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The Starting Line: Cardiovascular and Strength Assessments

By Cindy | August 9, 2007

This is Part 4 of a 5 part series on determining your Starting Line. I outlined the process in The Starting Line: Six Assessments to Track Progress.

Cardiovascular Assessment: One Mile Walk

I have chosen the One Mile Walk over a variety of assessments because it is the easiest method that can be applied at home. There are other assessments that are more intense and more accurate than the One Mile Walk, but the equipment and procedures needed are more complex. Very athletic individuals need to focus on more in-depth assessments such as a treadmill, run or ergometer test. Tests that are capable of pushing you to your point of exhaustion will result in a more accurate measure of cardiovascular fitness. However, I want to focus on establishing a baseline cardiovascular fitness level within the means of a majority of mothers. Most of us are beginners or moderately active individuals resuming a journey in fitness. The One Mile Walk will provide a fairly decent estimate of your cardiovascular fitness level. More importantly, we can conduct the test ourselves under safer conditions.

Materials:

• Measured, level one mile course
• Stopwatch
• Heart Rate Monitor (if available)

Procedure:

• Warm up and stretch prior to testing.
• Walk the mile as briskly as possible.
• Using a 6 sec or 10 sec pulse check five minutes into the walk, ensure your heart rate is above 120 beats per minute.
• Immediately following the completion of the walk, measure your heart rate and write down your time.
• Determine your level of cardiovascular fitness from the results of your heart rate and time using this calculator.
• Add the heart rate, time and level of cardiovascular fitness to the Personal Assessment Sheet.

Strength Assessment: Absolute Strength and Muscular Endurance

The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine defines absolute strength as the maximum force an athlete can exert with his or her whole body, or part of the body, irrespective of body size or muscle size. Why would a mother care to measure her strength? The muscles are a major component of our physical fitness. The ability to lift and carry our growing children is important. Plus, muscle burns more calories than fat and tones the body. The goal is not to become body builders, but to develop our muscles to become a leaner, more toned Mom! These tests mark a baseline to help you see the progress you make throughout this journey.

Bench Press for Absolute Strength:

Due to the large number of muscles in the body, it’s difficult to measure all of them. Typically, the upper and lower body absolute strengths are measured with the bench press and leg press. Bench press has been found to be a very good indicator of overall body strength, so we will focus on the bench press.

Materials:

• Bench press machine or free weight bar
• Helper

Procedure:

• Warm up with a few light reps
• Lay flat on back with knees bent and feet on the floor.
• Helper spots in case you need assistance and to increase weight.
• By trial and error, determine the maximum weight to lift at one time. Take a few minutes between lifts if feel lift more than previous lift.
• Lower the bar just above your chest and press upward to extend your arms. Do not lock your elbows.
• Write the maximum weight you lifted at one time.
• Compare your maximum weight with the Bench Standards Chart (Exercise Prescription on the Net) to determine your absolute strength level.
• Record your maximum weight and strength level in your Personal Assessment Sheet.

Muscular Endurance

The sit up and push up tests assess your muscular endurance. The Oxford Dictionary of Science, Sports and Medicine defines muscular endurance as the ability of a muscle to avoid fatigue. The repetitive nature of daily tasks become easier and stress decreases as you increase your endurance.

Sit Up Test for Abdominal Muscles and Hip Flexors:

Materials:

• Mat or Towel

  

• Helper or low bar to hold feet
• Stopwatch

Procedure:

• Lie flat on your back with knees bent and your hands behind your head.
• Have helper hold your feet to the ground or place your feet snuggly under a low bar.
• For 1 minute, raise your head and chest until your elbows touch your knees, then return to starting position.
• Keep your bottom on the floor and don’t pull on your neck.
• Perform as many sit ups as you can in one minute.
• Write your number down, and insert it into the Sit Up Calculator (Exercise Prescription on the Net). They also have a sample video of the proper technique.
• Write your results in your Personal Assessment Sheet.

Push ups for the Upper Body:

Materials:

• Mat

Procedure:

• Start with your body supported by your hands and knees (designed for Women).
• Keep your arms and back straight and fingers facing forward.
• Lower your chest to the floor and return to the starting position.
• To accurately evaluate level to floor, place a shoe on it’s side just above your chest area.
• Perform as many push ups as possible. There is no time limit.
• Plug your number into the Push Up Calculator at Exercise Prescription on the Net.
• Write down the number of push ups and your results in your Personal Assessment Sheet.

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Topics: Cardiovascular Activities, Fitness Knowledge |