lack of access to calipers, I am comfortable using the home assessment numbers (even though they are high) to show continued improvement. The rest of my assessment results reflected very little difference in the numbers. Most gyms offer assessments free of charge. If you have access to the gym, the assessment is a great way to speak with a personal trainer and test your level of physical fitness with a professional. However, you are capable of determining your level of physical fitness from the comforts of home. The process starts here at GoWorkoutMom.com.

Share This

Don't forget to subscribe to my RSS feed and join in the Journey. Thanks for visiting!

Topics: Fitness Knowledge, Health Knowledge |